Ps 14; Jn 6:1-9
27 July 2003
“Imagination”
I want to begin with a little experiment. In a moment, I’m going to say something, and I want you to notice the first image that comes into your mind. It may be something visual…or perhaps a memory that includes sounds and smells. And even if there’s no image at all, understand that that in itself is a kind of image! Okay, so here we go. What’s the very first image that comes into your head—and mind you, don’t think about it, just let it arise—when you hear the word…God? Remember, don’t think about it!
Did anyone visualize a male figure, maybe even an old man with a long white beard? What about a kingly figure, maybe someone sitting on a throne? Or how about a female figure, as in a mother with child? Did anyone see light…or fire…or a rock? All of these are symbolic of God.
It’s been said that “scripture is bolder than our piety,” just because we tend to be so reserved in our understanding of God.[1] We rarely tap into the wealth of imagery of God that appears in the scriptures. Light and darkness, lion and lamb, eagle and serpent—these are but a few of the divine images found in the Bible.
When asking you about the first image to come into your mind upon hearing the word “God,” I wanted to stress the point about not thinking about it. There’s a reason for that. Very often, more often than we know, the images we carry are subliminal; they’re unexamined. They lie deep down within our consciousness. And in thinking about that first image, we’re more prone to push it aside if it doesn’t fit in with our liking. Thus, my request.
Those subconscious images are kind of like Leviathan the sea monster, which I mentioned in my sermon on darkness. They’re down there somewhere, wriggling around. But what’s more, they affect the way we think and behave. Our unexamined assumptions—be they about God, church, ourselves, others (especially those we perceive as “different” from us)—they all find expression in the way we act. They help determine the kind of person we are.
That’s why it’s important to get in touch with our “inner images.” And it’s also important to recognize the role of “imagination.” Our ability to imagine is one of the things that set us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. Without imagination, we’d be like those zombies I talked about recently!
In fact, without imagination, communion with God would be impossible. Understanding the Bible would be impossible. Imagination is what enables us to see beyond the narrow confines of what logic can demonstrate. It opens us to new realms, to new worlds, that we otherwise could never visit.
Still, whenever someone starts encouraging us to use our imagination, there is a caution that often is sounded. Imagination can be used for bad; we can dream up stuff that isn’t true! Verse 1 of our psalm reading is a perfect example. “Fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God.’” This isn’t what we today call atheism; in ancient times, everyone believed in some kind of god or gods. Rather, this is allowing oneself to be filled with evil thoughts and believing that there’s no god to hold one accountable. The focus is on behavior: as it says, “They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds.”
Our Old Testament reading from 2 Samuel 11, which we didn’t read, is the story of David and Bathsheba. Here’s a case of imagination really running wild. If you recall, the story is set up by explaining that in the springtime, kings would go out to battle. “But,” and that’s a clue that something big is coming up, “David remained at Jerusalem” (v. 1). We’re told that “late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the roof of the king’s house…he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful” (v. 2).
So, the king’s been taking a nap, and upon arising, decides to stretch his legs—and he notices a real hottie! Trouble ensues, as we see throughout the rest of 2 Samuel. David’s imagination does not serve him well. It definitely doesn’t serve Bathsheba’s husband Uriah well, who winds up getting killed!
Obviously, we can think of a lot of ways in which imagination can be misused. Today’s gospel reading shows how imagination can be used for good. Presented with a large crowd, Jesus realizes that they must be getting hungry. So he asks his disciple Philip about getting bread to feed them. As the scripture says, he does this “to test him” (v. 6). Jesus is testing Philip’s imagination.
So, how does he do? How creative does Philip get? The disciple is faced with people who need to be fed; how does he respond? How would we respond? As for Philip, his first impulse—as might be expected—is to turn to what’s familiar, to a method he already understands. “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little” (v. 7). Sorry, Jesus, we just don’t have enough in the budget!
Another disciple, Andrew, in a tentative fashion, suggests another way. He’s located a boy who seems willing to share what he has. Still, with just “five barley loaves and two fish…what are they among so many people?” (v. 9). Philip’s and Andrew’s imaginations need to be blown wide open, and Jesus is more than willing to do just that!
The disciples need to see what happens when gifts are given to Jesus. What they and the world consider to be insignificant becomes, in the hands of Jesus, much more than enough. The boy’s contribution of bread and fish turns into an all-you-can-eat buffet! When the leftover scraps are gathered, twelve baskets are filled! People are amazed. They turn to each other and say, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world” (v. 15).
Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could have that kind of impact? Friends, we’re surrounded by hungry people. Certainly, Jamestown has people hungry for food; our food pantry helps to alleviate that. But people are hungry in plenty of ways: hungry for help, for employment, for love, and above all, for the gospel.
To meet these needs requires imagination. That’s why I asked those questions at the end of my sermon on time two weeks ago. They were: “how can we, as individuals and as church, live as children of light? How can we redeem the time?” And I said, “I really want you to take time and imagine and to be in conversation with me about these questions.” By the way, I haven’t exactly been overwhelmed with responses! I ask those questions, not out of idle curiosity, but because faithfulness to God means that we deal with them.
There’s a question from the Book of Order that’s asked of everyone in the Presbyterian Church who seeks ordination, be it as deacon, elder, or minister of word and sacrament. “Will you seek to serve the people with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love?” (G-14.0207h & G-14.0405b(8)). I realize very well how difficult it can be for our imagination to serve us well. Creativity isn’t something we can always just turn on like a light switch.
Imagination is a discipline; it’s something we can and should work on. Like any discipline, it won’t come to life just by listening to someone—in this case, me—talk about it. It’s something to do. I find reading and listening to music, among other things, helpful in developing my imagination. Banu insists that I need to do something more…“hands on,” like art or gardening. (Does walking the dog count?) But she’s probably right.
Her suggestion helps to make another point: that we as Christians need each other. That’s especially true for developing the kind of imagination that Jesus wants us to have. In our epistle reading, Paul speaks of our being “rooted and grounded in love” (Ep 3:17). An immense amount of power is available to us, power we rarely use. The more we are filled with the love of Christ, the more we are filled with the gift of the creative Holy Spirit.
I recently got a CD that I found in the internet. It’s by a group called Mad at the World, whose first album I purchased on cassette in the late ‘80s when I went to school in Lakeland, Florida. I got it at the bookstore inside the Pentecostal megachurch I attended back then. Anyway, there’s a song called “No Room Left,” which must have been inspired by Psalm 14. The chorus goes, “There’s no room left for God in your mind.” It speaks to what happens when we fill our minds and hearts and lives with all kinds of junk. Our imaginations become cluttered and unable to breathe.
So, imagination, besides something that can be used for bad or good—besides being a discipline—is above all a gift. And that’s an appropriate theme to sound on this stewardship Sunday. We have a chance today to celebrate what Westminster was in the past and to open our minds and vision to what it can be in the months and years to come.
Our closing hymn, “As Those of Old Their Firstfruits Brought,” speaks of both imagination and stewardship. Hear the second verse: “A world in need now summons us to labor, love, and give, / To make our life an offering to God that all may live. / The church of Christ is calling us to make the dream come true: / A world redeemed by Christ-like love, all life in Christ made new.”
When we place our imagination, our money, and our very life into the hands of Jesus Christ, we can expect, like the boy with five loaves and two fish, to be part of something more wonderful than we could have ever dreamed.