God in Search of Man
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ScribdTranslationsGod in Search of Man
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ScribdTranslationsThere are apparently two courses of human thought; one starts with man and
their needs and ends in the presumption that the universe is a display
nonsense or a waste of energy; the other begins in astonishment, the
humility and reverent fear and ends in the presumption that the universe is
full of glory that surpasses man and his mind but possesses a meaning
eternal for He who made being possible." GOD IN SEARCH OF MAN.
ABRAHAM J. HESCHEL, PAGE 132.
The Bible not only speaks of man's search for GOD but also
from the search for man by GOD. "LIKE A LION YOU ME
CAZAS' JOB. 10:16
Here is the mysterious paradox of public faith: GOD asks of man. It is as if
GOD would not want to be alone and would have chosen man to serve him. our
The search for GOD concerns not only man but is also a revelation.
divine, and it should not be considered exclusively a human matter. the will of
GOD is implicit in our longings. all of human history as it is
the description in the Bible can be summarized in one sentence: GOD IS IN SEARCH
OF MAN. faith in GOD is an answer to the question of GOD. pg. 173-
174.
when Adam and Eve hid from His presence, the LORD called: where are you?
But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, 'Where are you?'
faith is preceded by reverent fear, by acts of wondrous astonishment before
things we learn but cannot understand. in the history of the red sea
And Israel saw the great works that the LORD did.. and the people feared the
LORD ... and they believed in the LORD. Exodus 14:31. We must learn to see the
miracles that coexist with us every day, we must learn to live in fear
reverent, in order to reach the intuitions of faith. "the thoughtless believes every
word, but the prudent considers well where he goes" Proverbs 14:15 p. 196
It is not easy to attain faith. We will not achieve it through a decision of the will,
through the desire to believe. Every day of our lives we must continue.
delving into our sense of mystery to be worthy of attaining faith.
faith is an act of the whole person: mind, will, and heart. faith is
sensitivity, understanding, commitment and attachment; it is not something that is achieved in a
once and for all, but an attitude that we can conquer and lose. p. 198
Faith entails fidelity.
faith encompasses fidelity, strength in waiting, acceptance of HIS concealment,
challenge to history.
O LORD, OUR GOD, OTHER lords OUTSIDE OF YOU HAVE
ENLIGHTENED BY US, BUT YOUR NAME ALONE
We recognize. Isaiah 26:13
there has never been a moment in all human history as sad as that in which the
The LORD said to Moses... And certainly I will hide my face in
THAT DAY BECAUSE OF ALL THE EVIL THEY DID, FOR THEY
They turned back to other gods. DEUTERONOMY 31: 18
the lack of perception, the inability to learn about GOD immediately,
It is the sad paradox of our religious existence. It was an extraordinary moment.
the one in which man could exclaim: THIS IS MY GOD, AND IT
I WILL GLORIFY, GOD OF MY FATHER, AND I WILL EXALT THEM. EXODUS 15: pages.
200
the normal situation is expressed in the words of Job:
HERE HE COMES IN FRONT OF ME, AND I DON'T SEE HIM, HE SLIDES, BUT I
I do not see it. Job 9:11.
However, GOD is not indifferent to the effort of the man who seeks Him. GOD
He needs man, He needs man to participate in redemption. GOD,
creator of the world, is not comfortable in the world, in the dark alleys of
insensitivity, misfortune and hostility.
It is said of NOAH: NOAH walked with GOD.. (Genesis 6:9) and to ABRAHAM he said the
sir: walk before ME. Genesis 17:1. said the midrash: "one could compare to
NOE with the friend of a king, who wandered through dark alleys. The king saw him and he
He said: instead of wandering through dark alleys, come and walk with me. The case of
Abraham would be more comparable to a king who was sinking in
dark alleyways. when his friend saw him, he illuminated him with a light that made him shine.
through the window. The king then said to him: instead of lighting me through
the window comes and turns on a light in front of me. the world was sunken in the
darkness, but Abraham lit the light that illuminated HIS presence. the words
"I am a stranger on earth" (Psalms 119:19) were interpreted as
referring to GOD. God is a stranger in the world. the shekinah, the presence of
GOD is in exile. Our task is to bring GOD back to the world.
in our life. To revere is to expand the presence of GOD in the world. To have faith
In GOD is to reveal what was called hidden.
This is the certainty that astonishes us in such moments: man does not only live in
time and space but also in the dimension of divine awakening. God is
concern, not just power. God is the one to whom we are accountable.
We are exposed to the challenge of a power that is not born of our will.
instated by her, it takes away our independence by judging on the righteousness or
deprivation of our actions, gnawing at our hearts when we violate their
commandments. It is as if there were no privacy at all in our own being.
within us in which to bury the remains of our feelings of
guilt. There is a voice that reaches us everywhere, a voice that knows nothing of
clemency and wine in the cemeteries of charitable oblivion.
Whatever the origin of consciousness may have been, there are few things as
fundamental significance in the domain of human life. Consciousness is so
settles and possesses as broad a scope as reason. For just as reason begins
of the assumption that the processes of nature are intelligible, that there exists a
rational relationship between events, thus implying that intelligence
humanity and the natural order are compatible, as is our consciousness,
our moral sense holds that there is a moral relationship between GOD and the
man.
Our concept of good and evil can sometimes be uncertain. What is
Undoubtedly, it is the obligation we feel to respond for our
conduct. A singular trait of consciousness is that, unlike reason, its
the main perception does not lie in conceiving something but in being related to something,
to be responsible, to be judged while judging. Responsibility means
be responsible to someone. Who is that someone? That someone cannot be
an abstract law or a blind force; we never feel guilty for violating one
physical law. Nor can it be our own self; the essential recognition of
the fact is that the self does not constitute the decisive authority for her. We do not have the
the power to forgive ourselves for the wrongs we commit. We are
open before someone, communicated with someone who transcends us and who
worry about our lives.
There is no worry without contrition; there is no affirmation without commitment to oneself.
Our awareness of GOD is a response, and GOD is a challenge before
an idea. We do not think about GOD; GOD moves us. We can never
describe it; we can only return to Him. We can address Him; we cannot
understand it. We can perceive His presence; we cannot grasp His presence.
The call is Yours, the paraphrase is ours; the creation is Yours, our reflection.
God is not an object to be understood or a thesis to be subscribed to; he is not the sum
of everything that is (facts) not a summary of everything that should be (ideals).
GOD is the ultimate subject.
In our shaken perception of the presence of GOD, we assume our
condition of responsibility towards Him. Our awareness of GOD is not an act
in which GOD is known by man; it is the awareness that man is
known by GOD. When we think about HIM, we are thought of by HIM.
The bridge that leads to GOD is reverent fear. In reverent fear our
the question is not 'what is Its essence?', but rather: 'what is Its relationship with the'
man?" If we derive God to abstractions, His indifference towards man and
the irrelevance of man for HIM remains shareable is HIS greatness.
But if our consciousness of GOD is a response to His search for man,
or a return, then certainly HIS reality and His concern are revealed to us
Together. God's question to man is an act of His concern.
There are many paths, but only one goal. If there is a common origin for all, it has
to have a goal for everyone. The longings are ours, but the answer belongs to
EL.
The certainty of being in the presence of something that is not of this world is a fact.
of human existence. It is a certainty, however, that it does not find its realization in the
aesthetic contemplation; it resonates with the demand to live in a way that is
worthy of that presence.
The beginning of faith, as we said before, is not the sensitivity to the mystery of living or
a feeling of reverent fear, of astonishment and of stupor. The root of religion
This question is: what to do with the sensitivity to the mystery of living, what to do
with reverent fear, astonishment, and amazement? Religion begins with the
awareness that something is being asked of us. In this tense, eternal questioning, and in the
response that awakens, the soul is trapped.
Something is asked of us. But what? The ultimate question that stirs our soul is
anonymous, mysterious, powerful, and yet ineffable. Who will put her in
words, who will teach us the way of GOD? How will we know if the way
What we choose is that which HE wants us to follow?
We cannot express GOD, but GOD expresses HIS will to us. It is
through His words as we know that He is not beyond good and evil
bad. If it weren't for the guidance we received, our own thinking would leave us
immersed in total dismay. It is not right to wait for GOD as if HE never
would have entered into history. In his search for GOD, the man who lives afterward
from the Sinai era must learn to understand as a reality that GOD
search for the man.