Children of God
Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins
John 1.1-5, 14

Let us dwell together in peace, let us not be instruments of our own or others’ oppression; and now, may God’s word be spoken, may only God’s word be heard. Amen.

I say, “God is good.”
You say, “All the time.”
I say, “All the time.”
You say, “God is good.)
After we do that three times, I’ll say, “alleluia.
And you will answer, “Amen.”
Okay?

God is good (all the time)
All the time (God is good)
God is good (all the time)
All the time (God is good)
God is good (all the time)
All the time (God is good)
Alleluia! (Amen).

Wouldn’t it be exciting if we believed God was truly good, and also, always present. What difficulty or obstacle could ever steal our joy if we believed there was an infinite goodness that was everywhere present, including right wherever we happen to be?

The gospel tells us today that God dwells among us, that the divine Idea for the universe and all that is in it was with God always and that divine Idea continues to express through all that is, including us.

The wisdom literature we find in the book of Proverbs tells us that Wisdom, or we could still say the divine Idea, is available to us and always has been.

We often think of Jesus as being the chid of God, but Franciscan spirituality suggests that creation itself is the first incarnation of God. All life is the divine Self made visible. All life is the child of God, part of God, coming from God and carrying something of God.

God is all-in-all expressing through all.
God is source and substance.
God is not a being, but Being itself, the ground of all being.

In other words, God is omnipresence.
There’s not a spot where God is not.

If God is omnipresent it means God is the one presence, the only real presence, and that means that all that is must be in and part of that presence. You and I, then, are part of God. Of course we have sacred value.

Why is this important?
Because we will welcome refugees if we see them as children of God, part of God, expressions of God.

We will never accept hunger for anyone if every person is an expression of God.

We will never let anyone be humiliated or dehumanized or abused because of their gender identity or sexual orientation if we see them as incarnations of God.

We would do everything we possibly could to prevent bombs from being dropped on children of God.

What if the word of God, the divine Idea, is made flesh, that is, is made manifest in, through, and as the physical world?
What if John’s gospel is more than adulation of Jesus, but a call to see a gleam of divine light in every life and also a call to respond with love to that light in every person?

And if we believed that WE were expressions of the divine, that we were lighthouses beaming divine grace into the world, that we were the dwellings of God…then we would seek to be generous, welcoming, comforting, forgiving…we would wish for everyone to have all that joy and good fortune we have ever enjoyed, and we would work tirelessly for justice for all.
If we knew ourselves to be children of God, we would want to demonstrate divine qualities…mercy, hope, compassion, grace.

God the angry punisher hasn’t made the world a better place God the rule maker and enforcer hasn’t made the world a better place.
God the tribal deity who prefers one group over all others hasn’t made the world a better place.
God the warrior who takes sides in conflicts hasn’t made the world a better place.
Trying to ignore God, deny God, or portray God as absent hasn’t made the world a better place.

The God who is Good News for the world is an omnipresence who cannot exclude, abandon, or condemn anyone.

And once we believe in such a God we know ourselves to be part of this God, and so we seek to be more godlike, which is more loving; and the omnipresent God must be with and within all others, and so we must treat all people with dignity and respect and fairness. Regardless of political or religious or cultural labels, we would see all people as children of God and then act accordingly.

Rabindranath Tagore taught, “Love is the only reality and it is not a mere sentiment. It is the ultimate truth that lives at the heart of creation.”

If God is love, and God is omnipresent, then Love is omnipresent. Love is everywhere and part of everything. To love, then, is the best way to honor and express God.

If you are sick today, you are not alone. There is a love that is embracing you and will never let you go.

If you are heartbroken right now, trust that there is a love that feels your every tear and is waiting with you for joy to return.

If you are struggling, know that there is a love within you that is cheering for you every minute of every day.

If you’ve made a big mistake, or dozens of them, there is a love that sees your innate goodness. Even if you haven’t always expressed it, the love that is God knows the goodness within you…the godness within you.

If the storms of life have you anxious, know that there is a love that the storms will never chase away, a love that will still be with you long after the storms have passed.

God is love, and there’s not a spot where God is not. You are from God, part of God, filled with God’s qualities; you are God’s chid. You are God’s miracle and not God’s mistake.

Are you willing to know God as all good, only good, and everywhere fully present? If so, then peace, hope, and joy are available right now to bless your life.

God is good (all the time).
All the time (God is good).
Alleluia! (Amen).
And this is the good news. Amen.

I am forever part of the one All.
I am a beloved child of God.
This fills me with gratitude & joy.
And so it is!