Too close for comfort

There is a classic photo by Man Ray from 1924 which is very similar to this drawing, but strangely this is less sensual than the photo. Perhaps its because of the angular character and it being a drawing and yet it is closer to my realities. Yet I am attracted to it. A few years ago on one of the forums about cellos we discussed whether our cellos had names and gender. In fact very early in my posts here I found my electric cello was an "it" and my acoustic cello was a "she" but without a name.

This last week in so many aspects of my life, listening as a spiritual director, conversing as a student campus worker, attending meetings, and sitting with pastors in a ministerial, I realize there is fear. We say we want to know God, we say we want to be closer to God but there is a right and safe distance. This distance includes maintaining my control of everything. I learned this week from a speaker that fear is the best way to raise money and increase donations, and that it is a very unhealthy approach and perhaps even dishonest! But fear also keeps us from depending on God. Much of religious structures and programing are expressions of that fear of a God too close, who asks for dependency, who asks for all of us.

There are so many dangers in second-hand faith. We can avoid getting really close to God by supposedly getting together with others. Faith has to be first-hand. The communal aspect is important as encouragement and exhortation (especially if you are an extrovert) but it remains a personal relationship with God.

A cello cannot make sound by itself. If there is music played around it, it can resonate picking out the frequencies and ring sympathetically, but it is not making sound. A cello cannot play itself, it can only play music when it has a cellist, a musician, a player.

Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice. Ez 33:32