Deus aderit:
God will be present
Recently, a kind friend gifted me with a beautiful paper weight. It is engraved with the Latin phrase: Vocatus atque non vocatus deus aderit. The translation is: “called, or not called, God [or the god] will be present.” This proverb was originally written by the Greek historian Thucydides in his recounting of the Peloponnesian War, when the Spartans consulted the oracle of Delphi before going to battle. The friend who gifted it to me has been engaged in her own battle with the powerful forces of grief, underscoring the tremendous faith expressed in this affirmation: “God is present!”
Carl Jung, the famous psychotherapist, had the phrase engraved above the door of his office where he saw his patients and, later, on his tombstone. In one of his letters, he wrote, “It says: yes, the god will be on the spot, but in what form and to what purpose? I have put the inscription there to remind my patients and myself: Timor dei initium sapientiae [the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom]. Here another not less important road begins, not the approach to ‘Christianity’ but to God himself and this seems to me the ultimate question.”[1]
It is never a question of whether or not God is present. The question is: In what form and to what purpose is God present? That is the mystery of God. In the mythic language of the Bible and the liturgical language of Advent, we speak of the presence and absence of God, or of God’s coming, as if God were not already here. That, of course, is the view from our side of the relationship. God is not like a cosmic waiter, who appears when we call to take our order. Nor is God a capricious prankster who likes to play hide and seek. From God’s side, as it were, the issue is not God’s presence, but our capacity for awareness. Called or not called, God is present. But it isn’t always easy to perceive the way in which God is present, or to what end.
This past week, I visited a young man in the hospital, who died on Wednesday evening. He was only 21 years-old. My two visits with him and his mother before he died were difficult, not only because of the awful circumstances, but because they are refugees and Mom doesn’t speak English; and I am monolingual. I felt doubly helpless, but at least I was relieved of the temptation of trying to explain. Explanations don’t console. Only presence can console. I could lay my hands on them in prayer, I could hug them. How and to what end was God present with that dying boy and his grieving mother? I don’t know and I will probably never know. I pray they do know. And yet, Deus aderit – God is present.
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
The Lord has taken away the judgments against you,
he has turned away your enemies.
The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
you shall fear disaster no more.[2]
Notice that the prophet doesn’t say, “You will not experience disaster anymore.” He says, “you shall not fear disaster anymore.” Why? Deus aderit -because God is in your midst. The healing and repair can begin. Trusting God’s presence, we are empowered to find a way to be at home in the world again, despite the disaster we’ve been through and whatever else may come.
“Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” asks John the Baptist.[3] Disasters will come. We can’t flee from them. But we can bear fruit worthy of repentance. We can live with integrity, trusting in God’s presence and power with us. We can show up, instead of running away. And, maybe, just maybe, we can be the plea, and gift and sign of God’s presence for each other.[4]
There is another option besides fleeing the wrath or being the wrath. God’s power is not coercive, but neither is it passive. It is the power of love, the will to seek the good even when the outcome is doubtful. Lovers are people who have the courage to persevere even when they know they are not going to see the results of their work. They keep on keeping on even though they will never benefit personally from the struggle. They do it because they love something or someone larger than themselves. They trust that God’s power is stirring up, coming with great might but in ways that may seem hidden to us now.
Lovers know that if they are willing to stay close to the pain in their communities, if they are willing to remain open and pay attention, they will see signs of God’s power that you simply miss if you run away from, or run over, people, when things get uncomfortable. This power operates in a manner and according to a timeline that transcends our calculating rationality. A group of activists once asked the Dalai Lama how they would know if their actions made a difference in the world. He replied, “You will know in about 700 years.”
We don’t always know how or to what end God is present with us but we can say with assurance Deus aderit – God is present. This is why our Great Thanksgiving prayer always begins with “God is with you” – “And also with you.” This is why we lift up our hearts with gratitude and rejoicing. It is the assurance of God with us that returns us to ourselves and grounds our life together in joy. God is here, with us and for us. Therefore, we can be here, with and for each other. Not matter what.
The communication of Presence requires bodies to mediate that presence. We celebrate the incarnation God in Jesus because through his body we are brought close to God. And be becoming part of Christ’s body, we continue to bring others close to God. It is through sacred touch, anointing, feeding, dancing, laughing, embracing each other that we come close to the Mystery, the Word made flesh. Deus aderit.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.[5]
Amen.
[1] C.G. Jung. Letters of C.G. Jung: Volume 2, 1951-1961.
[2] Zephaniah 3:14-15.
[3] Luke 3:7.
[4] “Love shall be our token; love be yours and love be mine; love to God and others, love for plea and gift and sign.” Christina Rossetti, Love came down at Christmas
[5] Philippians 4:4-7.
Beautifully done, John. Thanks.