We love because He first loved us.
1 John 4:19

Who's the hero?

My wife Kirsty has been going through the Kings of Judah with our church's kids. The temptation is to go with 'heroes of the faith'. And yet we both recall the dictum 'the hero of all the bible stories is invariably God'. Gregory of Narek, a 10th Century Armenian monk, poet, mystical philosopher and theologian seems to echo this view in the lines below.

The weight of the universe

The earth revolves around the sun, not the sun around the earth, as was widely believed and fought for. Our expectation and energies are invariably marshalled towards being the centre of our world, the mover and shaker of our destiny, the hero. Might some reflection with Gregory elicit some shift as to where the real weight in the universe lies, the love, the initiative, the purpose?

As I slowly read Gregory what do I feel? Smaller, relief, like letting go, seen, powerless...

There was a time when I did not exist
Yet thou hast created me;
I did not beseech thee for a wish
Yet thou hast fulfilled it;
I did not come into the light
Yet thou hast seen me;
I had not yet appeared
And thou hast taken pity on me;

I had not invoked thee
Yet thou hast taken care of me;
I did not raise my head
Yet thou hast looked at me;
I had not entreated thee
Yet thou wast merciful to me;
I had not uttered a sound
Yet thou hast heard me.