By Fr.Jonathan Filkins 

We mere mortals regularly have a difficult time getting our minds wrapped around theological concepts of the supernatural. Often, we ascribe our point of view and experiences to what may be described as, “something beyond our capabilities.”

One of the greatest challenges, for us, is the idea that God is everywhere. Oh sure, we may understand He with us now, as when we are reading this column. Yet, He is also present with our neighbors, unpleasant relatives and those unknown to us in Africa, the rest of the world, and the entire universe.

This idea of being in all places at the same time is, seemingly, the stuff of science fiction. Avid fans of the genre will frequently opine about the nuances of time travel; frequently waxing eloquently about moving across vast distances with extraordinary speed.

The physicist, Alfred Einstein, further confused the less brainy. In his findings, he theorized that time is relevant to only the person experiencing it and that it may be modified by speed. Astronauts have, apparently, confirmed this theory with clocks operating in space, differing in their time measurement from those on earth.

With the increased onslaught of information, in general, it has become increasingly difficult to ferret out the truth. Yet, the increasing difficulty is of our own making, as the information we receive is not only conflicting, but gives us sensory overload.

In this, our so-called sophisticated world, the default position is to put our religious intellects on hold. Regularly, many of us do not attend a formal church service; that time we are called to offer our thanksgiving for the many gifts we have received. The reasons are well-used and adaptable for many genres. Too busy? Someone there upset you? Can’t find one I like?

These, and many other rationales have been used as excuses to stand away from God, and what He seeks from us. This world’s entire agenda seems to be constantly challenging us to be separated from our Creator. Yet, God knows us, perhaps better than we ourselves.

It all goes back to God is not only everywhere, but He has been so for all time. This is a particularly challenging thought for us. God has no past, he has no future. For Him it is always the right now, for God himself created the very reality of time itself. Whatever natural laws exist, connected with time and everything else, He created.

This is how God is all-seeing and all-knowing. As we read in the Gospel of Saint Luke, “the eyes of the Lord are upon us.” Here we are to understand there are no boundaries, no limits. It does not say there are times, or places, where He is not. Rather, in the lyrical prose of the Scripture, we are told of Him knowing ourselves, forever.

It is not really all that complicated to understand. First, we have to acknowledge we are so much less capable than our Creator, Secondly, we have to acknowledge our limited capabilities to understand ourselves and our world. Lastly, we have to become supplicants to the direction of our God.

In doing so, we offer ourselves up to the greater truths, rather than give in to those created by our dark and heretical fellow creatures.