This Particular Scandal

"One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.

They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works.

They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds."

Psalms 145:4-6

Commending. Telling. Proclaiming. We must tell. If we don't we'll just die. When thinking of what God has done we cannot keep secrets. We must share with each other what we have witnessed in the works of the Creator.

Galileo felt it boil up when he said, "In order to maintain and increase the renown of these discoveries, it appears to me necessary... to have the truth seen and recognized, by means of the effect itself, by as many people as possible." I resonate with Galileo who, confronted with the truth that Earth was not the center of the universe, thought he would explode unless he shared it.

How can I go through an experience like what I've been through these past several weeks, and not share with others what I have discovered... about myself, about God? Aha!... I guess I'm not the center of the universe! So I will continue to share my discoveries, fresh insights I've picked up along the way. Discovery, you see, is not for hobbyists, treating wonders and truths like collectibles, placing them in lock boxes for safe keeping. It is not an exclusive privilege reserved for doctors or scientists or theologians. Discovery is not only the stomping grounds of shepherds and poets, but of astronomers, too. And grocers and greenskeepers and teachers and salesmen and second-basemen. Discovery is for all who want to know God. As Annie Dillard puts it, "We're all up to our necks in this particular scandal" (Pilgrim at Tinker Creek).