Three wise Elders were discussing where to hide God. The first wise Elder said that God should be hidden on the farthest star, but the second feared that one day men would travel to space and reach that star, and God would be discovered. “Let’s put God at the bottom of the deepest ocean,” He said. The third elder thought for a time and finally she spoke, saying that she could foresee the day when men would search the ocean floor, and God would be found. So, after some further thought, the three agreed that the only place where God could be hidden was inside each person. “No one will ever discover God there.”

The hidden God

This strange story contains a grain of truth – God is hidden. He is not to be found in the stars. As Yuri Gagarin, the first astronaut, reported: “I have been to space and did not see God”. Nor is he to be found in the expanse of the Earth as the comic Woody Allen once quipped: “If God were to poke his head out from a cloud, I would believe.” God is indeed hidden, but can be found within each one of us. Jesus says as much: “Is it not written in your law, 'I have said you are gods” John 10: 34. God may be discovered within each one of us, but remains elusive.

God is elusive in the sense that God is much bigger than we can imagine, and yet contained in a human frame. Elusive in the sense that we can never pin God down or catch him out, and as we discover in this reading, elusive in the sense that before God is found, we must search.

Words, Works, and Worship

Jesus revealed himself as God in all these ways, yet he remained beyond their grasp, so they could not pin him down. So they came to him and asked: “How long will you keep us in suspense?” If you are the Christ, tell us plainly,” John 10: 24. How frustrating! How unfair! But is it true to say that Jesus fails to provide us with what we need to believe?

The scientific method demands evidence before it looks for proof. Evidence points us in a certain direction; the proof follows as we put our beliefs into practice. There are some people who, of course, deny the evidence; climate change would be a good example. The failure to believe the evidence is usually because we have other priorities: the cost to the economy might be cited in the case of climate change.

So, what is the evidence of Jesus’ claims? The evidence he points to is clear for all to see. First, he points to his work, then his words, and finally, as we follow the evidence, we discover the proof in the worship that is the outworking of belief.

He once asked, “Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” To most who knew him, his works clearly pointed to someone who did the work of God. When some heard his words, they accused him of blasphemy, and yet Jesus points out, “Is it not written in your own law ...the one the Father has set apart as his very own Son and sent into the world? John 10: 36.

In Jesus, we recognise the work of God. In Jesus, we recognise the words of God, but it is only in worship that we can discover for ourselves the truth of those claims. As we recognise him as the Christ, so he reveals himself to us. As we put our faith in him and believe his words and do his works, so he gives us the proof. As St. Bernard says, “God has no better gift to give to those who seek Him than Himself.”