Theology

Last year, I read Voices of Advent by Matthew L. Skinner.  In it he writes:

A friend once shared with me the best definition of theology I've ever heard, because it's accurate, short, and sweet: Theology is talk about God.

He explains that we engage in theology when we have conversations about faith and God. When difficulties arise, and we talk to our friends and family, our church members about God, we are theologians. I think that is a spiritual practice, and it helps (hopefully) our faith to mature.

He goes on to say that often in the Bible, theology is about wondering whether God is active in a situation. When Miriam dances after the crossing of the Red Sea, praising God's work, she is a theologian. When the prophets of the Old Testament wonder about invaders and exile, it's theology.

When does theology become a part of your life? Do you have conversations with others about God? Do you wonder about God's presence in the present? In Sunday school, do you have discussions about the work of God in our lives? Are you open to the idea that God is involved in what happens in life?

For me, that doesn't mean that I think God directs each and every action, but it does mean that God is in how we work our way through what happens. Right now, transportation for my Mom to her various (and numerous) doctors' appointment is a challenge. She has connected with Faith in Action in our community, and they are helping. For me, this is the action of God in our lives, motivating their Executive Director and volunteers to give of their time to help people in this mundane but so necessary aspect of life. I thank God for them. And it shapes my conversations and my theology.

Lamps

My husband is Lighting Certified. He spends his work days designing lighting plans, creating images of how light will change a space. He likes to say that the purpose of lighting is to provide light - to illuminate the space for the work that needs to be done.

I think when we think of lighting, we expect the light to make it possible to see - not just right in front of us, but far from us. Lighting provides us with confidence that we know where we are going.

Psalm 119:105 says, "Your word is lamp to my feet and a light to my path." 

What image does that verse create in your mind? I think of a well-lighted path, with the way for us to go visible for a long distance. I apply my expectation of lighting to it.  During Advent, I read Voices of Advent by Matthew L. Skinner. He says, "I used to work with an Old Testament scholar who once preached a memorable sermon on psalm 119:1-5. He explained that lamps in the ancient world were little wicks hanging out of shallow bowls of oil, with each one producing a tiny, flickering flame.  If God or Scripture lights our path like that...then we shouldn't expect to perceive what's ahead of us in the dead of night by more than a few inches. The psalm says we go one step at a time."

God is with us, and we go one step at a time.

Amy Grants song, Thy Word is a Lamp Unto my Feet offers new wisdom to  me in the "light" (haha) of this passage from Skinner.

When I feel afraid, 

think I've lost my way, 

Still You're there right beside me. 

And nothing will I fear 

as long as You are near; 

Please be near me to the end.

Where the Road Goes

In the book Voices of Advent, Matthew Skinner writes about what it would have been like for Joseph, with so many unasked and unanswered questions. And yet Joseph followed God anyway.

Skinner writes:

[Obedience to God] involves says, "I don't know what this road is going to be like or if my journey will be easy or agonizing, but I'm going to walk it." Sometimes we know - or we think we know - the destination where a road will take us, but nonetheless the journey from point A to point B is usually much less clear.

Each year I teach a series of classes for those seeking certification as Certified Lay Ministers. They start, and sometimes even finish, the class series not knowing where God is calling them to go or what God is calling them to do. I think that is OK. We don't have to know; we just have to follow the next right step.

Skinner writes, "You don't have to have it all figured out before you begin. You don't have to know the solutions. Just take the next best step. It's a long road."

Book Review: Voices of Advent

Information about the book

Voices of Advent: The Bible's Insights for a Season of Hope by Matthew L. Skinner. Abingdon Press, Nashville, TN. 2025. Cokesbury Amazon

Summary

From Amazon: In Voices of Advent, Matthew L. Skinner leads readers through biblical texts and explores how they shape our lives and Christmas celebrations. We listen as Jesus promises to return to us in the future, to John the Baptist as he prepares the way for the Messiah, to the faithful people and poets who anticipate the magnificence of Jesus’s birth, and to the angels and visionaries who praise God when Christmas dawns. Listen carefully to the Bible’s various perspectives that shape our preparations for Christmas; you’ll hear hope in all of them. Voices of Advent helps readers experience Advent not only as the start of the Christian Church Year, but also as the powerful overture that sets the tone for the incredible story of Jesus

Also available are a Leader Guide and DVD.

Impressions

The book contains an Introduction, four chapters (outlined above in the blurb from Amazon), and an Afterward. Each chapter explores at least two or three scriptures. The chapters begins with an introduction and then a focus on each passage.

I read this book because my church was using it as an Advent study. I couldn't attend the study, but decided to participate in my own way by reading the book. I found it to be insightful and well-written, and I would recommend it.

Posts about book

Skinner Voices