Breaking the God Code
Is omniscience overrated?
Greetings, January, you cold-hearted month you. The skies have melted into a perpetual grayness. Everything is now in grayscale until spring when God will replace the ink cartridges.
I was standing in a meeting this week when my priest referenced his work with gamers (I’m sorry, what?) before entering the priesthood.
“Gamers have a god code. It’s a way to cheat, really, to become invincible. Once they are in god mode, the game is essentially over.”
My part-time work at a local Episcopal church means I only catch devotions twice a week. For about 10 minutes, the staff gathers daily in the mornings to hear an assigned staff member share whatever they want to, then invites a time of reflection before prayer. This last week being the first of the year, my friend and co-worker Rebecca read a blessing for the new year, which sparked some responses about all we are hoping for, how we can’t possibly know what lies ahead, and how to trust in the love of God no matter what. Then my priest said this. I have no idea what followed, I was mesmerized by
god code.
I sat across the table from new friends I met last year at church this week. They moved to Nashville a few years ago to be closer to their son. In my parents generation, they’ve treated me like a daughter, which I find endearing. Both held careers in the entertainment industry for decades. They could barely shovel down their salads while I peppered them with questions about California life.
He knew that Hollywood has a time limit for careers and began investing in commercial real estate to prepare for that second career after he aged out of work. I commented on how strategic that was. She nudged him on the elbow, “Yes, but he’s always been that way. He bought his first house at 24!”
Oh, one of those types, I said, and we all laughed. Yes, he grinned sheepishly. (A Spanish bungalow in the heart of Hollywood in the mid-70’s for $69,000— which was not cheap then. I know, I nearly spit out my food.)
They asked more of my own story—they discovered I am not one of those types—so instead I regaled them with tales of international travel, dating difficulties, why I’ve never started my own business and then really confused them with trying to explain what theopoetics is. Faced with their questions and care, I found a part of myself answering more honestly about my own future. I’m just not so sure anymore about anything, least of all my future. It’ll all work out, they assured.
The thing about living is that it’s such a moment by moment thing.
The thing about being young is you don’t really understand this yet.
The thing about aging is you know it now but you don’t understand how it’s possible.
I could tell by the smiles on their face that I’m still young.
I’ve spent too many January’s trying to crack the code for the year. If I can crack the code for the year, then that means life is hacked, and I win. This reminds me of the ending sequence to one of my all-time favorite movies.
In the film About Time (2013) a father and son share the gift of time travel. They can only travel within their own lives, so when Tim’s Dad is dying, the two share one special jaunt back to a beloved day on the beach together before he goes. After he dies, Tim reflects on his own life and the choice to no longer go back but live everyday to the fullest. While he speaks, a sequence of getting dressed for work, making breakfast, taking the kids to school, grabbing lunch, etc. plays before us while Ben Folds sings “The Luckiest” to us sobbing fools. (If you’d like a good cry, here you are.)
No breaking any codes, no cheating, no trying to figure it all out. Tim finds out that knowing everything doesn’t solve his problems.
I think I’ll take his word for it.
What then, might God be inviting me into, if not knowing everything?
P.S. I fly out today to LA for a two-week intensive class called Art, Faith and Justice. I had some posts lined up to fire out, but in the spirit of living one day at a time, I’m going to practice a few weeks off and will return to writing here on January 21. In the meantime, feel free to leave a comment if there’s a particular topic, question or something you’d have any desire for me to write about in the months to come. Thanks for reading and journeying with me!
I would sure like to hear about this 2-week intensive class you are taking. I have never heard those three words “art” and “faith” and “justice” linked together like that. Any two of them, maybe. What did you take away from your time with this workshop?
But really--About Time foreverrrrr. 💛💛