The Eclipse of God: In the lives of Theists and Athiests

Looking at the tabernacle of our seminary chapel (Divyadaan, Nashik, India) in the dark I am reminded of the solar eclipse as you can see the picture above. “Is it the eclipse of God?” I chuckled. The first thought that came into my mind about the eclipse of God was the hymn of St. Thomas Aquinas where he admires at the simplicity of God who on the cross He has hidden His divinity but in the Holy Bread He has hidden both His divinity and humanity.

The concept of the eclipse of God, if meditated upon deeply, may bring to our notice the different dimensions of faith in the current situation of faith in the society. It is true that God’s presence is not evidently felt in today’s world, no matter whether He hides Himself or is hidden. However, it is interesting to realize that mostly God is hidden in the lives of both, those who believe in God as well as those who don’t. It is obvious in the case of the latter, the atheists, as this artificial eclipse is made by human persons with so many reasons to hide God like the natural calamities, imperfections in creation, and so on. And it is also evident that this is an artificial eclipse that human beings have created for there are various ways in which the presence of God can be perceived within one’s ownself and in others.

However, there is also a possibility of this ‘eclipse of God’ among those (the faithful), who believe in the existence of God. The ‘eclipse’ in their lives is that they (feel that they dedicate themselves in) are searching for God which is tangible in rituals and images at the pilgrim centers and charismatic conventions. This too, is (too) an artificial eclipse of God. The object that they use to hide God is their own selves. On the contrary, the reality is that God is in search of His creatures, a powerful thought that I have learnt from the post-critical philosophy of God. It is an eclipse when I keep myself before God that I take the initiative of searching for Him through multifarious ways like prayers, rituals, pilgrimages, charities, etc. There is nothing wrong in doing all these. In fact, they have profound meaning as they are means to respond to God who is in search of human beings. Rather,  what is important is the attitude or motivation in carrying them out. Just as the eclipse does not last for a long period of time so does this eclipse of God when we realize that we should respond to the God in search of us as our project of life. May we look at God in the darkness of faith to encounter this eclipse and discover that in fact, He is in search of us.