Calling All Amateurs!
In 1666, the great fire that destroyed much of London also took most of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Sir Christopher Wren was commissioned to rebuild the church over the next 35 years. Imagine how Wren felt when he received the royal assessments of the work as being “amusing” and “awful.” The royal warrant from King Charles II declared the whole design “very artificial.”
Of course, Wren was delighted and relieved to hear it. In the early 18th century, the word “amusing” meant “inspired by the muses” or “amazing,” “awful” meant “awe-inspiring,” and “artificial” meant “artistic.” Over time, each of those words has taken a new connotation, striking modern ears far differently than Wren’s. Like the people who speak them, words are dynamic and ever-changing!
Another word that’s changed over time is “amateur.” Nowadays, that word suggests a person who is less-than-professional, unskilled or inept. We would not seek out an amateur surgeon to put in a new knee or an amateur stylist to get our hair just right. The word comes from the Latin word amator, meaning “lover.” In its original sense, an amateur was one who did something for the love of it. An amateur is not forced to do the task. An amateur is not paid for it. An amateur engages in something for the love of it.
Remembering this older meaning, John Claypool writes that we can know God as the ultimate amateur. In his book, God is an Amateur, he comments on God’s creative work in Genesis 1, writing, “You can almost hear God saying, ‘This aliveness that I am enjoying, this wonderful power to be and do—it is simply too wonderful to keep to myself. I want others to taste something of this ecstasy. I want the delight of aliveness to be a shared experience.” Without any coercion, God the amateur generously brings life into being to share the joy and love of it all and calls it very good.
The book of Proverbs pictures wisdom, God’s first creature, alongside God as God creates: “I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in humankind.” (Prov. 8:31-32) The wise among us, says Proverbs, will do the same, celebrating and imitating the generosity of the God of life who delights in sharing it.
To hear that our lives and our church can reflect the image of the Great Amateur is very good news. In these weeks of preparation for the full resumption of mission and ministry programs, as we look at all that lies before Yates, I am praying for God to make us more and more amateurish. It makes all the difference when we do what we do, whether great or small, in love.
Grace and Peace,