The Guardian’s Belief section on Monday (15 Dec) posed a rather fun – and interesting question: what would you say in a letter to God? The idea comes – it seems – from the fact that the post office in Jerusalem places all letters addressed to “God” in the Western Wall. How neat is that!

I’ve sat with the question for an hour or so, and to be honest I’m stumped – I’ve no idea what I would write in such a letter. Part of me thinks there’s so much to say – that it would be a jumbled laundry list of questions, complaint, thanksgiving, wonder, and want. Part of me thinks that the exercise is a bit silly because, as others on the CIF:Belief blog have noted – he already knows before you put pen to paper. But in this I find that there is a “tension” one that, it seems to me leads to reflection.

Severus of Antioch, writing in the fifth century, interprets Jesus’ interaction with Mary at the wedding of Cana thus: “Indeed, if they had had the kind of concerns they should have had at that moment, they would have begged God to make up for the lack of wine, since anyone who is in need asks to obtain what he needs.” Severus’ point, in part, is that we do not invest enough in the discipline of knowing, of being aware of what we truly need.

God knows – but we need to come to that knowledge. The process of arriving at such an awarness is an active one, and one that we cultivate through practice (praxis) and engagement. Perhaps, writing a letter to God is not a silly exercise afterall, but a starting point of understanding.