"My God is so great, so big, and so mighty. There's nothing my God cannot do." So says the children's nursery song. But sometimes the greatness of God can be intimidating. If He is so great, on what basis could I possibly approach Him, seeking and imploring His grace? If He is so big, what makes me think that He will condescend to my need? He is truly great; great beyond our conceiving. How does that work for us? How can we approach Him who dwells in light inaccessible? A friend of mine is in the oil business. In the conduct of his business he has had the honor of meeting President George W. Bush. When introduced to the former President, he addressed him, appropriately enough, with the honorific title, "Mr. President." To this President Bush replied, "Please call me George. That title gives me the creeps." Mr. Bush lived out two terms as the most powerful man on the planet and yet he does not use this greatness to keep people at arm's length. He is not arrogant, but rather humble, by all accounts. Indeed, true greatness is always open and accepting of the approach of other persons.

 

I have experienced this openness in the work of those who were and are my teachers. A true mentor never lords it over his charges, but is always encouraging, listening to, and receiving the ideas of his students. Recently, an older colleague related to me that he had been following my career in the church for some years. I was quite surprised by this admission, because I have great respect for this older man and I doubted that he even knew who I was. In an article about the work of historian Gene Genovese titled "Up from Leftism," Genovese recounts his youth as a thorough-going Marxist, who was faced with a teacher who was a stout conservative: "There I was sitting in classroom as Marxist. He could not have been more encouraging to me. His attitude was, I was going to grow out of it;" which Genovese did (National Review [14 November 2011], 42). That patience and condescension was just what Genovese needed. The truly great are nothing but entirely approachable. Their greatness does not make them less accessible, but more; not less patient, but more. Oh, to have that greatness as a gift to us!

 

It is also just what we need from God. His greatness is not "for itself." It is offered at our disposal. It is to be used by us, not we by it. Gregory of Nazianzus applied this to God, who is the supreme greatness. Even a moderately good person will not use his superior attainments to hold others at arm's length or Lord it over others. Why should we presume that God would use His greatness unto such a purpose? No, He condescends to our need. He takes on human flesh of the Virgin Mary that He might become the ultimate in approachability and accessibility ( 1Jn 1:1-3). He does not lay aside His power, authority, and greatness. Instead He uses them in the incarnation to give us access to Him under flesh. The phrase "and was born of the Virgin Mary," in the Creed is such an amazing predicate, because it tells us that greatness has come down to us in such a way that the ultimate greatness is now in our hands for our good. This is what His greatness is for; not to hold us off, but to embrace us.