If we are inclined to ascribe a human personality to God that would be rather foolish. But equally we are human and we can’t avoid seeing relationships in human terms, whether it be with our dog or even our God. And we can see that throughout the long history of God’s interaction with his people, scripture has “personified” God even while calling out how God is so different and distinct from us.
When we do think of God as having a personality, one common and traditional view is to see God as a stern judge. More extreme is to see Him as vengeful, or highly partisan, supporting some people to the exclusion of others. These are images of God that Jesus consciously rejected, both in what he said, and in how he behaved – which hasn’t stopped people falling back into such views ever since.
The personality that Jesus emphasizes over and over again is of a father, not a strict or demanding father, but a loving parent, who is always looking to reestablish his relationship with us, even when our attitude or behavior least deserves it. The characteristics of this relationship are marked by fidelity, by peace, by joy – always on offer.
But however we may think of God, I suspect very few would think of playfulness or fun-loving as central characteristics. But that is what we hear today from the Wisdom tradition of the Book of Proverbs (Proverbs 8:22-31). This wisdom of God was “playing before him all the while” and “found delight in the human race”.
Paul tells us of the “endurance” which comes from this relationship (Romans 5:1-5) – whatever we think of Paul, fun-loving probably isn’t top of mind. John (ever the philosopher) tells us of truth and glory (John 16:12-15). But as we reflect on the unknowable nature of God on this most mysterious of Feasts, let us also recognize the much older tradition of Proverbs which tells us of a God who plays with his creation and has fun.