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Primitive religion is not believed, it is danced!

Arthur Darby Nock

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
And only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.

Elizabeth Browning



Monday, August 5, 2013

All I have to do is abide

Chiam Potok is a wonderful Jewish author.  In one of his books he offers a lyrical description of Kabod.
A quality of holiness, a quality of power
A quality of fearfulness, a quality of sublimity
A quality of trembling, a quality of shaking
A quality of terror, a quality of consternation
God of Israel
Who comes crowned to the Throne of His Glory
And of no creature are the eyes able to behold it. . .

Kabod.  Totally, Holy other.  
 It is hard to feel connected to something transcendent, infinite.  
and yet
when it comes to the sacred
we are told to "abide"
_______________________________________________
Abide?
Are you kidding God?
You aren't exactly easy to get close to
How do I picture you?
As a giant other?   Someone, something 
vaguely like tapioca pudding?  
Or some old
white bearded guy
 in a white robe 
with a lightning bolt?

God
you
the infinite one are hard to connect to.  

 But there is another side to you God...  the immanent.  


If transcendence is the infinite You

Oh God
 Immanence is the intimate You

I love Oh God, your greatness
I love it God that you are
BIG
really really BIG
(I am really quite impressed)

But I also love the fact
that you are intimate
That you are present 
That I can “experience” you

I love the paradox of
God in me

I love God as present
in the cat who rubs against my feet
in the beauty of
black eyed Susan's

I love the fact that 
all I have to do
when I need you
is close my eyes
and reach out my hand
spiritually speaking

and
you
are 
there



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