radical work

“If you cannot find Christ in the beggar at the church door you will not find him in the chalice."

                                                            St Chrysostom:

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The basic concept is simple

Jesus articulated it his own unique way

Both in his words and in his life

But it is at the heart of most spirituality

We are not so much individuals

As part of a whole

We participate in something bigger

Something pervasive and foundational

Some of us call this “God”

Some call it “Love” (which is pretty much the same thing)

So each person, fundamentally, is sacred

Each person come from the Sacred

And carries the Sacred

That Presence (Christians call it the Spirit)

Is active, pervasive, and when “awake”

Changes everything

The way we see, think, feel, and yes

And yes

And yes

And yes

Behave

The Sacred is not selective

There is no privileged race

Orange blonde people are not uniquely blessed

Nor are White blondes

Nor are the rich, the powerful, the affluent

All are Sacred

All are Sacred Children

Which is why Jesus implied that we should see the Sacred in everyone

Even those who are poor, hungry, naked, homeless, oppressed,    

Perhaps especially those who are poor, hungry, naked, homeless, oppressed

These are not to be shamed

Ridiculed

Bullied

Excluded

Abused

These are to be treasured

That young black man on the street, sacred

That brown family on the border, sacred

That child in a cage, sacred

That person muttering to himself on the sidewalk, sacred

That one lying drunk in a doorway, Sacred

When we deny that they are Sacred

When we refuse to act with compassion and generosity toward them

We deny our own sacred nature

For we cannot abuse the vulnerable without crushing the sacred within ourselves.

Each time we act to oppress and disrespect,

Each time we act out of hatred, or greed

Each time we deny another healthcare, or food, or housing, or safety

Each time we create a hostile environment and minimize and marginalize another

Each time we engage in cruelty

We crush a bit of ourselves

We diminish ourselves

Until there is nothing left inside

We are an empty shell

And no amount of religious practice

No number of trips to the communion table

And no amount of power

Not even the Presidency

Can make us real again

Only love can do that

Love received, and love given

The solution for Mr Trump

Is for him to go to a soup kitchen on the border, and serve immigrant people

With sincerity and authenticity

Perhaps the solution for me

Is to cook breakfast for the local GOP meeting

And do so with compassion and acceptance

It appears that finding Jesus

Is radical work indeed