What do we do with God?

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… if you tell me I have to be born again to enter the Kingdom of God, I can tell you that you have to see everything you have and give it to the poor, because Jesus said that to one guy too (pause) I guess that is why God invented highlighters, so we can highlight the parts we like and ignore the rest

          Rich Mullins, quoted by Shane Clairborne

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what do we do with this God

we say we worship?

 

What do we do with this God who comes to us

as a baby

walks in the dust of rural roads

eats and laughs with sinners

refuses to fight violence with violence

and eschews the path of domination and wealth?

 

What do we do with the God who

Responds to the hate and evil of the world with love?

Who looks down from a cross, the death machine of Empire,

and speaks forgiveness?

Who sees another in pain beside him and speaks hope?

 

We have so often gotten God wrong!

We worry about whether God “gets” us.

But do we get God?

 

Do we get that God really is love?

Do we understand  (as Richard Rohr puts it) that God is “the prodigal of prodigious prodigies” (Isaiah 29.14)

Always surprising us with grace

Even while we try to layer God with words, creeds, rules, and rituals,

even while we try to recreate Yahweh into a God of domination and affluence.

 

God has one goal

To permeate us with Sacred Love

To fill with Sacred Presence so we have a little of God’s

Generosity, compassion, kindness, forgiveness, and love

 

So that we respond to those around us the way God responds to us

With prodigal love

 

The kind of love that sees the poor, and chooses to live with less

so that one might give more

That sees the oppressed and chooses to live with less power

so that they might have more power

That sees hate and chooses not to respond with hate and violence

 

A love that is willing to sacrifice

Let go

In order to serve and heal

 

What do we do with this God we say we worship?

We let God astound us with Love!

With wonder upon wonder

 

We let God love us more!

Because that is what God wants to do!

Until our hearts burn!

 

And then we live accordingly

Until out of the gloom and darkness comes light

Until the humble rejoice

And the needy have plenty

And the ruthless vanish (Isaiah 29)