The mystery we call God

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Good People,

Most royal greening verdancy,

rooted in the sun

you shine with radiant light.

In this circle of earthly existence

you shine

so finely,

it surpasses understanding.

God hugs you.

You are encircled

by the arms

of the mystery of God.

          Hildegard of Bingen

_____________________________________________

 

how do we think of that power

that presence

that something

that some call God?

 

one thing is for sure

Sacred is not a bearded old white man in a robe

dispensing justice

or not

nor is Sacred a tribal King (or Queen)

favoring some human creatures more than others

(God bless America)

 

but neither is Sacred vague and unformed

something akin to tofu or tapioca pudding!

 

there is something real here

something substantial and even personal

 

so we try to understand

we use images and symbols

we talk about a protective father and a nurturing mother

we invoke wind and fire

 

and our understanding changes and grows

as we change and grow

 

once we saw “God” as angry and demanding

then Jesus came

and now we understand that Sacred/God/El/Father/Mother/Pneuma/Creator

is truly enfleshed

all the time

 

in the creation

Abba! 

this does not mean “daddy”

it goes deeper, or so the wise ones say

it means the one to whom we are intimately connected

and from whom life (in all its forms and phases) comes

 

in us

in the Spirit

 

there el is (I love L’Engle’s term)

knocking around in our souls

not distant, not impassive, not angry, not punishing, not vindictive

but

 

One (another inadequate term)

who shares our pain

who hurts when we hurt

who is truly with us

who feels the fall of every sparrow

who fills us with love

 

Abba!

Life-giver

El

Father

Mother

Spirit

Son

One

Beloved

Mystery

 

I do not understand

I only know that when the sun rises, I see God

when I look at the mountain thrusting into the sky

and the eagle soaring

and the child laughing

and the aged person shuffling

 

when I see the deer in the woods

the cat on the porch

the calves dancing in the field

 

when I feel the wind on my face

and smell the pines

 

I am in the presence of Love