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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



Saturday, June 15, 2024

Breaking Points

… we all have our breaking points, and when we break we say more about ourselves than about the one who is the victim of our breaking.  I will fall and, in my falling, I will drag you with me, and I will drag you to my own hell with me… hello to what we hate.

          Padraig O’Tuama (In the Shelter)

 

Why is it that the choice among churches always seems to be the choice between intelligence on ice and ignorance on fire?

          Diana Bulter Bass (Christianity after Religion)

________________________

 

Anger works

Hate works

Creating enemies works

 

Ah, the power of enmity

Of having “those” people out there who are

Dangerous

Less

More

Wrong

Scary

 

We have seen that it is true

A “nice” church

A church that seeks to “play well with other children”

Falters and fails

 

Its fire gone

 

We have seen that those churches that

Who are hostile and superior toward all others

Burn hot!

 

Is there something about us human creatures?

Something wrong

That forces us into hostility and

Defensiveness?

 

Why does hate motivate

And not love?

 

Why do people gather

Excited and worshipful

In crowds fueled by resentment

To follow those who preach hate

Retribution

Domination

Punishment?

 

Why do they cheer and laugh

As people are demeaned and ridiculed

Torn down

Robbed of their humanity?

 

It is undeniable

 

And those who talk peace?

And compassion

Inclusion

Those who seek to be kind?

 

They are lost in the conflagration

Snowflakes

Who simply melt away in the fire of hate!

 

What does it say about us?

That we need enemies?

Our need for things to fight against

Rather than things to fight for

(we often pretend we are fighting for things when we are really fighting against)

 

What does it say about us that we need to be motivated

By a fire without?

 

Have we forgotten that being a Sacred child

And working for the Kingdom of Love

Is about having a fire within?

The Fire of the Spirit

 

Have we forgotten how Jesus lived?

And taught

And related

And loved

And gave up power

And went to a cross?

 

Perhaps the cross looked like a defeat

Perhaps it looked like the end

Perhaps it looked weak

Perhaps

 

But there was power there

In those words, “Father, forgive them”

There was power in Jesus building bridges of love

Even as he was being killed

 

A power that became apparent

When love conquered hate

And life conquered death

And an ending became a beginning

 

How have we left that all behind?

To become those cheering Herod,

Those caught up in the power of the mob

Crying “crucify Jesus”

Give us Barabbas?

 

We do not want to be insipid

But neither do we want to rely on the power of hate

 

How do we keep the passion alive

For justice, equity, inclusion, truth

Respect?

 

It takes the Spirit

It takes wind and fire

It takes God

It takes us being connected, deeply

With the power that set the stars in place

And created the beauty around us

And

Paradoxically

became incarnate as a human baby

And died an ignominious death

 

We must be fueled by a fire from within

Rather than by a fire from without

 

And even then

Even then we will struggle

Not to move toward either hostility

Or dullness

 

God help us!

This path is not easy

Nor logical

But it is

The way

 


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