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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



Sunday, April 13, 2025

From meritocracy to grace

It takes all of us a long time to move from power to weakness, from glib certitude to vulnerability, from meritocracy to the ocean of grace.

                                                          Richard Rohr            

_____________________________________

 

God is not at all

like we might want our God to be

 

we love to point to the God of creation

and focus on omnipotence and omniscience

 

we look for God in mighty acts

acts of power

acts of dominance, even wrath

 

and since think of God this way

our faith is defined

accordingly

 

to follow God means power

to follow God means safety and ease

wealth and success

 

and we stand, Pharisee like

on our pillars of righteousness

believing (although we may not actually admit this)

that we have done something

to earn our place

in the circle of God’s love

 

and we stand secure, and comfortable

 

Palm Sunday

The Upper Room

Gethsemane

The Cross

 

should remind us

that God’s ultimate act of power

was profoundly expressed through vulnerability

and weakness

 

through yielding

and giving

all

 

that there might be an end to hate

and the birth of love

 

Forgive me, for all those moments

when I fail to see you in the little acts

of vulnerability and love

 

Forgive me Lord, for the times I forget

that is it when I am vulnerable

when I am a server (not the served)

that is when I am willing to

give pieces of myself

 

that I am most intensely on Your Way

 

Forgive me when I think that being yours

Is a matter of merit

 

Help me Lord, drift gently on the ocean of grace


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