We sing of the darkness embraced by John, The mystic called John of the Cross, A darkness he entered with joyful hope…
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A meandering stream runs close to a rural church dear to his childhood
With clear water in springtime, turned a sullied brown by summer’s end
If passion urges us to take
Our inner dragon’s life;
If we think Michael’ s sword of force
Can quell our inner strife
When I pray to you for help, O God,
Do I hope that you will intervene,
Treating me as powerless as a child
Who can do no more than kick or scream?
As a human being come of age
Help me work with you to earth each dream.
I am greater than my thinking
Or the follies of my heart,
I can grow in self awareness
That promotes a brand new start,
When we discern Earth’s fractured face,
When parts diverge to form extremes,
Can joining hands suffice to build
A world fulfilling Gospel dreams?
While Luke’s narrative, the most detailed account of the birth of Jesus, is lyrical and inspiring, in the Birth of Jesus, Spong persuasively demonstrates it is allegory. Layer by layer, Spong weighs every element of the New Testament stories against Old Testament legends building a convincing case. Spong’s essays step backward and forward through the scriptures demonstrating why each element was chosen by the early CE writers to establish Jesus’ lineage and divinity. It is a fascinating and persuasive journey and a remarkable illustration of Biblical scholarship.
read moreWe are always part of the other
And the other is part of our-self
For nothing is as simple as it seems.
Amid the many thoughts
Of what we each might be
What images can help us live
With hope and dignity?
The darkness and the light shall be one,
The sorrow and the joy linked in wonder,
Life shall dance,
The song be sung
And the golden fire burn brightly
In the hearts of the children of the Earth.
Taste and see how gracious the Christ is,
Taste and see the wonder of life;
Take the bread, the body of Jesus,
Break the bread, the flesh of the world;
Taste and see the wonder of life.
O golden cup of life,
A chalice full of love,
The space beyond all strife
You form our sacred home,
Your ways produce delight,
Your life becomes our own.
With such an expansive awareness of our universe and our place in it, it is necessary to pause and honor the corners we turn, the milestones, the past and the present. But meaning is lost when the words are irrelevant, when language is outdated, and practices are dogmatic and un-evolving. As progressive Christians, we are called to walk into the mystery of change, while at the same time keeping close to our hearts the timeless teachings of our tradition. Our life celebrations and rituals must then reflect this call, this necessary aspect of our path. Sacred community is a space to explore these traditions and to create new ones.
read moreOnly recently I have come to realize that these were familiar and comfortable rituals, even if the words no longer had the same meaning for many of the attendees. These were rituals most of these folks in attendance had been repeating for decades. They were probably not paying attention to words or their meanings. But they were participating in something that brought them together with their church family or their denominational home. They were experiencing oneness, a connection of body and soul with the people who surrounded them. That is what rituals are supposed to do.
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Most Christians, however, have a different take on the monistic approach, and believe that a divine presence inheres in all that is. God is. And God is everywhere, although hidden except to the eyes of faith. As progressive Christians, this is where we must take our stand. The sacred and the secular co-inhere. The one is in the other. With this as our basis, the questions now become: what language do we use? to whom are we speaking? do we speak directly of God? Let’s assume that we are at a ceremony of some sort, perhaps a wedding, a Thanksgiving dinner, a Christmas day gathering, a funeral. Let us also suppose that the crowd is mixed: some Christians, some Jews, some secularists. Is there a language that not only will not alienate anyone but will also communicate to them the depth of the moment? I believe there is.
read moreMay the food that we eat
And the friends that we share
Give us strength for spreading
True justice and peace.
