There is a deep hunger within each person,<\/p>\n
a wondering,<\/p>\n
a longing for a grounded Presence.<\/p>\n
For millennia, we\u2019ve been searching.<\/p>\n
We want to know there\u2019s more to this life<\/p>\n
then what is visible.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
So, we look about for the Divine,<\/p>\n
the God of Creation,<\/p>\n
Who spoke and all we see came to be.<\/p>\n
Who breathed Spirit into a virgin<\/p>\n
to form cells and tissue,<\/p>\n
flesh and bone,<\/p>\n
breath and movement amongst this world He created,<\/p>\n
revealing in Emmanuel, Messiah,<\/p>\n
the Beauty that humanity is, was, and will once again be.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In our attempts to understand this Wonder,<\/p>\n
we theorize, theological-ize, capitalize on<\/p>\n
ideas and concepts born of Church and culture,<\/p>\n
economics and public space,<\/p>\n
with a bit of Spirit sprinkled in\u2026 just in case.<\/p>\n
We diligently pursue the Holy<\/p>\n
not to experience our beloved-ness, but rather<\/p>\n
in an attempt to harvest assurance,<\/p>\n
hoard grace, and<\/p>\n
prove or justify in some way that we belong.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We long for hope<\/p>\n
in this wonderful and broken world in which we live<\/p>\n
where pauperism and progress[1]<\/a><\/p>\n are outcomes of the unholy marriage<\/p>\n between some of the great -isms:<\/p>\n Calvinism,<\/p>\n Pietism,<\/p>\n Methodism,<\/p>\n Baptist-ism,<\/p>\n Asceticism,<\/p>\n and Capitalism,[2]<\/a><\/p>\n giving rise to generations of mutant offspring<\/p>\n named Wealth and Poverty,<\/p>\n Elite and Disenfranchised,<\/p>\n Privileged and Marginalized.<\/p>\n Where beliefs of eternal predestination lead<\/p>\n to the ascetic life of denial of the world\u2019s vices<\/p>\n while also tapping into the lure of materialistic abundance,<\/p>\n revealing signs, indeed, sure-fire evidence<\/p>\n of divine chosen-ness;<\/p>\n tangible ways of recognizing the elect from the non-elect,[3]<\/a><\/p>\n the #blessed from #unblessed,<\/p>\n the \u201cUs\u201d from \u201cThem,\u201d<\/p>\n the \u201cSaved\u2019 from \u201cDamned.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Entrenched with \u201cto-dos\u201d and \u201cnot-to-dos,\u201d<\/p>\n \u201csanctification by works,\u201d[4]<\/a><\/p>\n through methods, goals, tasks, and means<\/p>\n we are led to a \u201cwatchful, aware, alert life,\u201d[5]<\/a><\/p>\n of fulfilled calling, <\/em>but devoid of compassion.<\/p>\n Humans saved by Grace<\/p>\n working,<\/p>\n toiling,<\/p>\n and laboring<\/p>\n to erect an \u201ciron cage\u201d mechanism<\/p>\n to rule the world<\/p>\n and wield power over others<\/p>\n like never before in history.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n What have we become<\/p>\n when our theology<\/p>\n pillages Creation?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What have we become<\/p>\n when proving one\u2019s individual salvation outweighs<\/p>\n the good of the Gospel,<\/p>\n or when globalized greed<\/p>\n overpowers generously given Grace?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Why have we allowed authentic spirituality<\/p>\n to vaporize through the iron cage (bars)<\/p>\n of modern rationalism[7]<\/a>, leaving countless<\/p>\n people trapped, hungry, and alone,<\/p>\n at the expense of our fast fashion,<\/p>\n fast-food communion,<\/p>\n and plasticized conveniences?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n One must conclude<\/p>\n we do an exceptional job<\/p>\n at intellectualizing God<\/p>\n and loving others as we love our shame-ridden selves,<\/p>\n \u201cspecialists without spirit,<\/p>\n hedonists without a heart,<\/p>\n nonentities imagin(ing) a stage of humankind<\/p>\n never before reached,\u201d[8]<\/a><\/p>\n the antithesis of the One we claim to follow.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For Jesus came to bind up the brokenhearted,<\/p>\n proclaim freedom for the captives,<\/p>\n and provide release from darkness for the prisoners.[9]<\/a><\/p>\n The iron cage was destroyed.<\/p>\n Once free, why do we choose to live any other way?<\/p>\n Are we like the dog who returns to its vomit,<\/p>\n or the washed sow that goes back to wallowing in the mud?[10]<\/a><\/p>\n Will we ever find our way Home?[11]<\/a><\/p>\n Father, forgive us for we know not what we are doing\u2026<\/p>\n or do we?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n **To be read aloud at a slow, even pace.<\/p>\n Photo by Markus Spiske<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Karl Polyani. The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time<\/em> (Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1944, 1957, 2001) 108.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Max Weber. The Protestant Ethic and the \u201cSpirit\u201d of Capitalism and Other Writings<\/em> (New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2002) 67-122.<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Ibid., 77.<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Ibid. 80.<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> Ibid., 81.<\/p>\n [6]<\/a> Ibid., 121.<\/p>\n [7]<\/a> Francis Fukuyama, \u201cThe Calvinist Manifesto,\u201d in The New York Times. March 13, 2005. Accessed January 27, 2020. https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2005\/03\/13\/books\/review\/the-calvinist-manifesto.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n [8]<\/a> Weber, 121.<\/p>\n