Theology Unleashed...on an Overcast Sabbath Morning

I call you "God"...
I call you "God"-
   that one whom I can neither understand nor explain
      who dwells in enshrouded mystery
      yet manifests in my life
      day after day
   that one whom I know even as I am encompassed by
      the Great Unknown
      who fills and enlivens and empowers me
      in ways both terrifying and glorious

I call you "God"-
   for no other human word fits-
   yet even this one fits badly,
   since those three small letters hold within their grasp
      meanings both familiar and strange
   bear definitions which vary from person to person,
      time to time, place to place, even day to day
      within my own experience.

I call you "God"-
   but Holy One, Ground of Being, Source of Life,
   Creating Energy are other names to which I turn
   as I seek to know you, to embody you, to honor you
      with my living and being

I call you "God"- and sometimes, this is enough.

clothed  (from Life Lines)
'The spiritual clothing one
person wears can never fit
the soul of another.'- so say
the ancient Celts. Yet we modern
folk insist the garb of spirituality
be 'one-size-fits-all'... losing in this
homogeneity the awareness of the
        beauty and uniqueness
        of individuality.
Some days, I wear the
cheerful garb of rainbow
colors, of swirling patterns,
of rustling, swaying fabrics
        which enhance & enliven
        my dancing walk...
On others, I reach for somber
gray & black, the muted blue
of denim, fabrics both quiet
and still, accompanying my
        silent way through
        thoughtfulness and
        remembered grief.
And much as I would like to
shed my garb at times to
clothe myself in yours, I know
it will not fit... and you cannot
wear mine...
       The best we can do, I think,
       is walk together, hand in hand,
       in loving company and holy
       admiration for the way in
       which our clothing fits,
       enhances, beautified,
       defines who we each are.

loving God...   (from Life Lines)
What does it mean to
     love God?
Is it to love life?
Is it to love creation?
Is it to love others?
After all, if God is all in all,
              if God is source and substance,
              if God is creator and sustained,
                        then- ALL of the above...
     But perhaps even more,
          it is to know
               You are LOVED
                             VALUED
                             ACCEPTED
                             CHERISHED
     and perhaps that is why it is
         such a challenge...
                              I wonder...

God talk (from Life Lines)
My personal theology is truly
an amalgam- born of experience and learning
                            of the daily journey
                                       and occasional revelation.
My roots are deep within Christianity, but they
have grown and blossomed into an ever-diverse
expression of God with us
                     God IN us
                     God around us!
     It is not about being right,
     or having the right answers.
     It is about finding my own way,
                      being a perpetual pilgrim
                            on the journey of life
                      and meeting many and varied
                            companions along the way.

God speaks... (from Life Lines)
God speaks-
   in the sound of rolling thunder
   in the early-morning warble
        of the wren
   in the delighted giggle of
        a baby playing with its toes
   in the quiet murmur of friends
        sharing life's secrets
   in the majestic and mysterious and
        melodic strains of Mozart and Sondheim,
        Joplin and McCartney
   in the insistent and persistent chant
        of Navaho shamans
   in the whirling dance of
        Sufi mystics
   in the quiet dedicated chant of Buddhist
        monks and nuns in Tibet and Burma
   in the taste of shared bread and wine
        in Christian worship
   in the gentle thud of earth
        scattered on a coffin
God speaks in languages
many and varied...
                    so how can we listen
                    in only one?

needing space (from Life Lines)
In Hebrew, so I am told, one of
the earliest words for 'salvation'
is also the word for 'space'...
          So how have we made
          the road to salvation
          so narrow, so well-defined?
In order to grow,
              to become,
              to be transformed,
we need S                 P                A                 C               E
           both within and without...
we need companions who, in love and
           trust and compassion, both allow &
           encourage us to be and become who we are
                                                             meant to be...
           to celebrate & cherish &
                preserve our differences as
                well as our oneness and connection
                to all that lives.
Perhaps we have so narrowed the road
     because conformity is comfortable...
     because difference is daunting...
     because answers are preferable to questions...
But then, where is room for
     the awesome, breath-stopping joy
     of mystery?
     the overwhelming, miraculous
     wonder of resurrection and
     new life?