“We live in a world of complex people in various stages of self-recognition before God, with all the sins of ego and envy and grasping for power that fight with the fruits of the Spirit within us. That’s the sad truth. Are we swimming in the current, the words of Jesus guiding us through the rapids and whirlpools, or are we being swept away by our needs, lack of faith, the secular world?”
“You don’t have to have much faith, apparently. You can yell out to God, “Leave me alone,” and that is all God needs to know that you want to be made well.”
“Jesus said in Matthew, ‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today (6:34).’ I wish I could say it’s an easy thing to do, but when the checking account doesn’t cover next week’s groceries, or the heating element in the oven burns up, or some other situation arises where I have little or no control, it’s hard not to worry.”
“Although we tend to think of “calling” in terms of the call to ordained ministry or vowed religious life, in reality every baptized Christian is called to something, and that call is neither self-determined, nor solely a “Me ‘n’ God” thing. If a call is there, the collective spiritual wisdom in the community–and not only the Christian community–will see it–yet it is the role of the Christian community to interpret the data.”
As she served the soup she’d always say, “Keep a stone in your pocket and you’ll never go hungry,” adding, “Jesus said that if we are silenced in praising God for all the wonders of creation, even the stones will cry out.”
“Imagine that, a God who wants to please you, who wants you to be happy. Not happy as in giddy, but happy as in fulfilled, or connection.”
“It’s an important reminder that going to church is meant to be joyful and lifegiving. It’s meant to be a place to go to let go of the rush and stress of the days. It’s a place to meet friends and be in community. It’s a place to rest at the feet of Jesus. It’s the place to receive tiny bits of bread and wine trusting God to transform the tiny pieces into an abundance. It’s a place to ask hard questions. It’s a place to be known.”
“The early Church had little to go on except the letters of Paul and the memory of the Apostles and first disciples, and the practice of the Eucharist and Baptism by water and the Holy Spirit. For that first Church it probably didn’t matter so much how they saw the Incarnate One. They worshiped the one Holy One in Jesus’ name as instructed, practiced charity as instructed, and developed methods of creating social and religious bonds amongst each other by praying together and eating together.”
“Here’s the gospel in the Trinity: God speaks of Godself as an individual, “I am…” God says. God the Father says it, God the Son says it, God the Holy Spirit says it. That is part of the Trinity, or the inner life of God. God is also present to the other members of the divine collective. God the Father is, God the Son is, and God the Holy Spirit is.”
“Paul informs us we are ambassadors of Christ… As ambassadors of Christ, we are charged to convey the message of love and forgiveness, peace and equality, care for the earth and its people in all its diversity. It’s a message the world sorely needs to hear now, just as it has been for millennia, and we are the ones charged with spreading it.”