Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
“Whoever is not against us is for us.”
—Mark 8.40
People have this odd idea
that religions are in competition,
mutually exclusive, as if at war.
But religion is the opposite of war.
If you are one with God
you are one with all,
including your enemies,
or you religion is a sham.
Do we not already follow the prophets
of two different faiths?
If you like the way Jesus sees the world,
can you not learn from the Buddha?
If you read Emily Dickinson
must you denounce Robert Frost?
Let your religion be this,
to tend to the unloved,
to heal the world
with kindness
as you have been given unearned kindness,
to be present to the grace
that flows in and around you.
And those who are against you—
tend to them, for they are unloved,
heal them with kindness they can’t expect,
be present to the grace hidden even in them;
or you have already abandoned your faith.
“There are a thousand ways
to kneel and kiss the ground.”
If you fight
for anything more complicated than that
you are pretending to know more than you do.
Kneel and kiss the ground.
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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