Center for Action and Contemplation ~ Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation: ”God Is Not a Spectator” ~ Friday, 25 October 2013
Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation
Sixth Theme: The path of descent is the path of transformation. Darkness, failure, relapse, death, and woundedness are our primary teachers, rather than ideas or doctrines (Process).
“God Is Not a Spectator”
Meditation 37 of 51
We live in a finite world where everything is dying, shedding its strength. This is hard to accept, and all our lives we look for exceptions to it. We look for something strong, undying, infinite. Religion tells us that something is God. Great, we say, we’ll attach ourselves to this strong God. Then this God comes along and says, “Even I suffer. Even I participate in the finiteness of this world.” Thus Clare and Francis’ image of God was not an “almighty” and strong God, but in fact a poor, vulnerable, and humble one like Jesus. This is at the heart of the Biblical and Franciscan worldview.
The enfleshment and suffering of Jesus is saying that God is not apart from the trials of humanity. God is not aloof. God is not a mere spectator. God is not merely tolerating or even healing all human suffering. Rather, God is participating with us—in all of it—the good and the bad! I wonder if people can avoid becoming sad and cynical about the tragedies of history if they do not know this.(Adapted from Job and the Mystery of Suffering, p. 25 The Daily Meditations for 2013 are now available in Fr. Richard’s new book Yes, And . . . .)
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Center for Action and Contemplation
1705 Five Points Rd SW, Albuquerque, NM 87105 (physical)
PO Box 12464, Albuquerque, NM 87195-2464 (mailing)
(505) 242-9588
cac.org
1705 Five Points Rd SW, Albuquerque, NM 87105 (physical)
PO Box 12464, Albuquerque, NM 87195-2464 (mailing)
(505) 242-9588
cac.org
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