a Baptist, a Methodist, and a Jew

a Baptist, a Methodist, and a Jew July 20, 2008

I said this was going to be a religious blog and not a personal blog, but at some point, the religion has to become personal or it’s of no value. So please indulge me for a few paragraphs.

I’ve been a bit frustrated lately, not making the progress with study and meditation that I’d like. And when that happens, I start hearing old voices. These old voices were telling me that I was wasting my time, that all this spiritual stuff is fake, that religion really is the opiate of the masses.

But today, I had messages from three very different sources. First, I caught a few minutes of Charles Stanley on TV. He was talking a bunch of fundamentalist nonsense when it occurred to me that that’s the world he lives in. If his world is real for him, there’s no reason why my UU Pagan Druid world can’t be real for me.

Then, on the way to church, I was listening to Lover’s Lane Methodist on WRR. While their minister isn’t a universalist, he is a very inclusive Christian. Today he was preaching on the call of Moses. He had two key points: “can you hear me now?” (stealing the Verizon ad to say that first God has to get our attention) and “what are your excuses – let’s get them out of the way up front.” He quoted someone else saying that your vocation lies at the intersection of your deep desires and the world’s deep needs. I need to quit making excuses and stick to answering the call I’ve received. I have a deep desire to learn, and sooner or later that’s going to intersect with someone’s deep needs.

Finally, I got to DUUF. Our guest speaker was Rabbi Geoffrey Dennis of Congregation Kol Ami in Flower Mound, who preached on labyrinths. One key point was that inspiration comes through absence – when the stimulation stops, then the imagination can take over. And he described labyrinths as (among other things) trials that you must get through.

So, the message from all three sources aligns: this is as real as you want to make it, stop making excuses, and do the work you know you need to do.

Back to studying…


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