September 4, 2017 Chapter 2 Being Human
Dear Fellow Pilgrims,
For a while I taught seniors at Roncalli High School in Indianapolis. Every year around spring break I would have one of my students ask if they could confess what they were going to do so they could save time when they got home. (the answer was always no). The second thing they would tell me is that they were going to get a tattoo on spring break. I would always answer: "If you must get a tattoo, get one that says Imago Dei" Then I would explain that Imago Dei is Latin for in the Image of God.
It seemed appropriate for the readings of this week. We are created, each one of us, in the image of God. As McLaren points out that means above all that we experience the world through relationships. The readings for this week remind me to focus in on the relationships I have in my life. Try not to take them for granted. That can be difficult as we navigate this world in breakneck speed. But good to keep in mind nonetheless.
Question number three I find most interesting because I think there are so many people who reflect God's love to me.
There's Ethel who was a parishioner in Indianapolis. She was simple and holy and had a smile that radiated warmth. She could laugh at herself easily but was never too critical of another. Most of all, she was kind.
There's my friend, Tony, who has a passion for life and learning and growing. Tony is never satisfied and is always striving for more. I think God is like that...always wanting more but more for us...
Members of my family show me God all the time. They put up with me! They let me be who am and challenge me to be more than I think I can be.
What about you? What strikes you about the readings this week? Who shows the image of God to you?
When I considered my watershed (Engage #5), my first thought was the pond we built when we developed our land. The pond filled quickly and we've used it for swimming, watering animals, and use it for our geothermal heat & A/C system. I also love to just look at it, watch the fish jump &, turtle noses, hear the frogs, and watch the occasional bird or waterfowl that visits.
ReplyDeleteAs I did the meditation (Engage #6), I considered how my examples and faith flows to others (their "watershed")and how I, hopefully, have a positive impact on other's faith journey like my grandmother had on mine (Engage #3). I would like to think that I don't intentionally do or say anything that would "pollute" anyone's journey. You never know how a simple statement or action can impact someone else's journey.
I gave a homily one time that I called "The Ripple Effect." When you throw a rock into a pond, the water ripples out sending the effects wider and wider. I think the same is true about our lives. An act of kindness, a gentle word, a good compliment...all go a long way toward making the world a little better place to be. I've seen that ripple in your life, Michele, and in the lives of so many others at JPII as well.
ReplyDeleteThis time around, when reading the creation story I started reflecting on the trees: the tree of life, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
ReplyDeleteI wonder why only 2 trees? Why not more? Why even have trees to represent those subject? What's the point of having a tree of knowledge if we aren't meant to use it?
I also think about the purpose of needing the tree of knowledge if we were already built in His image. Which implies we already have all the knowledge needed.
In my quest of being right and avoiding being wrong, it is easy to forget the source of my power. The more I try to be right, the farther away I move from the Source. Which in turn, creates more chaos in my life.
I am finally getting to understand the meaning of the words "for the day you eat of that, you are doomed to die." (Gen 2:17)
Death comes from separation of the God, which expresses itself in a drama filled life due to me pursuing what logic says it is the "right" thing to do.
Juan, I love the depth of your posts. It is neat to see you wrestling with what I consider the "deeper" points of the book.
ReplyDeleteIt has always been good for me to remember that it is not the tree of knowledge but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil...Perhaps the drama that fills our life when we try to do the right thing changes a little bit when we try to do the Jesus thing...I think that is what McLaren is getting at in the next chapter...