As I sat in conversation with her last night after dinner, we talked about the very real concerns of people our age in regards to the Church. We know that fewer and fewer young people worship with a parish community, but yet they still crave community, meaning in life, and social justice.
My best answer (right now) to these concerns is that the view of God that Church gives us isn't anywhere big enough. I say that because God encompasses community, meaning in life, and social justice for me, among so many other things like mercy, joy, forgiveness, and truth. And because of that, I need my faith in God.
Deep conversation like what we shared raises a lot of questions, perhaps (and hopefully) more questions than what we start with. I told her that it made me think of a Denise Levertov poem. (Title: A Gift)
Just when you seem to yourself
nothing but a flimsy web
of questions, you are given
the questions of others to hold
in the emptiness of your hands,
songbird eggs that can still hatch
if you keep them warm,
butterflies opening and closing themselves
in your cupped palms, trusting you not to injure
their scintillant fur, their dust.
You are given the questions of others
as if they were answers
to all you ask. Yes, perhaps
this gift is your answer.
So, this is my question for you right now...What words does God encompass for you?
Let us walk in the holy presence.
P.S. Another gift - the spider plant given to me by two sisters in the community has its first flower!
