frankly speaking: IN THE LOOP

Dear All of Us,

I'm retired,

well, at least officially.

In the last five years

I preached the funeral service

for a darling dear friend

and baptized my much loved,

Spirit Sharing Grand Son.

That's it.

So, as far as churchy things go,

I am "Out of the loop."

And it doesn't stop there.

In my day I was

a competent "techie" -

ditto copying, microfiche,

(if you remember that one,

do be sure your will,

power of attorney and

medical directive

are all up to date),

Xerox, email and texting.

At about seventy-five it was

"No more already!!"

I opted out of the loop.

I now count on my kids

to navigate for me

the spooky,

weird waves of

apps for apps, media mania,

changes changing changes,

so artificial as not to be

all that intelligent!

When it comes to

gigabytes I scratch.

When it comes to platforms,

well happily I can still find

the right one at train station.

Yep, "Out of the loop."

Of special interest to me

in these days of difficulty, though,

are the topics and techniques

that deal with trust.

I so hope all of us

will be full free

In the Loop

because we live

in a time

when trust is out,

doubt and fear are in.

Folks are full of

self-doubt,

doubt each other,

fear for the future -

if we even get to have one.

There's train loads of a

not-one-bit mild mistrust of

corporations, politicians, governments,

the rule of law - and its lack -

media, religion.

All this leaves so many

of us naked to

thrashing turmoil

within and without.

If we can't trust,

we fear we'll get trashed,

and we will!

So, is there a

Trust Clause

somewhere, somehow

accessible in all this,

one that really holds up

TRUST

There sure is.

In the legal loop there is the

principle and practice

Good Faith.

In our spiritual lives

we have that and way more.

Available to us is a

Good Faith

ever so much more

pervasive, solid,

and dependable.

It is the reality,

the principle,

the potential

and power of a

God

Good Faith

Sad to say, though,

the word

"faith"

too often translates as

"Whistling in the dark" -

at best it distracts but

has no actual impact.

It's a placebo for the

psychologically, intellectually,

emotionally weak kneed,

a mythic rabbit's foot.

Such is the unfortunate folly

caused by the folks

in the front office of

Corporate Religion.

Heavy Headed

Heavy Hearted

Heavy Handed

Churchy Titans

playing God

about God,

dogmatizing to death,

the death of lots of

good peoples' faith.

They make faith

a head trip,

a required assent

to tenants about God

that thy fashion

then deem divine.

It's assent or be dammed.

They replace a faith that is

Love Lived Goodness

- one that never takes a day off- with

Man (yes, male mostly!) Made

mandates of their invention.

What a perversion.

It has run off generations

of intelligent seekers,

and dulled billions more into

Dogma Religion

- affirm these tenants and

you are safe and saved.

It's a theology they devise

and then canonize as divine.

For sure, theological study

in its purity is a good thing,

a help as St. Anselm said:

" Theology is faith

seeking understanding."

It is, though, limited.

Theological understandings and

statements are not faith.

They are human comments

on our frail "figurings"

and slender experiences of

the ineffable goodness

we call God.

Here's a wonderous key.

It unlocks so much more and better.

The word for faith in the Bible

is most accurately translated not

as faith but as active, vigorous

TRUST

It is living

in and with

God Goodness

and that with real,

personal, practical

Confidence

A wimpy-weak analogy

is to take the confidence,

the trust we have,

in the pilot when we fly.

We don't know or understand

anything about her/him.

We do trust her/him enough

to stake our lives on her/his

competence and care.

Ramp that kind of trust up

to living in a

Limitless Loop of Love.

That's Faith!

That's Trust!

We don't/can't come

intellectually close

to understanding it.

Way better,

we are integral,

solid and secure in

the lived experience of it,

The Limitless Loop of Love

that's center is everywhere

and circumference is nowhere.

It's What Is,

Ex-"IS"-tence,

"Act"-uality

"Be"-ing

"Life"-itself

"Good"-fundamental

GOD

And come to find out

it is not only benign,

it is sheer, pulsating,

ecstatic

Love Making

It is bedrock

Reality

and it does not fall out

from under us ever

no matter

the intensity of trouble.

If Mother Earth

is raped numb,

if the atmosphere

is traumatized

to death dealing,

if neo-fascists

grab governance,

if some sorry soul

pushes the button

and sets off global

nuclear incineration,

we will hurt terribly,

but we will not cease/stop.

We are indestructible.

We spring free forward

in the divine dynamic,

The Limitless Loop of Love.

That loop is so good it is God.

"God is Love."

1 John 4:8

That's what "IS"

We're already "in"

"IN LOVE"

We more and more

en - Trusrt

ourselves and all creation

in the reality and power of it.

This Love Loop

has no beginning, no end.

It's ever now, a swirl

of creative energy,

a gyre of goodness,

God Goodness.

Faith is trust in it.

Faith is confidence

that affirms and

embraces it and

our oneness

in its Oneness.

For us, as for the people

Jesus cured,

"Your trust

has made you whole."

Jesus

My Mom really, practically,

trustingly lived God Love.

When she was dying

she teased about

her meds making her mind

more and more Loopy.

At 1:30 in the morning

she awoke, smiled and

peacefully passed to next,

evermore and forever

IN THE LOOP

ENDLESS LOVE

She was completely

LOVE LOOPY

Now and then

and for all whens,

we live by trust.

As Proverbs 3:4-5 in

The Message

has it:

" Trust God

from the bottom

of your heart;

don't try to

figure out everything

on your own.

Listen to God's voice

in everything you do,

everywhere you go,

he's the one who will

keep you on tract."

Yes, keep you

In The Loop.

Happy to be "on tract"

In The Loop

with you.

John Frank

******

A Warm Welcome

to all visiting here

for the first time.

So glad we can

be together.

frankly speaking

spirituality for the street

johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

click top left at

frankly speaking

BEST DELIVERY

Weekly email

Fridays

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

IN THE LOOP