HELLO!
So, have you noticed
that I've been a
good little blog boy lately?
Hey, I've been keeping
most postings to
six/seven hundred words,
a range closer to an article in
Readers Digest
than The Atlantic.
(Yah. I realizes there's also
a qualitative correspondence!!
As Tweety Bird used to say,
"One does what one can!")
Well, this week
I got carried away
and I'm asking you
to come away with me.
Even though it's not Lent,
please just offer it up.
There's a lot packed into
this posting - Creation,
matter and spirit,
our God Good senses.
Please consider taking
all this in reflective parts.
So here goes!
Hope you'll come on along.
Much love, the God kind,
John Frank
PS
Oh yes!
Please don't let the lead-in
of this posting run you off.
Good, as in God,
blessings follow.
******
Dear All of Us,
Whatever was God thinking?
I mean, creating taste buds
eager for a good wine,
the whole deal with sexual
attraction and satisfaction,
legs loving
to dance up a storm,
skin luxuriating between
smooth percale sheets,
hair just waiting to be styled,
a voice energetic
in song and conversation,
all ears for what's going on,
aromatics announcing dinner,
an eye for beauty.
What in the world
was God thinking?
It's all
so sensual
so physical,
so fleshy,
so unspiritual.
After all,
if we want
to be holy,
if we are
serious/sober
about living a solid
spiritual life,
well, we need
to sacrifice,
to be austere,
to mortify the senses,
to discipline the flesh,
to deny pleasure.
Forget cards, concerts,
chocolate cake,
going fishing
or to the movies.
Too earthy, too material.
Well, if you're still there,
let me hasten to note that
long has the Church,
The Body of Christ,
been infected
with sad such,
a debilitating virus:
We can't be holy and
be earthy-happy-human
about it
or
To be holy we need to
beat up on our body,
to shut down the senses
as much as possible
and not mess with matter
anymore than just
enough to stay alive.
Well, God is about
as holy whole as it gets.
And God had a blast
at our blast off
and seems intent
on ever expanding it
as one heck of
a cosmic party.
We call it Creation.
The Bible says at the get go:
"God saw all that he had made,
and it was very good."
Genesis 1:31
Over the ages to our just now
God is joyously busy
expanding the party,
whooping it up -
taste buds, sex, legs,
touch that is
percale appreciative,
seascapes,
pasta dinners,
Chinese Checkers,
AII THAT IS
From early on and still,
some sad sack sorts
soured on the
matter of matter.
Said it was base,
was inferior, even evil,
something to escape as
fast and completely
as possible
so we could attain
some sort of
spiritual heights
- whatever that means.
They are soul sick and sadly
they sicken so many souls,
- party poopers -
and it's God's Party
they negate and decline.
We gotta watch out for them,
not let them "dis"
God Good Matter,
try to find a way to tickle them
tightness free.
God is Spirit.
That Spirit is Love.
And as
Teilhard de Chardin
puts it so simple clear,
Love is the energy
of the universe.
(and I'll bet you
of a different
beyond/within
and unending
that we can't
even imaging)
Spirit presents
in all manner much,
mystical wonder
to wondrous
mountain majesties.
Matter is clearly high on
God's list of favorites.
There's so much of it.
That's what's
really and happily
the matter with Creation.
It's God happening
in uncountable
forms and fashions.
All that is
is a particular
presence of God.
Our senses are
divine doorways
to just that,
the divine presence.
They usher us into
the sacred sanctuary
of beauty and union.
They are a prime way
that God meets us
making for
matter/mystical
ONENESS:
a great cup of coffee,
those percale sheets,
a Verdi opera,
reading scripture,
the salt sent of the sea
taste
touch
hear
see
smell
GOD SENSE
Speaking of matter,
our spiritual lives
are a matter of
showing up where God
has already shown up
and is waiting for us
no matter the manner
- spirit and matter -
and
mixing it up big time,
letting God connect,
embrace, juice us.
It's as simple and
simply wonderous as
playing with the kids,
biking through
the forest,
having a beer
with a friend,
reading a good novel,
cooking supper at
the homeless shelter,
the abundance at
the farmers' market.
a Hymn Sing,
one with
any and all
of
God's Good
Creation
By the way.
We don't need
to create suffering
for a real spiritual life.
No hair shirts,
sleeping on
wooden floors,
bread and water
for a week
are necessary.
Suffering
shows up
on its own.
That's
where and when
we deal with it
in unity with
Jesus the Christ.
We suffer evil
in redeeming good.
As for sacrifice,
we don't need
to give up
candy for Lent.
We need to
reverence and relish
candy and every other
presence/gift of God.
So we don't stuff
ourselves sick with candy.
We don't misuse/mistreat
anyone or anything
in all Creation.
That's our sacrifice
Rather, we "Do God",
have a meet up with God
delighting in all Creation:
seeing those
majestic mountains,
lstening, feeling,
a concert with The Boss,
hand to hoe
working a garden,
making love,
sharing our candy
and everything else
with those without,
That's the
SACRIFICE
"MAKING WHOLE"
- (L) sacra = holy
whole
(L) facere = to do,
to make
That's the
DISCIPLINE
"BEING DISCIPLES"
(L) disciplina
training
learning
of the spiritual life.
It's not self-chosen,
(us in control)
not a severe, sober,
austere, disengaging,
denying and escaping
how God is present
and waiting for us
in things created.
Such would amount to
rejecting God,
God materialized in
all those God Gifts,
and us not connecting
in five God given
sense modes.
We come alive letting
matter and senses
be places and ways of
grace upon grace,
Soulful Living
God Connected
There is, though,
more than a fly
in the ointment.
We and others
have abused ourselves,
others, society, nature,
our whole environment.
We get hurt and we hurt.
Jesus is among us
to straighten and heal.
We join him in
redeeming the wasted,
the violated, as
the Love that is God
flows up and
forth from us
in practical,
helping ways.
There are lots of
crisscrosses to carry.
We want to bare them
all the way to
holy wholeness.
We refuse to miss
the point of
God "mattering".
As a matter of fact we
"Do God" way better
than wasting ourselves
denigrating things like
playing cards,
having a party,
or by throwing out
those percale sheets.
What in the world
was God thinking,
what in the world
is God doing?
Well, and so well is it,
God is busy
mattering,
making
GOD GOOD
GOD MATTERS
GOD GOOD SENSE
We see God
We hear God
in the liveliness
in the energy
all about
We touch, taste
and sense God
in God Love
materialized.
That's what matters.
May it matter and
make sense to us.
It does for God,
GOD SENSE
******
HEY, WE DID IT!
THANKS
Next Online Posting
TUEDAY EVENING
August 6,2924
Eastcoast USA time
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Next Email Delivery
Friday
August 9, 2024
frankly speaking
spirituality for the street
johnfrankshares.blogspot.com
We were blessed with a visit
this week of a group from
COLUMBIA
Welcome to them and all
LAST FIVE POSTING AVAILABLE
by
scrolling down below this posting
As we saw last week
We get to
Live it Up
God Glow
"The glory of God
is a human being
fully alive."
Irenaeus
See you next week
Love to all
God Bless
John Frank
******
