Dear All of Us,
So, guess what?
Well, that's not really a question.
It's a lead in to me blowing off a bit.
You see, I just spent
the whole darn morning
writing a long, big, fat,
bloated blog piece
all about our
spiritual life.
It's a mess mass of
words.
EKKKS!!
******
LATER
Thanks for letting me word
my frustration with
this morning's word overload.
After prayer and a nap
here's a new go at it.
******
Actually, our spiritual life is
a beautifully simple matter.
ONE WORD
does it.
Our whole spiritual life
in a word is
YES
Our whole spiritual life
is a
Lived
YES
to
God Good
practical and personal
Watch out, though.
Sad too much
so called spirituality
words us to death
as I started to do
this morning.
It piles on
a dump truck of
"Have To's"
and
"Don't You Dares,"
worries us down.
It wares the
liv'n heck out of us.
We have to
figure out and do
a heaven of a lot
to get there and
avoid a hell of a lot more
to not go there.
It's decidedly
an overtime job X2.
Well, we're just not up to it.
It's like an electrical cord
stressing for the output
of a generator.
Better put, the wonderous word
of the spiritual life is that
God is in a Love Burst,
God is branching out
all over the place
We call it Creation.
God is
Self-Expressing
Love Making
proteins to planets,
tulips to Grand Tetons.
And
most of all
God passionately wants
to self-express,
to expand
as us and through us.
All we have to do is
live a
YES
God takes care
of the rest.
God not only supplies the energy,
God is the energy and the Reality
that we can be and do in our
unique, personal, human way.
God wants to be
person present
in us
through us,
in person
in the persons we are.
(Yes, that's repetitious.
May it add emphasis
to what God wants
and we need notice!)
As many here know,
my favorite most parable
is John 15:1-8.
Jesus offers to be our life
and to be fruitful through us:
"I am the vine and
you are the branches...
This is my father's glory,
that you bear much fruit"
In other words, Jesus is asking
can I happen as you,
can I love you to life in my life,
can I be personal and present
in you and through you,
can I be
the unique body,
personality,
gifts and abilities,
soul and psyche
I so want to be for you
and through you
for others?
Can we be so close
that we are
paradoxically,
actually,
Two In One
Separately Same
God wants to be
placed and personal
to
particular
people and places,
those in our zone
through us.
To rework that homey,
hooky image above,
God is the generator and
we are the electrical cord.
God is our current and
we are God's
connectors/conduits.
God electrifies,
powers us and
through us.
Our lived
YES
means things like:
We let God be intimate
to our deepest selves
in prayer.
We delight with union
in God and
with all of God's
people and Creation.
We rejoice in our uniqueness.
We open wide to God
surging through us:
- in the oneness of
that mystical union
- giving us right and real
direction in life
- in our spiritual
sensitivities and practices
- in voting, investing
our conscience
not our pocketbook
or privilege
- in being patient with
the loudmouth at
(work, church, a party,...)
- in having enough and
sharing all the rest
(admonition of St. Augustine)
- in being serious without being
stone cold sober somber,
- in being easy, lightsome
without being
flighty feather fluffy,
- in helping to clear
the dinner table
when we feel like
heading for
the lounge chair
- in changing a particularly
repugnant diaper
- in deep community
as a church
- in buying and using
environmentally
just products
- in fully applying
ourselves at work
- in using and sharing
our particular
talents and abilities for
The Common Good:
hospitality, coaching,
mentoring, organizing,
writing, leading,
sharing gifts that are
musical, intellectual, artistic,
athletic, spiritual, financial,
crafts and trades,
sponsoring/supporting
social justice efforts ...
God is a Love Surge.
God craves Oneness
with us.
There are people and places
where God wants to plug in
and energize
and that through us.
What do we say?
May it be a robust,
vigorous, wholly
Love Lived
YES
******
FURTHERENCE
"I live now not I,
but Christ lives in me."
Galatians 2:20
What are the
personal and practical
implications of this
for each of us and
for our spiritual community?
******
Speaking of Spiritual Surge
It's been another week with
many, many new folks
joining in with us here at
frankly speaking
There's been
a significant surge
from
The Netherlands
Welcome groups and individuals
from around our
GLOBAL NEIGHBERHOOD
OUR NEXT POSTING
Tuesday morning/afternoon
East Coast USA time
April 8, 2025
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scrolling down beneath
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Great to be together.
Have a good week.
Love to all.
God Bless,
John Frank
frankly speaking
spirituality for the street
johnfrankshares.blogspot.com
******
