|
The mystic was back from the desert.
“Tell us,” they said, “what God
Is like.”
But how could he ever tell them
What he had experienced in
His heart? Can God
Be put into words?
He finally gave them a formula—so
Inaccurate, so inadequate—in the hope
That some of them might be tempted
To experience it for themselves.
They seized upon the formula.
They made it a sacred text.
They imposed it on others as a holy belief.
They went to great pains to spread it in
Foreign lands. Some even gave their
Lives for it.
The mystic was sad. It might have
Been better if he had said nothing.
—Anthony DeMello, The Song of the Bird
A church member went to his pastor asking for guidance. The pastor asked the man, “Have you prayed about this?” “Yes,” replied the man. “Then,” asked the pastor, “what is God saying?” “Well,” said the man, “the Bible says.” The pastor interrupted, saying, “Friend, I did not ask you want the Bible says, did I? I asked you what God is saying.”
Once upon a time Jesus came back and breathed again on his followers, saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Some persons closed the breath in a bag, so they thought. They started a new church and placed the bag on a stand inside a sanctuary. Great crowds came and adored the bag. Guards had to guard the bag at all times to make sure it was not stolen. Other persons claimed they were the only persons able to receive such holy breath. So, they set themselves up in a hierarchy in their church they started, and they taught the people about the breath and created a creed about it. Other persons started a University of the Breath. They created many theories and authored many books and articles about the breath. They had conferences with esteemed scholars on the breath. Another group of persons formed a church that believed the breath and its power were only for those it was given to by Jesus in the past. Over time it seems no one but a few persons considered odd and fanatical really remembered why the breath was first given. This grieved the heart of the Breath Giver.
I got tired of
The religion named after Jesus Christ.
He, standing on the dance floor, said, “Brian,
Why not come out and dance some with me?”
I asked, “Jesus, what has happened to your church?”
“They’ve forgotten how much I like to dance,” said He.
Sometimes you have to unlearn a lot of religious nonsense
To remember a little truth.
Religion is a lot like eating,
Sometimes you have to throw up a lot of stinking stuff
To be able to keep something good in your stomach, again.
One day I said to Jesus,
“Jesus, I feel something is standing between you and me.”
Jesus said, “Brian, there is, and it is called religion.”
—Brian K. Wilcox
|
