Thursday, June 5, 2003

The opening text will come from a book by Abraham Joshua Heschel (God in Search of Man - A Philosophy of Judaism). As you are able to see by the title, the language may be a bit dated and therefore, I will, when able, make the language inclusive.



The essence of Jewish religious thinking does not lie in entertaining a concept of God but in the ability to articulate a memory of moments of illumination by (God’s) presence. Israel is not a people of definers but a people of witness: “You are my witnesses” (Isaiah 43:10). Reminders of what has been disclosed to us are hanging over our souls like stars, remote and of mind-surpassing grandeur. They shine through dark and dangerous ages, and their reflection can be seen in the lives of those who guard the path of conscience and memory in the wilderness of careless living.



Too often, we become nothing more than “definers.” For me that means the Church gets caught in a game that is so involved with clarifying what can and cannot be a part of the faithful, that we do not let ourselves be faithful to the witness. We are to be witnesses to the resurrection life in Jesus….witnesses to the feast of victory…witnesses to the life of the beloved community. Unfortunately, we can be so afraid of what is the right or wrong that we leave no witness at all. That’s why it takes us so long to work through the issues of the day around which the Church could give great witness to the love of God and the life of God’s Reign. We would rather be right (right to some criteria of definition that fits for now) than to let the flowing stream of justice, peace, loving kindness and forgiveness flow like a stream or shine like the stars in the sky.



Connection: We may not be right or wrong today…but what is it that we hold up as a witness to the reign of God? The simple self-sacrificing acts of loving kindness may leave a witness that changes hearts or makes other long to leave a witness to our God within their own lives.



Shine, Lord God, Shine, and let your life make our lives shine with the encouraging love and grace of your blessed reign. Keep us focused on the great witnesses of the faith that have gone before us and inspire us to let your light shine among us. Amen.