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 beginning of faith is…not a feeling for the mystery of living or a sense of awe, wonder and amazement. The root of religion is the question what to do with the feeling for the mystery of living, what to do with awe, wonder and amazement. Religion begins with a consciousness that something is asked of us. It is in that tense, eternal asking in which the soul is caught and in which (humanity’s) answer is elicited.
What do we do with it? We are not beings who simply contemplate things. We do. We live. In a day of growing fundamentalism within all the major religions around us, we need to do more looking at “What do we do with…the holy stuff we say is at the center of our religions?” It may be quite obvious that people within one religion act very differently than others. As we step back to take a better look at what people of faith are “doing,” we may soon see how contrary so many people act to the wonderful vision of oneness and love that Heschel wrote about in the pieces from last week.
Connection: Today, practice hesitating. Hesitate and take another look at what is being said and done in the name of the religious people around you. Then do the real tough task. See if you can see what you are doing with the news we call Good.
Lead and guide us Lord as we move through this day. There is no way for us to be a bold witness to your love unless we are moved by your Holy Spirit and reminded how we are to enter and live within this day. We need one another and you are the power that brings all people to you. Shape us and gather us together gracious Lord. Amen.
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