Psalm 145 says that the “Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all and his compassion is over all he has made.” This is very clear and rather simple…God is a loving God.
Why does the Church insist on presenting a God that is about fear, punishment, and retribution? This is the opposite of grace and love. And why do we go along with a church that excludes anyone from God’s love? This is at the heart of the gospel….Love.
It is clear that we have a rift in the whole of Christianity and it needs to be repaired. We are called by Jesus himself to love and live out that love in how we treat ourselves and each other. And yet the Church in general insists on a punishing God. A God who waits for us to sin or a God that sees us as utterly depraved (to quote an old Presbyterian belief, the gift of John Calvin).
This sort of view teaches that if we were not so evil, Christ would not have had to die. Richard Rohr is right, Jesus was never Plan B. Jesus was always plan A…to live a life of love and service to others. A monastic priest I heard recently asked why people continuously need to confess? He said that if we really have been forgiven, there is no need for continuously confessing. Instead we should live out the example of Jesus, to be and live love. And added, “so why don’t we?”
It is hard to argue with the priest’s reasoning. Even more so when you learn he was a Theologian in his previous life before the monastery. He has the best point….why don’t we live out the love we are called to? The answer seems painfully obvious, because it is hard! And it can get you killed. Let’s strive for the narrow path of love.
TMM