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TopA lot of problems in religion seem to me to come from forgetting that there is a basic difference between being a human being and being God. The above is a phrase that I use to remind myself of how things really are. In the Seminary the comment was "Take off your Jesus Christ Superstar sweatshirt." At best we’re members of his bowling team.
God is going to do his thing with or without my help, but he’s made it pretty clear that he wants human beings to be involved, and he’s got a right to his preference. Why he’d want to depend on us is beyond me, but that’s the way it is.
I have a responsibility to follow the call of God, to seek and speak the truth, to proclaim the Good News that God loves us, to seek and promote healing, to help form the community of faith, the People of God. That means saying Yes at times and saying No at other times, saying that one thing makes sense and that another doesn’t seem right or correct. It means honoring and ministering the Sacraments, the "Treasures of the Church." It means a lot of things.
I mess up often and frequently. Sometimes I mess up when I think I’m doing my best. Somehow even my messing up is part of the quest. God just keeps on being who he is.
Fear of Hell isn’t much of a motivation for me. I believe that there is one because I believe that we are free to choose. I don’t know if anyone is actually there. Figuring out whether someone is going to Hell or not is none of my business. Again, "God is God and I’m not." I think he’ll do a much better job than me in figuring things out.
To give a little perspective, though, a few general thoughts. There are some who will not be able to attach the name "God" to God until they see him in Heaven, because other human beings have messed the concept up too much. When they do see him, though, I think they’ll recognize a thousand touches and gentle breezes that they never had a name for.
There will be some who will say, "God, I’ve rejected the idea of you my whole life. I blew it, what happens now?" "Well, remember the bum you were kind to?" "No? Well, how about when you had the flu and worked overtime because your son’s birthday was coming up? Don’t remember it? Well, I do. I’ve got a long memory for those kind of things."
There will be some who will say, "God, I’ve been so angry at you. Where have you been?" I think the answer will surprise us.
Faith is a funny thing. In theology that’s called a mystery. It’s a combination of the head and the heart, plus experience, plus healing, plus the touch of God. It seems more present in the questions than in the answers. It is more a matter of the quest than of the label. It’s not a "thing" to be measured but a treasure to be nurtured. It can’t be confined in a jewel chest but has to soar in the wind. It can’t be measured, and some who think they have it really don’t. Some who yearn for it already have it.
Faith is truly honored when we reflect on it, when we describe it, when we seek to share it. We cheapen it when we try to chain it with laws. We betray it when we try to force it on someone else or deny its presence in another person.
Even so, as communities, as social beings, as people who join together, we do need laws, we do need each other, and we have to do the best we can. We truly are responsible for figuring things out as well as we are able. The things of God are important enough for careful study, for prayer, to take things seriously. We have to use the best tools we have available, including our brains and wisdom we develop over time. Many times decisions have to be made and we make them as well as we can. There are times when something has to be declared "out of bounds." There are some things we can be extremely sure God does not want happening, like child abuse. But we should never forget that "God is God and I’m not." God does not take my orders or follow my restrictions. There are many, many things that are up to God and really none of my business. I don’t decide who goes to Heaven or Hell. When I start to feel like I do, it’s time to take a deep breath, step back, and lighten up!
© Fr J Mahoney