It is such a joy to find you again. I really enjoy your reflection. I’m doing my ministry in the city of Milwaukee. I hope to be in touch with you. I will be praying for you and each member in your congregation, they are so lucky to have you as their pastor.

Fraternally in Christ, Jose

I am a Gnostic Catholic Priest living with my partner of thirty years in Durham. For the last seven years I have been teaching religious and spiritual course at Duke University. Last spring I taught a seminar on the Gospel of Thomas and it was a success. I would like to sit down with you and discuss a variety of spiritual topics. I have the calling to leave academia and present religious and spiritual information in a group format.

In peace,

Rev. Gary

That’s where my brain went – a division of thoughts so polar, it’s hard to explain, yet somehow almost poetic.

It seems so safe; so neat, clean and pretty; so EASY to keep Him in a box, off to the side, guarded, where He won’t get dirty; won’t be involved; won’t show up and challenge us (me) to change, to be more, to reach. He is, after all, God -the Creator of the universe! How, and perhaps Why, would we ever want to RISK having Him so front and center, so vulnerable, so available to little ol’ “us” – so close where we could touch Him, imagine His infant breathing, run our fingers through the carvings on His carpentry? WHY? It’s so RISKY! I’d sure hate to break Him! LOL

Then there’s the other side. If we make ourselves available; if we’ll open up, break down the walls, free Him from the imaginary (and us-imposed) boundaries of time, place, access, fear-based separation, then maybe, just maybe, we can experience the fullness that is Him. Imagine having Him so close, you can feel the warmth of His embrace; feel the tiny little hands and feet as He lay in that feed trough; sense the strength in our Daddy’s arms that nobody could replace – the knowing that we can be completely safe and secure. How about the joy of bouncing on His knee, the absolute focus of His attention? It’s RISKY!

Is it RISKY to imagine, to believe, to consider, to HOPE that the Creator of the universe could LOVE us enough to want us to experience Him in these ways? Maybe. I’m coming to understand that there is a CERTAINTY of a different, higher, indescribable experience that we can have, and as far as risk is concerned – it’s RISKY to even consider missing out on that experience!

Tear down the walls…fling the top off the box and crawl out…He’s waiting for us out here and I doubt any of us can imagine what He has in store. As Rev. Phil says – “I’m on tip-toes, waiting to see it, to experience Him.” Time to claim a seat at the table…dinner is sure to be irresistible!