Making
It to Second
“Faith
is so rare—and religion so common—because no one wants to live
between first and second base. Faith is the in-between space where
you're not sure you'll make it to second base. You've let go of one
thing and haven't yet latched into another. Most of us choose the
security of first base.”
Richard
Rohr
Richard Rohr is a
theologian who loves to shake things up. He's one of those guys who
likes to move the cheese just when you're about to take a big old
bite. I love that! It keeps us on our toes, and that's the whole
idea. Religion is a rut that's dug itself so deep, you can't even
stick your nose over the top to breathe. As Rohr says, “Religion
is one of the safest places to hide from God.”
Living in the space
between first and second base—between safety and free-fall, between
known and unknown—is so uncomfortable that most of us dive back to
first even though we know there's no way to get home from there.
Falling back on mumbling the rote prayers and affirmations we leaned
in confirmation class, is like going back to sucking your thumb when
you could have had a filet mignon. Escaping to the safety of the
familiar at the first twinge of spiritual uncertainty may calm the
nervous system, but it is not faith.
Faith is a leap into the
abyss. Faith is knowing that that which we call God is all that there
is, and therefore, we cannot lose our connection no matter how hard
we try. “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither
angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any
powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation
will be able to separate us from the love of God...” (Romans
8:38-39) No matter how many times we fall, fail or forget, no
matter how far we stray from the rut of whatever religion we're
indoctrinated in, we are still connected to the universal source of
life. Richard Rohr says it this way: “Failings are the
foundation for growth. Those who have fallen, failed or 'gone down'
are the only ones who understand up.” When you look up, God
will still be there—within and without. Run, full steam ahead, for
second base.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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