Take a Walk

Taking off the Armor

“God is not found in the soul by adding anything but by subtracting.”

                                      Meister Eckhart

“Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around the lake.” Wallace Stevens

I came across these two quotes in Barbara Brown Taylor's book, Leaving Church. They are a reminder of how cluttering the mind with dogma, and confusing that with truth, can lead you down a blind alley. All too often today, we get so caught up in what the church teaches about God, that we lose track of what Jesus taught about the heart.

One of the lectionary readings for today is the story of David and Goliath. We all know it well; it is about one small boy, armed with the righteousness of his convictions and his passion for God, killing a bigger, better armed, better trained Philistine. The thing that catches my attention about it is how simple David's approach was. All he had at hand was his slingshot and some river rocks. When Saul's army tried to load him up with armor, shield and spear, all it did was weigh him down and slow him down. He removed it—and then he slayed the giant.

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to chuck all the baggage that has been layered on by church and state, and ask the simple question, “What do I believe is the right thing to do?” When you begin to de-clutter and unload all the doctrinal admonitions, and start looking instead at the life of Jesus as it was lived, it's really very simple. Show compassion first—toward your neighbor, toward the earth, and toward the stranger in your midst. Love God, and love and respect your fellow human beings regardless of whether they look like you, or live and believe as you do. That's it.

I hope you have time to take a walk around the lake today.

In the spirit,

Jane