I am in the very beginning stages of learning about the Universal Christ, as Fr. Richard Rohr has written about and teaches. His theology is that God is in all things, which I love and believe. He talks about the Holy Trinity as being in a mystical dance, changing roles as needed in one’s life. (At least that is my interpretation. I could be completely wrong.)

His daily devotional from May 29, 2019 has a paragraph that finally allowed the Jesus puzzle piece to fall into place for me.

Rohr states: “ . . . insisting on a literal belief in the virgin birth of Jesus is very good theological symbolism, but unless it translates into a spirituality of interior poverty, readiness to conceive, and human vulnerability, it is largely a ‘mere lesson memorized’ . . .”

He continues: “Likewise, an intellectual belief that Jesus rose from the dead is a good start, but until you are struck by the realization that the crucified and risen Jesus is a parable about the journey of all human, and even the universe, it is a rather harmless- if not harmful- belief that will leave you and the world largely unchanged.” I. LOVE. THIS!

This is the puzzle piece falling into place for me. I have struggled with the virgin birth for as long as I’ve known the story. Additionally, the idea of a human rising from the dead after three days and ascending into an ethereal place has troubled me.

Do I lack faith? Am I to believe all of the bible stories just because they are in the bible? While there are countless people with this type of belief, I just haven’t been able to commit. I’ve tried but it makes no sense.

I do believe there is a God, or Higher Power. I believe we all have a soul that is intangible but real. I believe there are forces that affect our lives that cannot be explained. I believe that we are all made from the same source that created the universe and that we are all connected.

My religious and theological needle started to move after learning about the bible itself. It is a collection of myths, stories, and lore codified by men in power who had an interest in staying in power. The chapters in the bible are not all of the collections, but the collections agreed upon because they presented and protected a certain agenda. Did you know there are gospels written by women? How did they get left out?? #patriarchy

That’s not to say the bible isn’t an important document. There are important parables and stories that can influence one’s life. Sadly, many of the stories are used by certain sects to bully and exclude those who don’t subscribe to the sect’s interpretation of the bible. Jesus said that the first and greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. He also said the second is like unto it: Love your neighbor as yourselves. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Stunningly, many “Christian” sects fail the second part of that directive. While I don’t know all of the bible, I am pretty well versed in the popular parts. I can’t find where the second part of that commandment states exceptions.

Where does it say, love your neighbor as yourselves, except your homosexual neighbor, your Muslim/Jewish/Catholic/Sikh/Episcopal, etc. neighbor? Except your Hispanic/Indian/Native American/Palestinian/Chinese neighbor?I can’t find that list of exceptions anywhere. It doesn’t even say  to love them all except your atheist neighbor.

If being a Christian is being Christ-like, how do those sects justify being exclusionary? I have friends in most of those categories. They embody the Christ-like approach to life more than many “Christians” I know.

But I digress. If we are to believe Rohr’s Universal Christ theology, then maybe there wasn’t a virgin birth but an important birth nonetheless. Maybe the birth of Jesus is about the circumstance of his conception to an unwed young woman. Maybe it’s about her betrothed staying with her in spite of the societal implications of the times. Maybe it’s about the entire Jesus story from conception to birth being wonky but still in God’s favor.

Maybe there wasn’t a resurrection, per se. I know it’s heresy to say that as a Christian since we base our believe on being transformed by the crucifiction and resurrection. Maybe, just maybe, the death and resurrection are parables. Maybe something in our human form, our human soul, must die in order to be transformed into a better, full-of-grace and God’s-love person.

I have no idea. But I can wrap my head around the Jesus story as a parable all day long. Did Jesus live? Yes. Was he crucified? Yes. Was he resurrected on the third day? Yes, as a mystical experience, he was resurrected.

What does all of this mean? To me, it gets me closer to understanding God’s infinite, nonjudgmental, unfailing love for God’s creation. To fully know God’s love is probably beyond human comprehension, but I sure want to get as close to it as possible.

The paradox of this viewpoint is that God’s relationship with us is no longer a transactional experience. Dear God, If I am good, will you please give me something? Dear God, Please heal my _______ (fill in the blank). Dear God, Please give me a job that doesn’t suck and has a decent salary.

I have been working on some professional development training for schools. It’s been slow to take off. My vision was to do this work full time. I asked God to give me a sign a few months ago that I was doing the right thing and was on the right track. I got three very clear signs within 24 hours of that request. Coincidence? Were the signs comparable to wanting a yellow car then suddenly seeing yellow cars everywhere? Was this a transaction?

What is prayer if it isn’t about petitioning or thanking God for something?

Rohr says to pray until you get to yes. Still your mind and wait.

So I sit and work to still my mind. I once used to meditate almost every morning but like other things in my life, I got out of the habit and now struggle to find that stillness. I loved that quiet still time, though. I would close my eyes, listen to my breathing, and wait for the mind silt to settle. I can’t say I recall getting any special messages during that time, but it was nice to have those moments of quiet and stillness before the chaos of the day began. I don’t recall getting a yes to anything, other than yes, I need to sit and be still.

The bible says that God knows what is in our hearts before we ask. So why pray? Is God like one of the Greek or Roman gods who demands offerings of sacrifice and penance? Or is God a benevolent parent who loves you no matter what? If God is all-seeing and all-knowing, why pray?

I don’t know.

I don’t think God requires sacrifice and penance. I think God wants us to love one another as God loves us. I think that’s in the bible. God wants us to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Do we love ourselves? Maybe that’s why we have such a hard time loving our neighbor. If we don’t love ourselves, it’s hard to love others, especially the others who don’t look like us, believe like we do, or think the same as we do. If we can’t love what we know, how can we love what we don’t know?

Rohr’s Universal Christ has given me a theology that makes sense. It doesn’t require weekly attendance to a church service in order to receive God’s message from an appointed leader. It’s doesn’t require anything other than just to believe. Have faith.

I still talk to God. It’s less like prayer and more like conversation. The God I envision is neither male nor female. God is. It’s that simple and complex. God is.

I mainly ask God questions. Why did my path include law school if I’m not destined to be a lawyer? Why do so many smart people overlook the incredibly bad behavior of politicians? Why does my cat knock things off of ledges? Why can’t I master the art of growing plants?

One of my favorite things to say is, “With Google, there are no unanswerable questions.” “Siri, what is the temperature in Lithuania right now?” “Siri, what time does the University of Kentucky men’s basketball game begin?” “Siri, what is the difference between an omelette and a frittata?”

I guess Google can’t answer all of the questions. It’s probably best that we don’t have answers to all of the questions. Look at how badly we behave when we think we know all of the answers. Imagine how much worse it could get by truly knowing it all.

 

That’s a terrifying thought.

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