The Divine Now!
written by Rev. Dr. Scott Paczkowski
““Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” ”
The Christian faith warps when it focuses primarily on personal salvation because it undermines divine mercy and grace. The focus on personal salvation quickly becomes idolatrous because it places control on the individual’s control over their salvific future. The profound Roman Catholic mystic and writer Richard Ruhr. In his book The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystic See, Rohr states, “True spirituality is not a search for perfection or control or the door to the next world; it is a search for divine union now.”
Our spirituality is not to appease God, so we get a free ticket into heaven. Faithfulness is loving God enough to desire a “union now!” Spirituality is a way of loving and uniting with God each day. Rohr calls us to follow Jesus’ example. Jesus “found God in disorder and imperfection-and told us that we must do the same or we would never be content on this earth.” Being angry, cynical, or bitter because the world is disordered and imperfect is ridiculous. Being bitter because the world is imperfect is the height of foolishness. Being angry doesn’t change reality. Instead, wisdom is learning to thrive in the mess.
We fight the world’s messiness by vainly trying to avoid the unavoidable. Avoidance, according to Rohr, “Will keep us small, content, and uninterested in those ‘weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and good faith” (Mt. 23:23). Personal salvation keeps us focusing on ourselves at the expense of others. Faith turns selfish, which is the antithesis of Jesus’ message.
Reflect on your spirituality and what you believe about God. Are you scared of an angry God? Are you unintentionally limiting God’s mercy and grace? Trust God to love and forgive you so you have the bandwidth to look into this imperfect world and provide care in God’s name. When we love more than we judge, there is room for God to love and bless us. God is calling us to step up and practice what Jesus preached.
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