Brian’s Reflection: Monday, August 1, 2011

An act of love that fails is just as much a part
of the divine life as an act of love that succeeds,
for love is measured by its own fullness,
not by its reception.

Harold Loukes


I have often thought that God is deeply disappointed that all that God did/does to draw the Human race to a life of holy love seems to have been and continues to be such a colossal failure. All that compassion, concern, outpouring of love, gift of the Christ in the person of the Son, Jesus’ life, death and resurrection - the Christian Story lays it all out there in an anthropomorphic manner by which we can be touched and moved and transformed.

Nope. God is up there sitting on the Sapphire Throne; Handel leading the orchestra and chorus (Tina Turner and her band are in another soundproof area, and everyone can choose what they want to hear); mounds of heavenly shrimp rest in huge silver ice buckets; cool water and crisp Riesling (God is partial to a little sweetness!) are to the ready. The Holy Ghost is a little cranky at not being able to be there, but She is keeping busy trying to push the human race along on the Path of Divine Love, nothing of not persistent. All the Saints have come carrying huge baskets of golden crowns which they cast in reckless abandon as tokens of their delight.

Yes, today waves of pain have washed over the vast Throne Room - the wails of all the poor of America, of aging workers deprived of so much of the benefits they paid for in health care and a decent living in retirement because of a need to finance war, drenched in the contempt of the gloating super-rich and politicians and corporations benefiting no one but themselves. Yet again the reception of Divine Love has been rejected. In an unprecedented action, God, weeping, called for three hours of Silence ….. unprecedented since the Crucifixion. A muting of celebration has been called for the duration.

But “love is measured by its own fullness, not by its reception”. Failures occur; God knew this would be the case from the beginning of the experiment.

God will go on loving ….. always hoping that the human race and the American experiment will soon come up to speed. And God will continue to bless all who seek to live the Life of Compassion and the Way of Justice and of Peace, the Life of “bearing one another’s burdens” and so fulfilling the Law of Christ. (Gal.6)

Brian+