"You hate nothing you have made"

During each Sunday of Lent, our pastor prays a specific collect* before we hear the Epistle. Along with its comforting embrace, this prayer invariably sends a convicting wallop to my heart.

“Almighty and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all them that are penitent, create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee—the God of all mercy—perfect remission and forgiveness, through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

…God, you hate nothing that you have made…

But in commendable fervor to protect our freedom, children, and prosperity, we

• detest corporate moguls;
• despise people of other faiths;
• loathe right-wing moralists;
• damn a black, liberal president;
• curse militant extremists;
• disdain street bums and welfare moms.

…you forgive the sins of all them that are penitent…

But in honorable belief that justice should be done, we

• refuse to forgive those who offend our sensibilities;
• desire revenge on those who mistreat or slander us;
• suspect that ‘sinners’ cannot really change;
• write off certain people as unpardonable even by God;

In our denial that repentance is crucial to life, we

• resist asking God to forgive us;
• avoid making amends to people we have offended;
• put off changing harmful habits;
• refuse to forgive ourselves.

…create and make in us new and contrite hearts…

O God, soften the hearts of everyone, and replace our

• abhorrence with love;
• vengeance with pardon;
• judgmentalism with humility;
• xenophobia with hospitality;
• arrogance with wisdom;
• disquiet with reliance on You.

…that we worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness…

O God, reveal to us the depths of our diseased ways

and help us to stop refusing to face the truth.

…that we may obtain of you—the God of all mercy—…

O Lord, you promise mercy to all who are willing to turn to you;

pry open our clenched fists to receive your boundless compassion.

…perfect remission and forgiveness…

O Father, release us from the unbearable blame due us for devastating our world;

forgive us for trampling on your love, as we forgive those who trample on our rights.

…through Jesus Christ our Lord.

O Creator of us all, even as you hung on the Cross,

indeed, you hated nothing that you had made.

*A brief prayer used in Western liturgical churches.

Homage to Mercy

The slogan of my blog site is: “Writings of a fellow voyager in search of wisdom.” The first article, Blogsite Purpose, referred to “a desire to entrust the ambiguities of being to the God whom I believe fashioned the depths and intricacies of human life.” A large mouthful, that statement. It alludes to a lifetime of wrestling with what it means to be human. Most authors do not write in a vacuum, personal or otherwise, and the essays you read here are shaped out of my particular milieu. What has your “fellow voyager” experienced that drives her reflections? Perhaps a glimpse into my history will help you better understand my line of thought. More importantly, whatever differences exist between my life and yours, I hope that portions of what I share will strike a chord within you.

I have lived in the West “where the mountains touch the sky” and in the Southwest where the sky touches the sand. I’ve propelled skinny white legs down school halls filled with the lush brown skin of Native Americans. I have lived in the Bible Belt where fundamentalism cinched me up a little too tightly and in the Pacific Northwest where the rain completely suited my mood. I’ve spent summers with my parents pitching a tent across America. I have ridden my ATV in the deserts of Utah and maneuvered it along Colorado’s mountain cliffs.

I have huddled with Navajo buddies in Anasazi ruins unknown to archaeologists and passed working elephants sauntering along the roads of Thailand. I’ve body-surfed ocean waves of Bali and played a trumpet-harpsichord duet with a Catholic monk in Northern Sulawesi. I have knelt in awe before the gigantic mosaic of Christ in Paris’ Sacre Coeur Cathedral and eaten strawberry torte in a German Konditerei. I’ve slept in a thatched-roof Dutch cottage and craned my neck at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. I have made love with my husband in a Swiss army barracks and sipped local wine in the Alpine village where my ancestors lived.

I have survived emotional, sexual, and spiritual abuse, narrowly escaped drowning, paraplegia, and suicide. I’ve spent years in psychotherapy, ultimately coming to accept chronic depression and the medication it requires. I’ve wished to belong then longed to jump off the grid. I have broken my dignity trying to fix broken loves. I’ve been abandoned by people and betrayed a few in turn. I have been bereaved of, estranged from, and reunited with family. I’ve been blessed with friends who teach me to laugh, hope, and dare.

I have feared men only to come to love one deeply. I’ve relinquished my girlish dreams to marry the man of my woman’s heart. I’ve learned that passion ebbs and flows, while committed affection endures. I have surrendered the possibility of bearing children and nurtured our two mothers in their old age.

I’ve been fiercely devoted to Christ and fiercely angry with him. I have believed Christianity was the best faith going and yet questioned its validity. I’ve loved the Church and been thoroughly irritated with her. I have endured hangovers from getting drunk on Pentecostal youth revivals and seminary theological debates. I’ve been bathed in healing that I can only attribute to the Holy Spirit.

I have dropped out of a missionary vocation, showed up too late for an academic career, and returned to writing, my first love. I’ve been addicted to religiosity, obsessed with being correct, and humbled by the earthy insight of a Desert Mother. I have tempered my conservative politics, embraced the sensuality of music, danced naked alone in a meadow, prayed in tongues, and wept during Holy Mass. I’ve been forced to confront my shortcomings and cajoled into acknowledging I might be a saint in the making. I have been sustained by a Divine Mercy beyond logic or comprehension. In spite of all, and because of all, it is good to be human, it is good to be alive.