Friday, February 23, 2024

God Breathes As We Breathe


Sometimes I think we believe that in order to connect with God we must "go within" or effectively tune out the things that we feel and sense around us. We think that we can experience God mainly by eliminating all of the sensory stimulants that we feel; that is, we say, when true prayer can begin.
But what if God is instead fully incarnate in our bodies? What if a good thorough cry is as good as a prayer, a belly laugh as beneficial as going away on retreat, and making love as divine as times of worship? Surely it's not an either/or dichotomy, but how often do we retreat from the very vessels - temples - that we have been provided with in our bodies?
What if God cries as we cry, laughs as we laugh, makes love as we make love, and suffers along with us when we feel pain? Furthermore, what if God inhabits the very parts of us that we find undesirable in ourselves - the gut, the stretch marks, the receding hairline, the blemishes?
As long as we have breath in these mortal bodies, we have countless opportunities to encounter the divine.

No comments: