Instructions for living a life

Too many humans for way too long have tried to take the message of Jesus and the bigger Life he pointed to & reduce it to something very manageable, most often a set of “right” beliefs about God.

But Jesus did not hand us a set of beliefs.

Instead, he taught & lived “the kingdom (or kin-dom) of God”, which was another way of being in the world. He was always pointing to Something Greater. He told stories, asked powerful questions & upended old, harmful ways of seeing God, ourselves & our neighbors.

He invited people on a journey. He invited them to be learners of a better Way of being human. He keeps inviting us, too.

We who identify as Jesus followers often “miss it” though. We miss it in part because we have been so shaped by consumerism, which is all about "getting what we want" instead of a journey that leads us deeper into what is Real. So we choose the quick fix, the high, the hip new thing that will carry us somewhere else or assure us we’ll arrive safely into the afterlife.

The Jesus-way-of-life can’t be packaged, pedaled and sold though. It can’t be reduced to a formula or a one-size fits all set of beliefs. You only know it when you find it or when it finds you.

It comes through heart-expanding moments & encounters which leave us speechless. It is about showing up and seeing, about Mystery & having our minds opened to new ways of thinking. It arrives in our eating & drinking with friends and learning to love our neighbors in ways that assure everyone has enough.

And according to the gospels, the people on the margins, those considered unworthy, unclean and/or unwelcomed often “got it” best.

So, the best thing we can do is to keep showing up...which reminds me of Mary Oliver’s “Instructions for Living a Life”:

Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.

May it be so with us, friends.