Date: 2009-03-10 18:50 Subject: From my father on my reflections on scripture and metaphor Security: Public

My Dad sent me the following response to my musings, which I'm happy to share with all who come to this blog:

There is but one point to Jesus' preaching, rather to his being and that is summed up in the statement that, "I have come that you may have life and have it in the fullest". Rather than a set of command or instructions for how to behave rightly the premise is that only God has life and only God knows what life is and how it must be lived to be genuine.

Jesus, in fact the totality of revelation is to this singular point. God wants us to be alive and the only way to be that is to live like God who gives without seeking recognition or recompense or return, or thanks (something religions often miss), rather God gives freely and it is we who are compelled in our psyche to give thanks and praise. Simple people living with a joyous acceptance and sharing of life for the sake of other rather than themselves are without need of religious structure in deep communion with God in life.

All religious thought and language is a poor attempt to frame in human thought that which is to be lived and accepted. In the words of Matthew (whoever he was) not Jesus there is an attempt to say that unless sharing the gift and gifts of existence is a common and natural as breathing (not extraordinary at all) we have not yet got how the Father lives and how we must.

Since we will never achieve this we depend on God's action to bring us to fullness of life (salvation).

Thanks, Dad.