Wednesday, August 20, 2008

The tab of belief

What people don't realize is how much religion costs.
They think faith is a big electric blanket, when of course, it is the cross.

--Flannery O'Connor

Wow. Yes. And every time we try to domesticate it, we distort it--sometimes in incredibly damaging ways. How do we live in the tension between the simultaneous realities of our lives as
  • children of the heavenly Father, safely gathered in his bosom, and
  • self-giving followers of the cross?
Maybe Mary Oliver, another insightful observer of deep realities, has a question the Church (and each of us) should hold up against the O'Connor quote:

What is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I love that Mary Oliver quote, and I needed to read it today, thank you.

Fran said...

You begin with Flannery and you conclude with Mary and you are the author of the in-between?

And you wonder why I love you???

Jan said...

So good. Two of my favorite quotes. Nice to read today--thanks.

BTW, go and look at the pictures at my blog, and you'll see my long time friend NM, whose wedding I came to four years ago at a Unitarian church in Bellingham, which was officially a "blessing" but was a "wedding" in the eyes of all the loving participants.

Ruth Hull Chatlien said...

Both of these are wonderful quotations. Thank you. I especially needed the Mary Oliver quote.