Some More Humility for the Soul

Another edgy entry by Father Richard Rohr  .  .  . 

"Jesus enters the temple and drives out the dealers who are trying to buy and sell worthiness and access (Luke 19:45-46), which is the great temptation of all religion. He symbolically dismantles the system. The temple of religion (read “church” or “mosque” too) is henceforth to become personal, relational, embodied in people, and not a physical building. He came to say that God is available everywhere, and for some reason we like to keep God 'elsewhere,' where we can control God by our theologies and services.

His public demonstration against the sacred space is surely the historical action that finally gets Him killed. The trouble with declaring one space sacred is that we then imagine other spaces are not! Here He takes on the detours of false religion: any attempt to "buy" God, purity and debt codes, and the primacy of "sacrifices" over mercy and compassion. Jesus has come to liberate God for humanity and humanity for God."

This reminds me of the evening a few falls ago when I had the good fortune to hear famed author ("Night") and Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel.  Among his many eloquent gems of wisdom came his emphasis that any religion, any culture, any race can have extremists and we need guard against thinking ourselves immune.  He explained that a fanatic is one who holds God prisoner and claims to have the key.  

The deeper I dive into my own Catholocism in this intensely religious season of Lent, I find the refreshing beauty of my religion's most central message -- the commandment from Jesus, himself -- love thy neighbor. 

Direct link to Richard Rohr's post:  http://us.mg204.mail.yahoo.com/dc/launch?.partner=sbc&.gx=1&.rand=fk4dcj2irkt4v