Stripped by God

Below is a poem I read this week which spoke heavily to many of the deep faith questions that I believe we all deal with if and when we're honest with ourselves. Enjoy...


What would happen if I pursed God -
If I filled my pockets with openness,
Grabbed a thermos half full of fortitude,
And crawled into the cave of the Almighty
Nose first, eyes peeled, heart hesitantly following
Until I was face to face
With the raw, pulsing beat of Mystery?


What if I entered and it looked different
Than anyone ever described?
What if the cave was too large to be fully known,
Far too extensive to be comprehended by one person or gropu,
Too vast for one dogma or doctrine?


Would I shatter at such a thought?
Perish from paradox or puzzle?
Shrink and shrivel before the power?
Would God be diminished if I lived a question
Rather than a statement?
Would I lost my faith
As I discovered the magnitude of Grace?


O, for the willingness to explore
To leave my tiny vocabulary at the entrance
And stand before you naked
Stripped of pretenses and rigidity,
Disrobed of self righteousness and tidy packages,
Stripped of all that holds me at a distance from you
And your world.


Strip me O God,
Then clothe me in curiosity and courage.


It's natural to want solid, clear, easy answers to our questions about faith, but to our discomfort sometimes there just aren't any. Robert Louis Stevenson said, "To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive."


Answers to questions of faith that stem from certitude are safe, and they're also easy. Sadly they don't require all that much faith. This poem suggests that the healthier place to be is in question. Someone once asked their rabbi, "Why is it that rabbis always answer a question with another question?" The rabbi answers, "So what's wrong with a question?"


Jesus was a rabbi. He rarely gave straight or simiple answers. Rather, he often replied to questions with questions or told a story causing others to ponder.


This post is not to say that there's no truth or that we can't know anything about faith. However, I do cast a hesitent glance toward any person, denomination or otherwise that claims to have it all figured out.

Questions?...