This earth indeed is the very Body of God, and it is from this body that we are born, live, suffer, and resurrect to eternal life. Either all is God's Great Project, or we may rightly wonder whether anything is God's Great Project. One wonders if we humans will be the last to accept this.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that the Earth is a manifestation of the divine, and our existence is part of a greater cosmic plan.
Richard Rohr emphasizes the idea that the Earth itself represents the body of God, indicating that our lives, struggles, and eventual rebirth are inherently connected to a divine purpose. This perspective invites us to recognize the sacredness in the world around us and encourages contemplation about our role in a larger spiritual narrative, questioning whether humanity will ultimately embrace this understanding.
In practice
In a speech about environmental conservation, one might say, 'As Richard Rohr noted, this earth indeed is the very Body of God, encouraging us to cherish and protect it.'
My scientist friends have come up with things like 'principles of uncertainty' and dark holes. They're willing to live inside imagined hypotheses and theories. But many religious folks insist on answers that are always true. We love closure, resolution and clarity, while thinking that we are people of 'faith'! How strange that the very word 'faith' has come to mean its exact opposite.
The gift of darkness draws you to know God’s presence beyond what thought, imagination, or sensory feeling can comprehend.
I cannot illustrate huge differences between male and female spiritualities except in their starting points, style and fascinations along the way. This is significant, however, and has huge pastoral implications: men must be challenged in the world of doing; women must be challenged in the world of relating.
Much of the Christian religion has largely become “holding on” instead of letting go. But God, it seems to me, does the holding on (to us!), and we must learn the letting go (of everything else).
We do not think ourselves into new ways of living, we live ourselves into new ways of thinking.
I've had the good fortune of teaching and preaching across much of the globe, while also struggling to make sense of my experience in my own tiny world.
The misery we inflict on sentient beings slackens our human evolution.
Even his griefs are a joy long after to one that remembers all that he wrought and endured.
Nothing is yours. It is to use. It is to share. If you will not share it, you cannot use it.
Every society, all government, and every kind of civil compact therefore, is or ought to be, calculated for the general good and safety of the community.
As a good wine must be kept in a good cask, so a wholesome body is the proper foundation for a well-appointed inner ground.
A church that suffers no persecution but enjoys the privileges and support of the things of the earth - beware! - is not the true church of Jesus Christ. A preaching that does not point out sin is not the preaching of the gospel. A preaching that makes sinners feel good, so that they are secured in their sinful state, betrays the gospel's call.
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