BLOGGING TOWARD SUNDAY…

The following is the next “teaser” from Barbara Brown Taylor’s newest book, An Altar in the World. I was particularly struck by this passage because of the lack of reverence I see all around me. Here goes:

Some of the most reverent people I know decline to call themselves religious. For them, religion connotes belief. It means being able to say what you believe about God and why. It also means being able to hold your own in a debate with someone who believes otherwise. They, meanwhile, are not sure what they believe. They do not want to debate anyone. The longer they stand before the holy of holies, the less adequate their formulations of faith seem to them. Angels reach down and shut their mouths.

And then there’s my favorite quote thus far: Barbara quotes Shug Avery, one of the wise women in Alice Walkers book, The Color Purple. “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.” It occurs to me that if we would just make the effort to “notice,” reverence would be the natural result. Blessings….

Filed under: Blogging Toward Sunday