February 9, 2021
Good afternoon
” We did not make good choices. We had good choices. We come to God by doing it wrong, and not by doing it right.” — said by smart/famous people, that I do not remember their names right now.
Emmanuel Carrere is an agnostic. He is unsure about God. Yet, he wrote a novel on the New Testament called, The Kingdom. He was a believer for about 20 years, aided in his belief and conversion by his godmother. So in the novel, he quotes Scripture, and has a good understanding of all aspects of faith. He knows what he is saying no to, and mostly he is saying no to the resurrection of Jesus.
Carerre does believe in the words of Jesus in the Gospels. Jesus’ concise and wise sayings must be true for this agnostic. All the parables and the words from the Sermon on The Mount are transforming for the world. So, Carrere believes in the wisdom of Jesus, but not everything.
We get wisdom from many places. The two concise sentences at the top of this devotional are not from Jesus. Do you believe them ? You might need more information, and who said them, but I do not have all the information that you might need. What do they mean for you ? Read them slowly three times, and then be silent. What comes into your mind ?
What would say to Mr. Carrere about faith ? What wise words from Jesus would you offer to him, to invite him back into a faith quest ?
And now let us pray…
Prayer
VESPERS
Even as you appeared to Moses, because
I need you, you appear to me,
not often, however. I live essentiallyin darkness.
You are perhaps training me to beresponsive to the slightest brightening.
—– from Louise Gluck, 2020 Nobel Prize for Literature.
Fred