Greetings, Inspired Seekers!

Welcome to September, the final days of summer and the entry into autumn with its treasure trove of holidays that will follow. This month holds Mawlid al-Nabi, Nayrouz, Navratri, Imbolc, the Autumnal Equinox and Rosh Hashanah within its days filled with falling leaves, apple cider and all things pumpkin spice. A bouquet of celebrations from an array of traditions greets us with each new fiery sunset.

These celebrations – jubilant in their own right – brought to mind the question: What does your God look like? It is a provocative and demanding question that might require some thorough reflection. See, I think that we need a long time to let God really be God, to be that Holy Presence, rather than to create a God that might be all too familiar – a God who looks like us and mirrors our beliefs, preferences and biases; a God who loves what we love and condemns what we condemn. A God who is less than.

When we create a God who merely mirrors our human beliefs, we ignore the mystery, magnificence and delicious discomfort that comes with a God who makes us think, is more expansive and begs us to dig deeper into the diversity of faith. We seek to confirm rather than to confer, to decide rather than to discern and we seek a God that reflects us rather than the other way round.

St. Augustine, in the Christian tradition, wrote, “If you comprehend it, it is not God.” And, while I find much of Augustinian theology arguable, I cannot refute that. In the same vein, Lao Tzu, in the Tao Te Ching, offered, “The Way that can be walked is not the eternal Way.” Again, our human efforts alone do not reflect the Divine but, rather, our projection of our humanity upon Divinity. Dangerous territory, indeed.

Our ego wants God to be a reflection of us, rather than the reverse; the ego wants to place restrictions on the mystery of God in order to validate our membership in “the club.” Our ego wants us to be right in all things.

As we move into the spiritually rich close of the calendar year, perhaps we can get out of our heads and open up to the heart of God – vast, mysterious, humble, all-loving and miraculous. It seems to me that this might just be the reflection to accompany a cup of pumpkin spice something! Have a blessed autumn.

Grace, Always Yours,
Reverend Deborah

Question of the Month: What does your God look like?

The Reverend Dr. Deborah Darlington is a travel companion to all persons seeking a deeper path of spirituality and wholeness. She can be reached for Sacred Celebrations and Inspirational Speaking at GraceMatters@TheSpaceForGrace.com or at 215 260 1611.