I Doubt It…

August 3, 2016
Hello Tablers. I’ve been loving the conversations we’ve enjoyed these past few Wednesday evenings! Someone in the community commented to me that those evenings feel like an opportunity to REALLY get to know one another. I agree. It’s a relatively benign pleasantry to describe our community as “somewhat diverse”; it’s another matter to encounter the stories of those with whom we share community and begin to get a fuller picture of both the breadth and the limitations of that diversity. Fascinating and challenging stuff!

The ideas that have been generally guiding these conversations to this point have to do with how our faith systems are formed, and how deeply fused they become with our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. This week we’ll get into what it feels like when those systems start to shift.  Just to grease the wheels a little, the following is an excerpt from a letter that you may feel some resonance with.

“Where is my Faith?-Even deep down there is nothing but emptiness and darkness.-My God-how painful is this unknown pain…I am told God love me-and yet the reality of darkness, coldness, and emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul.”

Pretty strong feelings, I would say. But here’s the kicker for me…that excerpt is from a letter written by Mother Teresa. It seems, upon review of her private letters, that in all the decades of ministry she offered the world, she had only a few “good weeks” where she felt deeply connected to Christ. Most of the time, her spiritual experience was one of agonizing dryness. Personally, I find that a relief. Perhaps I don’t need to feel encompassed in spiritual certainty to live a meaningful and purposeful life…

In any case, that’s the terrain we’ll be in this Wednesday evening. I look forward to being together.

Peace,

Tim

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