Heavenly

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

If peace were a fruit, what would it be?
A peach? A fig? A pomegranate?
A watermelon? An apple?
I suppose one could argue for the grape, but
I go with the apple, the spiritual fruit.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

You have patience without limit…
You have tolerance without limit…
You have love without limit…

However,

You cannot abide injustice and oppression…
You cannot abide hatred and “exclusiveness”…
You cannot abide idolatry of any sort, and especially that of worshipping ourselves…

We can only appeal to your grace.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“Heaven is a gated community.”

[The idea came from somewhere, but not from Him.]

D. Blog: Heavenly

The song line says “Don’t take this heaven from me.”

I think that does not happen. Heaven remains with us even if we experience pain and suffering. Likewise goodness. They all live on despite the changes in our circumstances. We have a hint of this truth in the saying that the good that people do lives on long after they die, or that love is eternal.

I experienced all of that yesterday. With family members. With my church family. With the installation service for a chaplain who had recently been ordained. She happens to be openly lesbian. How refreshing that no one needed to mention it, much less protest it, in that religious setting. Heavenly, I think.