reachforgodly

[reachforgodly]

I know it's a little late for this, and Sukkot is over (I am sad) but this year there were some misunderstandings among Gentiles around the joking phrase "shake a lemon at G-d" week to describe the holiday, specifically in interpreting the phrase to mean that this is some kind of aggressive act, that we are shaking the lemon in rage at G-d or something, so some people started saying it's "shake a lemon for G-d" week.

But I kind of feel that it is absolutely shake a lemon at G-d week, and that the energy we're looking for here is that of a kid shaking the drawing they just did at their teacher.

So I can't help but picture the Jewish community on Sukkot as a bunch of preschool kids crowding around their teacher going, "Mr. Hashem, Mr. Hashem, look at this awesome etrog I found!"

And Mr. Hashem is like, ":DDDDDD That is an awesome etrog, kiddo, let's go show it to the rest of the class, who are all hanging out in the blanket fort we built together!"

[reachforgodly]

“We owe a debt to third world women theologians who have noticed the similarities between Mary’s life and the lives of so many poor women even today. Giving birth in a homeless situation; fleeing as a refugee with your baby to a strange land to escape being killed by military action; losing a child to unjust execution by the state; our newspapers yield up these icons of suffering even today. Mary is sister to the marginalized women who live unchronicled lives in oppressive situations. It does her no honor to rip her out of her conflictual, dangerous historical circumstances and transmute her into an icon of a peaceful, middle-class life robed in royal blue.”

— Sister Elizabeth Johnson, “Mary of Nazareth: Friend of God and Prophet”

[reachforgodly]

A Prayer attributed to St. Francis.

Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), p. 833

[reachforgodly]

For the Christian asks, 15 and 29 please? 💜

Thank you!

15 - What is something that has made you question your faith?

Being a queer teen in the early 00s. My stepmom telling me that I couldn't stay in the church or ever experience healing by faith unless I renounced my (at the time still mostly hypothetical) sexuality -- that was very, very nearly the final straw, and twenty-odd years later I'm still struggling to find forgiveness for that particular cruelty. She was wrong, I know that she was wrong, and I've settled the matter of my orientation and my faith in my own heart, but for a few years I felt quite estranged from Christianity because of it all. What finally helped me through it was the process of learning and internalizing that other people are not in control of my relationship with God, and so it doesn't matter what my stepmom or anyone else says about it -- if God disapproves of my conduct, that's something I will discover through diligent prayer and study, not through being threatened with homelessness by the woman who married my biological father.

29 - Do you have a favorite place or spot that you like to sit or relax in while spending time with God? If so, describe it!

It depends! When I'm relaxed and praying from a place of contentment and peace, I am happiest on the couch with my cat in my lap. The cat is the really important part; her unconditional affection is a reminder to me that God's love is expressed in so many ways, and that all His creations get to partake in as much of His nature as they have the ability to access. When covid hit and I started listening to Sunday services online, we developed a routine where she would come sit on my lap or drape herself around my shoulders as soon as she heard the stream start.

Conversely, when I'm struggling or feel turmoil, I like praying while walking, especially outside. A few years ago I was on the jury for a murder trial, and the whole thing was a fairly harrowing experience emotionally and mentally. As soon as I got home on the last day, after we delivered the verdict, I grabbed my walking shoes and said aloud, "I gotta go talk to God" then walked for nearly two hours until I was limping, praying the whole time to try and settle everything in my head & heart.

[reachforgodly]

the transphobe rhetoric of "forever patients" should be read as a clear signal of intent to kill the disabled btw

[reachforgodly]

✝️🕊 Christian Asks Game! 🕊✝️

What denomination are you?

Do you consider yourself to be more religious or spiritual?

Have you been baptized? If you have been, when? If not, do you plan to be?

Did you grow up in a Christian family?

Do you attend church? If so, do you prefer traditional or contemporary services?

What holidays and/or festivals do you celebrate/observe?

Do you participate in Lent and/or Holy Week?

What is your favorite Bible story?

Who is your favorite biblical character? If it's Jesus, who's your second favorite?

Is there a certain miracle that Jesus preformed that's really spoken to you? If so, which one and why?

Do you have a favorite angel? If so, who?

Who is your favorite disciple?

Are you more of a Martha or a Mary?

What is something that's brought you closer to God?

What is something that has made you question your faith?

What is one of your favorite things that God has created?

What is your favorite Bible verse?

Is there anything that you struggle with because of your faith?

Do you have a favorite Christian song, either traditional or contemporary?

Is there a Christian music artist that you like to listen to? If so, who?

What is your favorite liturgical time of year?

How has your relationship with God, Jesus, and/or the Holy Spirit changed over time?

Do you take communion? If so, do you prefer bread or wafers?

Do you have any set prayers that you pray daily or regularly? If so, what are they?

If you could ask Mother Mary one thing, what would it be?

Which disciple would you want to spend the day with and why?

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Christmas?

Have you ever been on a mission trip? If so, how did it go? If not, do you plan to?

Do you have a favorite place or spot that you like to sit or relax in while spending time with God? If so, describe it!

How do you prefer to pray?

What do you think you'll do when you first meet Jesus one day?

Can also be a 31 Day of Christianity thing if you'd prefer to just answer them on your blog! Have fun, and God bless! 😁🕊🩷

[reachforgodly]

"...what if these words are not a prescription, but a diagnosis? What if the man’s hard agricultural labour and the woman’s pain in childbearing are simply things that the writers of Genesis observed in the world around them, and decided that these things were, in fact, not the way the world should be, and therefore sought an explanation in the origin myth  of their culture?

Given that the people who wrote down the story of the Fall were almost certainly high-status men (because nobody else in that time and place would have been literate), it is fairly astonishing that they saw their own privilege, and the labour and pain of lower-status men and of women, not as the divine order of things, but rather as the result of a cosmic rupture,a wrong that cried out for righting.

And what, precisely, is this wrong?  What is the “knowledge of good and evil” that was so dangerous that Adam and Eve had to be warned away from it on pain of death?"

[reachforgodly]

at its root, genesis 3 (the fall of humanity) is a mythology that tells a story of humans transitioning into agricultural societies and civilizations... and all the messiness that entails.

[reachforgodly]

Is it heresy or is it blasphemy?

I guess it would come down to how "stronger" is intended here. If it's referring solely to physical strength, as in the Lego spaceship is stronger than Jesus would be able to take apart with his hands or tools, then it's probably just blasphemy, since physical power isn't really an element of Christology in any meaningful way. Similarly, more physically resilient to damage than Jesus doesn't strike me as a doctrinal problem, since Jesus being vulnerable to physical harm (nails, spear, etc) is in fact quite orthodox Christology. It might be blasphemous, since the comparison implies an insult to Jesus' strength, but I wouldn't consider it heretical from that standpoint.

However, if the comparison is a reference to Jesus' spiritual or moral might, then yeah, I see a heresy angle here. Any implication of physical strength dominating over spiritual strength is going to be borderline at best, and specifically setting it against Jesus' spiritual might in particular is pretty well beyond the pale.

i’ve started babysitting for a VERY christian family which is great because they pay me a lot of money but as someone who was raised almost completely agnostic it’s kind of insane. the 2 year old keeps asking me to read her stories from the bible. (why are we reading david and goliath to a 2 year old????) the 5 year old told me today that he was going to bring his legos to heaven with him. he also has repeatedly told me that the lego spaceships he builds are stronger than jesus. (not sure what to say to that. do i deny it??? are things allowed to be stronger than jesus??) had to stop myself mid sentence today because i almost told them im not going to heaven which would DEFINITELY have caused several meltdowns. they’re also both completely fascinated by my nose ring

[reachforgodly]

*The Eucharist is the body of Christ under the appearances of bread and wine.

**God is bound to these sacraments, meaning he always gives grace through them when they are done, but he is not bound by these sacraments, meaning that God can do literally whatever he wants and can of course go around them and provide grace in other ways.

***7 sacraments, listed: Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Confession, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony.

Feel free to add nuance in the tags or talk about why you find the teachings strange! Let me know if there's anything utterly baffling that I didn't include!!!

Also please remember to be respectful!!! Not everyone knows theology like you might!!!

[reachforgodly]

I love traditional Chinese Catholic depictions if Jesus’ life.

here depicted is the raising of Jairus’ daughter.

[reachforgodly]

Maybe misusing the name of God isn’t so much about saying the shallow words, “Oh my God,” as it is about using the name of God to justify discrimination, oppression, injustice, racism, slavery, xenophobia, poverty, sexism, islamophobia, ableism, homophobia, war, & the list can go on. 

[reachforgodly]

from Philadelphia Gay News, 1976

[reachforgodly]

judas was probably like "jesus has pulled off so many wacky things, he'll get out of this one lickity split, and i get three shiny coins out of it, too"

[reachforgodly]

Sin does not separate you from the love of God.

Perhaps the most dangerous heresy infecting the church today is the idea that sin separates us from God. In fact, Paul teaches, "that nothing can separate us from God's love in Christ Jesus our Lord: not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future things, not powers or height or depth, or any other thing that is created" (Romans 8:38-39). 

Sin does not separate you from the love of God.  

As soon as Adam and Eve ate the fruit in the Garden of Eden, God set out to find them. After Moses murders the Egyptian, God shows up at the burning bush. As Paul headed to kill more Christians, Jesus shows up to call him to share the Gospel with all of us. 

Sin does not separate you from the love of God. 

Because if it does, that makes sin more powerful than the all-powerful. The false god of the fire and brimstone preachers might send people to hell because they can't handle co-existing with sin. But the whole story of the Old Testament is God continuing to remain faithful to sinful people. 

Sin does not separate you from the love of God.

God has taken us in as God's family. And that means that God has committed to loving us no matter what. Sometimes that means God has to establish boundaries. Sometimes that means God will let us fuck around and find out. And sometimes, God might feel a long way away. But in reality, God is sitting there at the phone in case we call. 

Sin does not separate you from the love of God.

Because love continues to grow and expand. Sin just takes up space where love could be growing instead. We shouldn't sin so that instead we get to experience all of the God we can. But when we inevitably do, God is not banished from our presence. God is still there, present in every breath we take, closer to us than we are to ourselves, willing us to make room for love again.

[reachforgodly]

Feast day of st Peter AND st Paul is honestly insane. Imagine you hate your coworker and he writes shit against you and you’re both trying to steer your company in completely different directions. And then in the future your company decides to celebrate both of your efforts in the exact same day when every other employee got a day to themselves. Funniest fucking outcome, the Church went off with that one I’m afraid