Ruminiations from Retirement

I was raised to revere the Bible as the inerrant, infallible, inspired Word of God.     It was in some ways a rule book, teaching us what to do and not do.     It was like a constitution to live by.     It was a reference book or owner’s manual to understand God and man.     But there were problems with this approach.  There are contradictions, that despite attempts to reconcile, don’t seem to be resolvable.  There are portions of scripture that leave me wondering if they are examples for what I should do, or should not do! Now, after quite some time and effort to consider this, listening to many varied voices of authority, I am trying on a new paradigm.  I am approaching the Bible more like a carefully curated anthology of writings, by people, about people and their relationship to God.  They represent humans’ understanding of God and the world from a human perspective at a given point in time and place....

Change is often difficult, even when anticipated and desired.     It can be painful, leaving behind the familiar, the safe, in exchange for the unknown.     Faith! Like a hungry caterpillar, I have devoured life, growing fat and ready.  At times I have temporarily lost my appetite, shedding the old skin to expose the new, followed by an increased appetite for God and his creation. Something new is on the horizon.  I am getting sluggish, finding my body inadequate, hindered by increasing limitations. My appetite for things once satisfying is fading.   There is growing awareness of impending change, anticipation of something else, something beyond imagining.  Since a child I have dreamt of flying, as if it was perfectly natural, awakening to find it just a dream. It is as if something once real was lost!  Those dreams continue, more vividly than before. The itch to find a place to rest grows.  I envision ...