tvc . dsj . org | March 21 , 2017 COMMENTARY 15 Moral Theology : The Flavor of God ’ s Energy
By Rev . Ron Rolheiser , OMI
Theologian , teacher , award-winning author , and President of the Oblate
School of Theology in San Antonio , TX
All things considered , I believe that I grew up with a relatively healthy concept of God . The God of my youth , the God that I was catechized into , was not unduly punishing , arbitrary , or judgmental . He was omnipresent , so that all of our sins were noticed and noted , but , at the end of the day , he was fair , loving , personally concerned for each of us , and wonderfully protective , to the point of providing each of us with a personal guardian angel . That God gave me permission to live without too much fear and without any particularly crippling religious neuroses .
But that only gets you so far in life . Not having an unhealthy notion of God doesn ’ t necessarily mean that you have a particularly healthy one . The God whom I was raised on was not overly stern and judgmental , but neither was he very joyous , playful , witty , or humorous . Especially , he wasn ’ t sexual , and had a particularly vigilant and uncompromising eye in that area . Essentially he was grey , a bit dour , and not very joyous to be around . Around him , you had to be solemn and reverent . I remember the Assistant Director at our Oblate novitiate telling us that there is no recorded incident , ever , of Jesus having laughed .
Under such a God you had permission to be essentially healthy , but , to the extent that you took him seriously , you still walked through life less than fully robust and your relationship with him could only be solemn and reverent .
Then , already a generation ago , there was a strong reaction in many churches and in the culture at large to this concept of God . Popular theology and spirituality set out to correct this , sometimes with an undue vigor . What they presented instead was a laughing Jesus and a dancing God and while this was not without its value it still left us begging for a deeper literature about the nature of God and what that might mean for us in terms of a health and relationships .
That literature won ’ t be easy to write , not just because God is ineffable , but because God ’ s energy is also ineffable . What , indeed , is energy ? We rarely ask this question because we take energy as something so primal that it cannot be defined but only taken as a given , as self-evident . We see energy as the primal
The challenge of our lives is to live inside that energy in a way that honors it and its origins . That means keeping our shoes off before the burning bush as we respect its sacredness , even as we take from it permission to be more robust , free , joyous , humorous , and playful - and especially more grateful .
force that lies at the heart of everything that exists , animate and inanimate . Moreover , we feel energy , powerfully , within ourselves . We know energy , we feel energy , but what we rarely recognize its origins , its prodigiousness , its joy , its goodness , its effervescence , and its exuberance . We rarely recognize what it tells us about God . What does it tell us ?
The first quality of energy is its prodigiousness . It is prodigal beyond our imagination and this speaks something about God . What kind of creator makes billions of throwaway universes ? What kind of creator makes trillions upon trillions of species of life , millions of them never to be seen by the human eye ? What kind of father or mother has billions of children ?
And what does the exuberance in the energy of young children say about our creator ? What does their playfulness suggest about what must also lie inside of sacred energy ? What does the energy of a young puppy tell us about what ’ s sacred ? What do laughter , wit , and irony tell us about the God ?
No doubt the energy we see around us and feel irrepressibly within us tells us that , underneath , before and below everything else , there flows a sacred force , both physical and spiritual , which is at its root , joyous , happy , playful , exuberant , effervescent , and deeply personal and loving . That energy is God . That energy speaks of God and that energy tells us why God made us and what kind of permissions God is giving us for living out our lives .
When we try to imagine the heart of reality , we might picture things this way : At the very center of everything there sit two thrones , on one sits a King and on the other sits a Queen , and from these two thrones issues forth all energy , all creativity , all power , all love , all nourishment , all joy , all playfulness , all humor , and all beauty . All images of God are inadequate , but this image hopefully can help us understand that God is perfect masculinity and perfect femininity making perfect love all the time and that from this union issues forth all energy and all creation . Moreover that energy , at its sacred root , is not just creative , intelligent , personal , and loving , it ’ s also joyous , colorful , witty , playful , humorous , erotic , and exuberant at it very core . To feel it is an invitation to gratitude .
The challenge of our lives is to live inside that energy in a way that honors it and its origins . That means keeping our shoes off before the burning bush as we respect its sacredness , even as we take from it permission to be more robust , free , joyous , humorous , and playful - and especially more grateful .
By Gregory Kepferle
CEO , Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County and President , Charities Housing Development Corporation
“... If you pass through raging waters ... you shall not drown ... Be not afraid , I go before you always . Come follow Me and I shall give you rest .” Ever since the San Jose flood , I have been singing these lyrics of Be Not Afraid by Bob Dufford , SJ . In the midst of the tragedy of the losses of personal property and possessions experienced by so many of our neighbors , I am so grateful no one was hurt or killed . As we work at Catholic Charities to help families recover from the flood , I am also grateful for the generous outpouring of support from the community and amazing dedication of our compassionate and skilled staff and volunteers . While some families will recover fairly quickly after cleaning up and replacing damaged furniture , clothing and supplies , quite a few still
Calm in the Storm
struggle because the flood just added to their ongoing financial struggles to make ends meet . Our role at Catholic Charities is to provide calm in the storm , to walk with them on the long journey to recovery and connect them to housing , mental health services , and help them navigate other benefits and resources so they can become self-sufficient .
We are blessed to have the support of Bishop Patrick J . McGrath , the Diocese of San Jose , all the generous pastors and parishioners , individual donors , foundations and corporations . It helps that we are part of the national ministry of Catholic Charities USA and benefit from technical expertise and additional support from the national office and peers around the country . We also have great partnerships with the City of San Jose and as a member of the local network of Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters ( VOAD ) called CADRE .
Catholic Charities USA , which is the network of Catholic Charities agencies across the country , is the Catholic Church ’ s domestic disaster relief agency designated by the U . S . Conference of Catholic Bishops . So when a disaster strikes , we move into action . Catholic Charities ’ usual role is to provide long-term accompaniment , advocacy and resources to support the recovery of disaster survivors . However , since Hurricane Katrina , Catholic Charities agencies often have stepped up earlier with relief efforts alongside the American Red Cross and Salvation Army .
While the Coyote Creek Flood may appear to be old news and dropped from the top of the media cycle , our neighbors are quietly struggling to rebuild their lives , and still need our help .
Visit www . catholiccharitiesscc . org for additional information .