Response to Richard Rohr’s The Naked Now, Chapter 5 (p.39)

“What is the goal of Religions?”

I have never been a fan of religion whereas as long as I can remember I have been a fan and follower of Christ Jesus. The dogma and contradictions and inaccuracies of religion are legion and a seductive trap. Religions start out with the greatest of intentions but in time they become burdened with rituals that then become an end unto themselves. However, the more we fall into the practices of messages conveyed by prophets and mystics like Jesus, Lao Tzu, Mohammed, Buddha, etc. the more we resonate with the purpose and goal of religion. The lessons of practice become embedded in our psyche. We are a part of the unfolding onto the path. It is not intellectual. It is real. Religion too often can separate us from the journey and distract us from the Spirit.

I am reminded of a saying that is in danger of becoming a trite and hackneyed cliché. ‘It not what you do it is what you do.’ As we imperfectly attempt to model our behavior after Jesus we humbly attempt to follow that path by doing the right thing making right decisions. It does not matter what we do be it breathing, walking, talking, preaching, picking up litter, leading people, following people, helping people. However, what we do matters a great deal. When we do any of these things it should not be ritual but rather it should be with kindness, compassion and acceptance. In kindness we seek to do no harm to ourselves or others. In compassion we should dole it out to all, not just people we like but to all people. And in acceptance we are not tolerating but rather accepting with our whole heart.