God is mysterious, and this mystery extends to how he speaks to us humans. The mystery provides confusion. Many proclaim a direct line to God, but have ulterior motives. Others speak truth in obscurity. We seek answers to life’s persistent questions. Hope for our hopelessness. We are like the Blues Brothers; we want to be on a mission for God.

The recent season of the television program White Lotus explored the characters’ search for God. How arrogant we are if we think we have all of the answers. I had a minister in my youth who attested to the evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson praying for him at her Los Angeles Four Square Gospel Temple when he was a returning marine. He swore that her prayer changed his life. Change is a good thing.

My current Pastor tells the story of being with the family of a terminal member of their family and their unshakable belief that God was going to heal the person. The Bible speaks of unshakable faith. How will we get through the trial of life without it?

I have heard ministers expound on their words being the words of God and that they must be obeyed, or destruction will follow. Not a great way to begin a faith journey. Ministers who want a direct line to your pocketbook and wallet. Churches that teach that the more you give, the richer you will become in money. I find no where Christ was motivated by riches. He spoke for those who had no voice, the forgotten of the land. The people that Jesus ministered to had no money, and when the widow gave a mite in the collection plate, he took note that she had given all that she had.

We are borrowing all of our earthly possessions. As the saying goes, you can not take it with you. It is possible to be owned by our earthly possessions.

Today, we see evil leaders taking advantage of poor people. Many pretend to be Christian, but it is a new creation of their own narcissistic ambitions. We seek the Bible to tell us what we want to hear. Thus, we bend political/religious leaders to fit a scriptural hero who has no relationship to the slayer of Goliath in any way.

We are waiting for Godot. As we wait, our brains do what they do best…find connections. God is found in the still, small voice of our hearts. He is found in the beauty of nature and the silence of a Wake. He is found doing something good for a person who could not do it for themselves. God is found in the welcoming of a stranger. He is in the eyes of a homeless child…