Freely and fully

There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.’ When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led [Jesus] to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. (Luke 4:27-29)

Freely and fully

Only a free God is worth having; anything less is just a reflection of ourselves.

Trouble is, a free God can’t be tied to a particular place or people, to a preferred culture or way of operating. Divine freedom means we are not in control of much of anything. God can and will do crazy things, scary things, showing up in ungodlike  places, loving the wrong people, challenging our cherished opinions and pet theories about how God acts … or should.

Jesus offends his neighbors, telling them they have no particular claim on the attention and goodness of God. Furthermore, they never did, which was quite contrary to popular opinion.

God is free to be God for everyone, everywhere, which means the reach of the divine heart stretches beyond any and every horizon we can see.

That’s bad news for those who like to draw lines and exclude people, claiming some imagined superiority. But it is good news for every humble heart eager to receive what God in utter freedom lavishes upon every soul.

The first blessing is life itself, breath, the gift of waking under an expansive blue sky on a summer day, golden light filtering through the blinds, bidding the heart to live, one more day, knowing that this precious green planet and one’s own miniscule life are an incalculable miracle, an immense mystery, for there is no reason that they should be.

Except, they are. We are. Here. Existing. And every moment of this day is a holy gift, every breath, too, from a Living Source, who creates and blesses in infinite freedom, pouring out goodness that every people in every place might see and smile, knowing that nothing and no one can stem the generosity of the divine heart.

Jesus’ whole life is a parable of God’s freedom to give life and love beyond every human expectation.

Freely this great Love gives, so freely receive, then smile … and share the joy of God.

Pr. David L. Miller