This world, this life, these relationships that surround us make us who we are. They are not irrelevant. In Exodus 33:18-23, Moses asks to see God's face. Instead of the front of God, Moses sees God from the back. I like to think that the world itself is the divine backside. As Jesus' life reveals, God shows up all the time in the everyday (a fancy way to say this is "God incarnates"). God shows up in the world, is known and experienced through the world, as the very back, if not face, of God.
In fact, I am convinced that the most faithful way to follow Jesus today is by devoting ourselves to this world, to this planet. You know, loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself! What better way to love our neighbor than to care for our earth, that neighbor upon which we all depend for our very lives? So that's why you will see me this Saturday, March 1, at the climate change march starting at the Wilmington Waterfront Park at the LA Harbor. Protecting the planet is one of the best ways I know to follow Jesus and love God. For when we do so, we show that this earthy existence matters.
Loving God by loving the world,
Timothy Murphy
Executive Director