Engage: Heading Toward the Light

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Without reminding you about things you already know, I begin by saying we are likely in for hard times. I expect this will occur on multiple fronts…all at once. We are living in trying and dangerous times.

I do not say this as a “doomsday” pundit. I believe we are in a time of Awakening, but the journey into it will be more challenging than ever before. The old does not “pass away” quickly or easily as the new comes (2 Corinthians 5:17). And as the Awakening advances, it will be “new” in more ways than we can predict. Many of our sacred cows, status quos, security systems, and comfort zones will fall by the wayside, leaving us to live in what Richard Rohr calls, “the naked now.”

Living as Rohr envisions it calls for a thorough cleaning of the lens so that we “see as the mystics see”—that is, see discerningly with both realism and hope. It is “having eyes to see” as Jesus put it in Mark 8:18. Living well in this time of Awakening requires realism and resolve. It means having faith even when what we hope for is not seen (Hebrews 11:1), and that faith (as the rest of Hebrews 11 shows) includes suffering. But it is a journey in which we are heading toward the light.

In our day, new-awakening living includes knowing what to do with evil. Hence, our use of Richard Rohr’s book, ‘What Do We Do With Evil?’ as our first common reader. If you intend to participate in the “Engage” group experience, you still have time to get the book. We begin reading it together on May 30.

We are living in perilous times. But as we do so, we are heading toward the Light. God is doing a new thing today (Isaiah 43:19). We can live abundantly and be instruments of God’s peace in these days. I hope “Engage” will contribute to that for you.

You do not have to formally register to be in the group. But if you intend to do so, I would like to hear from you. Use the Oboedire email (oboediresite@gmail.com) to be in touch.