‽istis wonders – missing in
action‽ absent without leave‽ (weekending October 14th 2023)
‽istis wonders this weekending: in
the sometime called ‘holy land’ and elsewhere, there and here…
'God' of one name, of no name, a
hundred names[i] or
nine billion names[ii], unutterable
or utterable as prayer or curse, in despair or hope…
Absent without leave‽
Missing in action‽
Never there‽
Never here‽
This week, again[iii],
that is all…
And yet, and yet…
Perhaps, possibly, maybe can we still somehow
imagine how different the world could be‽
©‽istis
A rare postscript added a few days later.
Singing today the Taizé chant 'Ubi caritas et amor Deus ibi est' (where there is charity and love, God is there)... So, perhaps, possibly, maybe where there is not charity and love, God is not there‽
NB: further reflections and
comments linked to this week’s theme and past blog entries to be found on
Twitter: replies, retweets (which don’t necessarily indicate approval,
sometimes the very opposite!) and ‘likes’: @Pistis_wonders. Twitter ‘follows’
and respectful comment and dialogue welcome...
[i] Many
references including: https://archive.org/details/godofhundredname0000barb/page/n3/mode/2up
& https://manicula.narpan.net/obres/hundred-names-god#:~:text=The%20Hundred%20Names%20of%20God,to%20his%20thought%20emerge%20best.
And from ‘‘God of a Hundred Names. Prayers of many peoples and creeds collected
and arranged by Barbara Greene and Victor Gollancz: ‘From amidst diversified
and often warring creeds: over a vast span of history: in the language of many
a tribe and many a nation: out of the mouths of the learned and simple, the
lowly and the great: despite oceans of bloodshed, and torturing inhumanities,
and persecutions unspeakable – the single voice of a greater Humanity rises confidently
to heaven saying “We adore Thee, who art One and who art Love: and it is in
unity and love that we would live together, doing Thy will”.' But ‽istis cannot help but wonder – if this
belief might not be more part of the problem than the solution: distracting,
externalising, exogenous-focussed, even diminishing of all humanity as part of all life
- wondrous and sacred‽
[iii] See
previous blog in September: https://pistisrec.blogspot.com/2023/09/pistis-ponders-what-matters-weekending.html
