It was so many years ago that I taught religion to a small group of youngsters in my parish. One of the biggest goals I had was to assure them that God loved them. I would ask the children their name and an answer came immediately back to me because they knew their own name. So I set forth to try to help them realize that as certain and as instantaneously as they knew their own name, they should also know without a moment of hesitation that God loved each and every one of them as the individual that they are. No small task at times but a task worth relaying.
I have contemplated many ways in which to get children and a fair number of adults to realize just how much God does love each and every one of us. It seems a daunting task because invariably whatever vision I can come up with for "God" or "Father", there are experiences from a religion member that gets in the way from one bad experience or another. Catholic clerics seem particularly good at this when being judgemental or threatening that you are 'going to hell in a handbasket' for this or that. Anyone frankly that is a self righteous prig can turn off another to the boundless love of God with the certainty that their truth is thee truth. Why would you even want God to love us in that case? The term "father is also not a universally great one. There are drunken abusive fathers who might never have been there if you'd wanted him to be. The concept of God as father then isn't a ringing endorsement to some. I myself had a flawed father but I realize I too am flawed and I look beyond human flaws, brokenness and frailties to the love he had for me. The idea of God as father for me is extraordinary because I believe God the Father has no flaws or frailties save the ache he has when I make a bad decision or when I hurt myself or some other. God's frailty is how He aches when he sees what in the world we can do to each other in the name of His love or religion.
Yes I have thought a great deal about God. God as Father, God creator and even God as lover ( of his creations, especially me of course! ). I give God all the finest attributes and accolades because , well, he is after all, God.
So for this day in Lent I am working with our second reading for today, Matthews version of the "our Father" ( Mt. 6:12,14-15 ). Knowing how this creator God loves each and every one of us, I am disposed to set aside some time to read this "our Father" and think about each and every word. This could be a month long meditation for sure but I will devote just a goodly amount of time to delve a bit deeper into the prayer to our Father - who loves us all very much.
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