Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the city gate in order to sanctify the people by his own blood. Hebrews 13:12I don’t much care for the Church.
It’s a relief, after thirty odd years of trying, to admit to that troubling fact and decide that she’s probably just not the one for me.
A horror of divorce lurks deep in the bones of this cradle Catholic, so it wasn’t the easiest of decisions.
Truth be told it wasn’t a decision at all, in the ordinary sense of that word: I just woke up one Sunday morning and couldn’t face her. The months have gone by and I am not at all sure that I will ever face her again.
The air is far sweeter out here. It’s pregnant with the heady scents of relief, freedom, and faith. The Scriptures still sing their impossible promises. The Spirit still hovers over the waters giving life to the dead and calling into existence the things that do not exist (see Romans 4:17).
Elizabeth Barret Browning wrote that,
Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.
Moses knew that too (Exodus 3:1-3).
So I realized something, perhaps for the first time, though it was something I glimpsed in waves for many years: I actually believe the Gospel.
Actually, it’s better than that: I know it’s true.
And I know, beyond all shadow of doubt, that it’s not conditional on Church membership of any kind. When he suffered outside… [Read more…] about Outside the Gate