My Theology of Spiritual CareCreation Spirituality

God our Creator

What is Love? A calling to care for all of creation. ‘You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?’ (The Bible. Matthew 5:43-48)

What is love?Recognition that we are our brother’s keeper.  ’10. The basic work of God is compassion and we, who are all original blessings and sons and daughters of the Divine, are called to compassion. We acknowledge our shared interdependence; we rejoice at one another’s joys and grieve at one another’s sorrows and labor to heal the causes of those sorrows.’ (Edwards, Dennis. “What is Creation Spirituality.” Matthew Fox and Creation Spirituality. www.matthewfox.org. 09-24-2012. http://matthewfox.org/about-matthew-fox/what-is-creation-spirituality/.3-21-2016.)

God loving through his Creations‘I am convinced that it is not the fear of death, of our lives ending that haunts our sleep so much as the fear... that as far as the world is concerned, we might as well never have lived.’ (Chandler, Otis. https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/26180.Harold_S_Kushner/3-25-2016)As social creatures we are affected by each other. We develop and learn about ourselves,other people, our place in the world, and with God through our encounters with one another.

Christ ~ The Suffering one and the Radiant One ‘The Cosmic Christ is present wherever there is pain. The Cosmic Christ unites all this pain in the one divine heart, in the one divine -but wounded-body of Christ which is the body of the universe. The Cosmic Christ is the crucified and suffering one in every creature, just as much as the Cosmic Christ is the radiant one, the divine mirror glistening and glittering in every creature. Divinity is not spared suffering-that is the lesson of the Cosmic Christ who suffers.’ (Fox, Matthew. The Coming of The Cosmic Christ. New York, NY: Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc., 1988. Print.)

Commitment to Holding & Healing WoundsFinding Hope and Meaning“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” – Proverbs 23:7

Creation and healing are the same energy. They transform pain, rather than being destroyed by it. Art heals by accepting the pain and doing something with it. – Shaun McNiff, author of “Art Heals: How Creativity Cures The Soul

God in Mystery“God is truly awesome, beyond what we know; the number of his years is unknowable.” Job 26:36 (a)Hallelujah!Praise the LORD from the heavens;praise him in the heights.Praise him, all you his angels;give praise, all you his hosts.Praise him, sun and moon;praise him, all shining stars.Praise him, highest heavens,you waters above the heavens.Let them all praise the LORD’s name;for he commanded and they were created,Assigned them their station forever,set an order that will never change.Psalm 148:1- 6

God in the MasculineLet us rejoice, be glad, and give him glory,because the marriage of the lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready. Revelation 19: 7

God in the Feminine“You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.” Deuteronomy 32:18 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you. See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.Isaiah 49: 15-16 “As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.” Isaiah 66:13

God in the Elemental Praise the LORD from the earth,you sea monsters and all the deeps of the sea; Lightning and hail, snow and thick clouds, storm wind that fulfills his command; Psalm 148 7-8

God in NatureMountains and all hills,fruit trees and all cedars;Animals wild and tame,creatures that crawl and birds that fly;Kings of the earth and all peoples,princes and all who govern on earth;Young men and women too,old and young alike.Let them all praise the LORD’s name,for his name alone is exalted,His majesty above earth and heaven. Psalm 148 9-13

MeaningBeing presentBeing BraveActive listening and assessingCreating a plan that fosters their hopeMy Remembering that Hope lives in the here in now and in the thereafter.