Under construction

Matthew 21:42-43

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures:

‘The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;

this was the Lord’s doing,

and it is amazing in our eyes’?

Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom.

Faith is not ours to keep

not ours by right

or default

or heritage

Faith

that elusive

enigmatic

mysterious

bundle of becoming

is a gift

to embrace for a time

(for it doesn't remain static)

a way to live into

a hope to which to aspire.

a series of teachings

and truths

and beliefs

which gather

unassembled

and which,

just when it seems to make sense

just when it seems to have some coherence

or cohesion

falls apart

and the pieces

don't fit together neatly

ever again

but in their place

is a new set of building blocks

from which to put together

another semblance

another portrayal of belief

with which we can live for a time

until that, too must be given up

as more is revealed 

and as the kingdom of God

emerges

in the lived out

grappling with faith

that defies boundaries

but is evident

in changed lives

In changed communities

and in holding loosely

even giving away

what we imagine is ours

but belongs to God

and returns to God

when we surrender

our constructs

to the will

and purpose

of God.