mondays are for subversive quotes

Seeing that pomo-Adam has this cool* “Fridays are for new music” thing going, I thought that I’d do a “Mondays are for subversive quotes” thing. Well, this Monday at least. I had 2 quotes sitting in my inbox for a while now, desperate to get put up here. And, what do you know, another one arrived today. So, here are 3 subversive quotes to shake this blue Monday up:

*I assume it is cool. I haven’t actually listened to his music, but judging by his playlist when we drove to Virginia for an Ultimate tournament, I’m sure it’s good. If we had the bandwidth here in SA to listen to streaming audio then trust me, I’d be listening. And then it would be cool.


Those at the Edge Hold the Secret

Those at the edge, ironically, always hold the secret for the conversion of every age and culture. They always hold the projected and denied parts of our soul, the parts of ourselves that we are ashamed of, that we hate and deny, that we're afraid of in ourselves. Only as the People of God receive the stranger and the leper, those who don't play our game, do we discover not only the hidden and hated parts of our own souls, but the Lord Jesus himself. That's how we say, "Come, Lord Jesus." In letting go, we make room for the Other. The church is always converted when the outcasts are reinvited into the temple.

Richard Rohr, Preparing for Christmas with Richard Rohr


A Gospel That Unsettles

A church that doesn't provoke any crises, a gospel that doesn't unsettle, a word of God that doesn't get under anyone's skin, a word of God that doesn't touch the real sin of the society in which it is being proclaimed - what gospel is that? Very nice, pious considerations that don't bother anyone, that's the way many would like preaching to be. Those preachers who avoid every thorny matter so as not to be harassed, so as not to have conflicts and difficulties, do not light up the world they live in.

Oscar Romero, The Violence of Love


Living in Hope

Here's what I've decided: the very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof. What I want is so simple I almost can't say it: elementary kindness. Enough to eat, enough to go around. The possibility that kids might one day grow up to be neither the destroyers nor the destroyed. That's about it. Right now I'm living in that hope, running down its hallways and touching the walls on both sides. I can't tell you how good it feels.

Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams

These thoughtful quotes come from daily emails I subscribe to from Richard Rohr and inward/outward. You can too!