I've seen the bumper sticker that says, "God is not a Democrat OR a Republican."
The wisdom expressed in this ubiquitous fashion is that God is above our political persuasions.
I agree. After all, God is not even American.
But God is liberal.
As charged as the words Liberal and Conservative are, I am not expressing what I believe to be God's politics, and yet may nonetheless influence politics and other aspects of daily life.
I began thinking that God is liberal in a meditation on the word "Om." In the major religions of the world, there is an ubiquitous, sacred word in each used to denote, "Yes." There may be more than one word, and the meaning may vary; literally "yes," as in an answer a question, or acceptance, "Let it be so." There are perhaps more than one word, but there is at least one word, and it is positive, affirmative, and points to a God whose answer tends to be Yes. I am currently interested in "Om" and "Amen."
Om, popularly known in the West through meditation and the practice of yoga, originally meant "yes." Om has a positive, healing meaning, and points to the yes-tendency in the universe. The word affirms a universe that tends toward life, creativity, possibility. Not only the word, but the sound also, Om is considered sacred. I find it very interesting to note that Om is still used to denote "yes," in war-ravaged Sri Lanka.
Jews, Christians, and Muslims use the word Amen, which means, "Let it be so." While it does not retain the exact meaning of Om, Amen affirms the positive presence of God in the universe. Amen affirms belief in a God whose joy it is to to say yes to us; to create and save and sustain life. Using the same prayerful word, there is an underlying, though often unaccepted, oneness among these three religions. A oneness between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam is quite a remarkable claim, considering our bloody past. Yet, it simply is. There is tremendous potential for healing in this one word.
The result of believing that God is liberal is that we may become liberal. We are free to say yes. Conversely, if we believe God is conservative, we are justified in being closed. When we limit those who belong, we find that God has also limited those who belong. Has God not increased those who belong?
Yes to loving others.
Yes to food for the hungry.
Yes to call.
Yes to the pain that call may cause me.
Yes to the universe.
To be liberal is the tendency to be open, rather than closed. What captures me in these sacred words of the world's religions is that they are similar affirmations. It isn't merely an act or actions, but the tendency, habit, or disposition of God to create and recreate, and whisper yes into every living thing. In prayer, this means that God is inclined toward yes. Who are we to say no?
