The Whole Language

 Pretty sure I have mentioned this guy before - Father Greg Boyle is someone I read off and on and it still strikes me as radical.  Having been raised in abuse and chaos and then when my parents were 'born again', they swung the pendulum to the complete opposite side of the spectrum -  from alcoholism to legalism.   I am sometimes moved to tears by much of what Father Greg says.   

His latest book, The Whole Language has more stories of his 'homies' and what he sees when he has the honor to witness the transformative power of the gospel. He has spent a lifetime counseling the gang members in Los Angeles and his approach gets me.  He shows us how to fight despair and remain generous, hopeful and tender.   The sub title of this book is: The Power of Extravagant Tenderness.  

Tenderness is not what I am used to - neither from abuse or legalism. And not from those who came from the same hurt that I came from.  So, here are some of his quotes or some variation of them. Get the book. It will encourage you.

Allow the extravagant tenderness of God to wash over us.  Permit the lavishing of such love to surround and fill us and then go into the world and speak that language to others. 

Homeboy doesn't want to simply point things out, we want to point the way.  Not just a solution, but a sign. It points the way to the power of transformation; the holiness of second chances; a commitment to demonize no one; and the power and possibility of redemption.

We ask ourselves, what can move the dial on God's love for us?  Nothing!  It is always at its highest setting.  After all, God's love for me isn't dependent on my love for Him.  (Hmmmm, really?!) Our notion of God can atrophy and get stuck in our own arrested development.  God never has second thoughts about loving us.  

Once you know the God of Love, you fire all the  other gods.  It is always hard for us to believe in the nonjudgmental, loving and merciful God, and yet, that is the God we actually have.

Well, you get the idea...finding peace and purpose.  Yes, words like this get us closer to it.