MOM AND DAD, I AM HOME!

If your good daughter returned from a long trip to a faraway place, would you not hug her and kiss her until that emptiness you felt while she was gone, is no longer? Would you not hold her in a deep embrace? Would you not kiss her sweetly on the cheek and tell her how much you love her? Would you not act the same, if your good son came back? Then, if you can unleash all those pent-up emotions upon the return of a loved one, why do you think God would act differently in welcoming back one of Ert[1] good sons and daughters?

My house is full of love. While I am alive and while my family is alive, I want to let them know how much they mean to me. I expect the same treatment from my God. “Mom and Dad, I am home!” I want to yell out when I arrive at my celestial home. That is, if my wish for a heavenly abode becomes reality, and if God will have me.

In regards to God, have I mentioned the word “worship” yet? No, I have not. I have talked a lot about love, the most beautiful of all emotions, but nothing else. Why do you think that is? The reason is that no good-wonderful-benevolent God would expect rituals of worship from His or Her children. Tons of love, yes, pounds of worship, no!

The notion that God likes worship comes from ancient times, when people had to please “the King”—no matter his wishes—otherwise they would lose their heads. An egomaniac like my “favorite” Cuban Fidel loves adulation. He eats it up in huge quantities. Why do you think he gives such long speeches? He is not keen to let out all that hot air and receive nothing in return. Not my Gods, however, not my Gods: Erc is not a person, blessed be our Infinite Source; and Ellael is as my mom and dad have been on Earth: bundles of love and care. A different kind of behavior would indicate the presence of an alien entity, not Ellael.

Listen! All you people out there go ahead and worship God any way you like. You should feel free to express yourselves according to your tradition or customs: kneel, throw yourselves on the floor, throw your arms up on the air and close your eyes, bob your head back and forth while reading your holy book, or do whatever else your heart dictates. I have done some of those things. However, my gut feeling is that God does not expect that from us. God looks forward to our love. That is all. God did not give us the power to walk erect, for us to deny God that sight when we pray. Get off your knees! Get off the floor! It is okay with God in my Book.

I am sure there may come times when, for whatever good reason, I will kneel or throw myself on the floor before God. Probably in a moment of anguish and deep sorrow, I guess that may happen. Perhaps to show my contrition for having done something shameful, I know that will happen. Nevertheless, most of the time, I will stand erect before Ellael.

In my morning and afternoon prayers, I lean forward with my right leg, while bowing and bending my knee slightly. I am not on my knees, and I am not on the floor. It is my way of giving God thanks for bringing me to this world as a human being—in Ert own image. It is also my way of saying to God, “I will meet you halfway. You do what you can to protect me and mine, and I accept responsibility for using the powers you gave me to live my life honorably, to the best of my ability.”

[1] “Ert” is God’s article. Since “Erc,” God-Unconscious is not a person, and since “Ellael,” God-Conscious partakes of both sexes, I cannot use “His” or “Her” (good sons and daughters) when referring to God. “Ert” is a class-neutral (persons versus non-persons) as well as a gender-neutral article. See Ercian Testament – Part Two, chapter 9 Erc, Ellael, and I.