word

There was something formless and perfect
before the universe was born.
It is serene. Empty.
Solitary. Unchanging.
Infinite. Eternally present.
It is the mother of the universe.
For lack of a better name,
I call it the Tao.

It flows through all things,
inside and outside, and returns
to the origin of all things.

The Tao is great.
The universe is great.
Earth is great.
Man is great.
These are the four great powers.

Man follows the earth.
Earth follows the universe.
The universe follows the Tao.
The Tao follows only itself.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 25, Tao Te Ching

We walked to the old church with the gargoyles and the angels.

 We went in and sat quietly.

"What is religion?" I asked Jesus.

"Story," he said. "In the beginning was the word."

"And before the beginning?" asked Lao Tzu.

They looked at each other and smiled.

"Which story do I believe?" I asked.

"The story that is large enough to contain you without your being contained," said Jesus.

"You guys always speak in paradoxes and parables," I muttered.

"Definitely," said Lao Tzu.

"Infinitely," said Jesus.

For some reason they thought that extremely funny.

It was contagious. We left the church in high good humor.

"Excellent service," said Jesus.