God the Superfluous

Attended services this morning, held on my back deck, of the Church of God the Superfluous.

God, I prayed, if you exist, forgive us for our careless, selfish and unworthy thoughts of you. We have looked upon you as a gift giver and a bribe taker, as a sentimental old fool (with a beard) to be flattered and cajoled. We have ascribed all of our mean and scurvy human qualities to you, and depicted you as cruel, vindictive, grasping, jealous, angry, petty, vainglorious. We have leached all the magnificence and splendor out of you in trying to understand you.

We have created you in our own image, in the belief that man is the measure of all things.

God, we have made you the repository of all our confused notions about good and evil. We have made you bear the intolerable burden of perfect goodness, and have cursed you in our hearts for not making us good.
We have made you the author of the universe, and held you accountable for the narrative, which we perceive but dimly.

In our immense self-concern we have demanded that you give meaning to all of our lives.

Forgive us, o Lord, we beseech Thee, for making Thee superfluous.