Liminal Living

146: Tom Rundel: God is Not an Idea

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Synopsis

In this episode, Tom Rundel explores the meaning of Christ the King Sunday, the conclusion of the liturgical year, and uses Psalm 46 to challenge the common Western tendency to treat God as a mere idea rather than an embodied reality. Rundel unpacks the Psalmist’s imagery—refuge, river, stillness—to point listeners toward a faith that is lived, practiced, and experienced in the body, not simply thought in the mind. He contrasts the biblical embodied pathway of spiritual trust with the modern habit of “spiritual bypassing,” urging listeners to regulate their nervous systems not with ideas but with grounding practices, presence, and embodied trust. In a world that feels like it is shaking, this episode reframes stillness as a revolutionary act of faith. Key Takeaway Moments Liturgical time shapes us: The liturgical calendar exists to form us, not to reflect our preferences or current news cycles. Christ the King Sunday was created to resist nationalism: Pope Pius XI introduced it in 1925 in response to rising s