|
... in the
congregation...
One
Man's Web > Mudmap
Theology > ... in the
congregation...
March 23 2007
In my computing work there is always a clamour of competing demands; the boss,
several clients phoning at a time, colleagues needing assistance, three
computers on the screen at once... the list goes on. In all the urgency,
the direction the business is meant to be taking can get lost, and loudest
squeaky wheel can take up all the time- even though it is relatively
unimportant. It's just like... a congregation.
We have a list of "big rocks" in our office; the key issues that need
to be addressed and achieved. They sit, bullet pointed, in the top
of my in-tray, and we check our progress against them each week. The
demands of the moment are measured against them. New opportunities and
directions are assessed besides them.
The big rocks are not inviolable, or 'holy writ.' They also are
re-assessed. But they are our daily guide and health check. Wondering
about heading back
towards work in the church- I don't think it will happen- I made my own list... just to remember.
Not holy writ... up for revision... a work in progress... and the beginning of
one more mud map.
I
think the Church should:
The
Church can do this by:
-
Seeking
always to relate to the ultimate reality which we call God
As I note below, there is no sacred and profane.
There may be "thin places" where we are more aware of the
Divine, but none of life is to be lived as though God was not there, or that
what Jesus would do was of no account in that place.
-
and,
as Christians, who see Jesus as a definitive pointer to God, live by asking
''What would Jesus do here in our shoes today?" And then trying to live
that.
And I mean not some ethereal (or Victorian) Jesus in flowing
robes and sandals, with blue eyes and a beard.
I mean a Jesus living here in my town, working in an Australian job,
facing our issues, but speaking the words and the meanings that we find on
his lips in the New Testament texts.
-
Refusing
the heresy that there is sacred and profane.
By this I mean that there is no place that our
faith does not reach and affect. We
may not be in church in our work, but even in an environment hostile to the
Christ, we still seek to live as Christ would.
Sunday church may be far from the place we work, but the hymns and
prayers and preaching should speak to the places and struggles in which we
work. To healthily be Church,
we cannot worship in a way that denies where we live, and we cannot live in
a way that denies what we say in worship.
We must also include all of life in our theological thinking. We cannot ignore science, or psychology, for example, simply
because they challenge aspects of the faith we have received.
This does NOT mean we are to accept all that these disciplines say.
Often they are driven by agenda which are not disinterested, but which
reflect values which are profoundly anti Christ.
-
If
we belong to Christ, and if the sacred and profane is a false duality, then
global justice and peace, for all people, and for all creation, is the sine
qua non of Christian discipleship.
Piety which does not strive in its local life to
be mindful and responsive to global issues, has already begun to fail.
Piety which cries loudly of the global issues and ignores the same
issues locally, is in a kind of denial and avoidance. And faith which concentrates only on personal piety, is a
heresy.
We
begin that task by:
-
Loving
and supporting each other.
"See how those Christians love each
other." How can we speak to others if we cannot even live the life
ourselves? Loving and supporting each other is part of the discipline of
conversion. It is the acid test
of our gospel and community. If
we cannot love those to whom we are closest, how will we love others?
-
Being
compassionate to others and
Com-passion means literally in passion with.
A key part of being Christian is to be in passion with people.
To let ourselves feel what they feel.
It is the nature of Christ to be merciful, to feel with, and to work
for justice and to uphold the Law and to do what is good and right from that
position. If we are not in
passion with people we have not learned what it means when Jesus says
"I desire mercy, not sacrifice." If I am not feeling with you, if
I am not in passion with you, then my attempt to help you is not compassion
and mercy. It is me helping me feel good by doing good works. It is me being
patronising by deciding what is right for you.
I can only be Christian by standing for you by standing with
you.
-
stepping
outside of ourselves as people and as a parish.
Making our survival the most important thing means we won't survive.
True compassion means stepping outside of ourselves. As long
as we keep ourselves as the central person, there is no real compassion and
there is no real personal freedom, joy or happiness. Keeping "I"
at the centre is ultimately an I-dolatry.
It makes I God. Indeed, I am here. I am. But what matters is We-The-Whole
and also ,that which is Ultimate, which we call God.
There is no place for the
old piety which demeaned ourself and made us a good for nothing, self hating
slave, in a denial of the Grace of God. Often that became a different kind
of elevation of the ego that was just as self-centering of the I. But until
we have stepped outside of ourselves, the I- our selfishness, our
self-awareness and self focussedness- will always be in the way of the path
toward God. Compassion is part
of the process of stepping outside of ourselves.
When I am struggling to remember what this all means- on those days when it
has slipped out of focus and the I looms large- I remember the happiest
times, which are those when I forgot to think about me and being happy and
knowing God, and just was.
-
Living
in hope- not hope as a feeling, but hope as a choice.
As Christians I think it is common now to
understand that to Love does not always mean to like, or to concur, or to
condone. We act for the very
best, with the greatest regard, courtesy and respect.
We seek to reach out and communicate, not reject or condemn. That is
to live with Love.
In the same way, Hope is not a feeling.
Hope is a choice. We can live as hopeful people, making the Jesus
inspired choices we would make at the best of times, even when it all
feels hopeless.
My
role as a Minister of the Word is to
1. Live alongside, and as one of, the people of God by:
-
Striving
to remain attuned to God so that I can be a ''thin place" for the
people who put their trust in me.
-
Loving
the people of God.
I will try and have one ''non-business" pastoral ''visit" each
day.
By nature I am introverted and a bit of a loner. This
is one little discipline to help keep the people and the community of the
congregation central in my life.
-
Remaining
aware of the life and community issues through and in which people
live.
2. Bring to the people:
-
Encouragement
in the value of their discipleship, and what it gives to the world
-
Help
them dare to see God in the world.
-
Help
them step outside themselves and trust God.
3. Remain healthy in mind and body by
Men's Business Mud
Map Theology Studies Conversations
Thinking Where I Live
Sermons Mark Politics
Words Computing Jan's
Links Fundamentalism
Sexuality
in the Uniting Church Replies,
Responses, Debate Latest
Pages
© Jan Thomas
|