I wonder if the previous entries (Toxic Faith 1,2,3,) proved too much for the Christmas lull. Admittedly I prepared them before Christmas, so that I could post them whilst on holidays.
The more I ponder the lists, the more I think they are important and bear some cogitation. Take number 3 of the last list for example:
3. Growing in faith as evidenced by walking into pain
I am not even quite sure what it means, but it bears thinking about. It is not, as some might crassly think, about inviting a lifestyle of masochism. It is, I suspect, about a lifestyle of reality. The reality that doesn't exert all its energy trying to avoid inevitable suffering, but rather seeks to embrace it.
I have known for many years for example that the death of those closest to us is not only shattering but it is also wonderful and one of those points at which we are most able to grow. It is hard to say this to people, but gratifying when you do and people respond by telling you that they found it to be true.
It is not I think, so much about walking into pain as not walking away from it.
8 comments:
I'm trying to paraphrase something that Bonhoeffer said:
If you really want to follow Jesus, honey, then it's gonna hurt, it's gonna cost and it ain't gonna be cheap.
I think it likely he said
Wenn Sie wirklich Jesus, Honig folgen möchten, dann wird es verletzen, wird es kosten und es wird nicht preiswert sein.
But I can't for a moment imagine he said "honey" or "gonna".
But I take the point and agree.
I guess Bonhoeffer was "in your face" - at least Nachfolge is, as much as I've dared to read of it.
Actually, what would shock/delight me is if the congregations that I occasionally attend were to talk about Jesus as a real "in your face" person who people like Bonhoeffer were prepared to bet their lives on, rather than some comfortably pleasant Aryan fellow who gets dusted off each Sunday morning during an hour or so of pleasant communal singing and after worship fellowship over cups of tea and some Arnotts Family Assorted.
I think I'm being excessively sarcastic here - but the central point is that I've not found Jesus to be a comfortable person to have around - far from it.
Yes, Trevor, I agree. I have two sets of feelings about this.
One is that I wish more people focussed their energies on cultivating a relationship with Jesus, rather than everything else that passes for Church.
The other is that I also want to affirm that most people have genuine experience of encounter with the living God, and that they know what to do.
This, I guess, is part of the inevitable conradiction of lived Christianity
Stephen,
Perhaps people do have genuine encounters with the living and involved God, but why are they so secretive about it? I don't mean that they should be standing on street corners preaching to passers-by, but it would be sooo nice if people would share their experiences, and not look as if someone has committed the ultimate faux pas by mentioning the name of Jesus during the after worship cuppa and biscuit.
If the Good News is so Good, then why are so many in the Church reluctant to speak of it, even among themselves?
I think that one of the things that I keep trying to say to my church community is ...You do have experience of Jesus...what on earth could it mean. I find that at times of grieving people seem to get this better than at other times
Bonhoeffer again:
Men go to God when they are sorely tested,
Pray to Him for succour, for his peace, for bread,
For mercy for them sick, sinning or dead:
All men do so, Christian and unbeliever.
Men go to God when He is sorely tested,
Find Him poor and scorned, without shelter or bread,
Overwhelmed by weight of the wicked, the weak, the dead:
Christians stand by God in His hour of grieving.
God goes to every man when sorely tested,
Feeds body and spirit with His bread,
For Christians, heathens alike He hangs dead:
And both alike are forgiven.
(There's probably a better term for "sorely tested").
I really shouldn't be clogging up you blog with random unsolicited posts - my apologies if it's getting irritating.
Trevor
no, I am gratified by the interest.
I would like to have a bash some day at trying to write "Men go to God" in in non-gender specific language. I think Pastor Bonhöffer would appreciate that.
Post a Comment