Sharing the darkness of suffering and death

 This month in the theology reading group, we discussed Sharing the Darkness: The Spirituality of Caring by Sheila Cassidy. It is a beautiful book that is both challenging and comforting. The author draws on her own experience with honesty, vulnerability, and humour.

Cassidy is a British medical doctor who, in the 1970s, was tortured by the Pinochet military dictatorship in Chile because she gave medical aid to an opponent of the government. Later in the UK, she helped establish a small hospice to care for the dying. At times she considered becoming a Catholic nun but found her vocation as a doctor caring for the dying and as an advocate for the marginalised. The book recounts her struggle to live out Jesus' radical Gospel in these challenging contexts.

Recurring themes concern the character and actions required of an authentic carer: humility, love, presence, empathy, vulnerability. Personal theology and worldview need to embrace mystery and paradox and powerlessness. A community of carers is needed for both mutual support and complementary skills and gifts. The community can only survive (and potentially prosper) with open communication, love, acceptance, and forgiveness. Cassidy affirms the importance of individuality: both patients and carers are unique persons with unique personalities, histories, and needs. Furthermore, carers need to engage in self-care, including rest and spiritual disciplines. Like Cassidy, I wish I had appreciated this earlier in life.

Here are two quotes from the book I found most striking.

"Are heart our hearts are fulfilling, our minds are for blowing, and our idols for shattering into a thousand pieces." (page 228)

"At a religious level perhaps the most important gift is a sort of paschal overview - the ability to hold in the same focus the harsh reality of suffering and the mind boggling truth of resurrection of life after death. One must develop the ability to stand with feet firmly planted on an earth inhabited by wounds and vomit bowls but with the gaze focused beyond the mess of the here now to a future of hope beyond imaginings. More than anything one must know deep in one guts that death is the beginning, not the end." (page 8)

As an aside, I mention the movie Wit, which is relevant and which some of us watched in preparation for our discussion.

Renovation of the heart by Dallas Willard

 Last month at the theology reading group, we discussed Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ by Dallas Willard. I read the 20th anniversary edition, which includes a glowing appreciation by John Mark Comer.

I had wanted to read something by Willard for a long time, since I had heard so many positive things about him and his books. I was also interested because, although he was a popular Christian author and speaker, he was also a serious academic at a secular university.

He argues that to become like Jesus, we need VIM

Vision: a picture of what this looks like for us 

Intention: a desire for this vision to become a reality 

Means: an idea of the practicalities needed for the intention to translate into personal change

Willard argues that there are six dimensions to a human person.

1. Thought: images and concepts

2. Feelings: sensations and emotions

3. Choice: will, decisions, character

4. Body: actions, physical interactions

5. Social context: personal and structural relations

6. Soul: it integrates all of the other dimensions.

One can argue about characterisation, merits and relative importance of each of these dimensions. All models are wrong, but some are useful. However, I found this helpful as it acknowledges the multi-faceted nature of personhood. Too often, I hear reductionist arguments that claim that one of these dimensions is far more important than any of the others and that if you get that right, then the others will fall in line. For example, right theology leads to right thinking, which leads to right emotions and behaviour. I think we are much more complex than that, and there is a subtle and mysterious interplay between all the dimensions.

On the one hand, I did find the book helpful and personally challenging. For example, the discussion of how our heart can be evil, deceptive, selfish, bitter, and resentful. On the other hand, I was a little disappointed as it did not live up to my high hopes and expectations. For me, there was too much discussion and analysis of problems in the USA church and society. Bible verses were frequently quoted, but there was little Biblical theology. Sometimes made statements that seemed too black and white for me.

My dear wife, Robin, is more practical (and godly) than me. She did not read the book, but instead has been working through

Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice: Experiments in Spiritual Transformation, a study guide by Jan Johnson.

She loves it!

Growing old with grace

I am 65 years old. I have struggled with my mental health much of my adult life. My wife, Robin, is 70 and has Parkinson’s disease. We are both retired from formal paid work. Some of our close friends are older or have greater health challenges than us. The reflections that follow are prompted by a desire to grow old with grace and to stimulate discussions on the topic with family and friends.

The communal dimension

Affluent individuals in the West think in individualistic terms. Perhaps, when it comes to ageing, they may think in a little more in terms of being part of a couple, and perhaps a nuclear family. However, ageing increases our dependence on others: a spouse, children, relatives, friends, neighbours, organisations, and governments. Even if, as individuals, we come to terms with the issues discussed below, that does not mean that our loved ones will. This complicates things further.

Accepting reality

We are all going to die. Unless we have a sudden and unexpected death, we are all going to get older. Gradually, our minds and bodies will decay. Ailments will increase. Physical, mental, and emotional energy will decline along with agility. It is tempting to live in denial that this will ever happen, or to deny that it is happening right now. The truth can be too scary, complicated, disappointing, or uncertain to accept. Even if we accept it, our loved ones may not. Even if we acknowledge the reality at an intellectual level, will we deal with it emotionally and at a practical level?

Declining energy

As we age, we have less physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual energy. We get tired more easily and our recovery time is longer. Today, I cannot function without a daily nap after lunch. I must carefully manage my limited energy. I cannot imagine doing many of the things I did a decade ago, let alone when I was young. 

Despite our declining energy, in retirement, we may have more time and freedom than ever before. We may have a new perspective on what really matters and want to use our freedom to avoid being sucked into the cares and anxieties of this world. What a blessing! The challenge is to make the most of our freedom with the energy we do have.

Some people retire from full-time employment and experience “a new lease on life.” Freed from a demanding work schedule and burdensome responsibilities, they have energy and enthusiasm for all sorts of activities.

On the positive side, what am I enjoying about this stage of life? How do I notice my energy changing? How am I adapting? Will I deal with practical and emotional issues while I still have the energy?

Practical dimensions

There is a whole range of financial, medical, legal, bureaucratic, transport, and housing dimensions to ageing. On the one hand, these complexities can come from individual affluence and living in a country with generous (by global standards) government support. On the other hand, navigating these complexities requires considerable time, energy, planning, technological savvy, and patience. It can be overwhelming. Furthermore, simply waiting until problems escalate to unsustainable levels risks creating unnecessary crises, placing burdens on others, and missing out on potential solutions. This is where accepting reality is important. At some point, we will have to stop driving, riding a bicycle, using ladders, writing books, travelling overseas, using stairs, and possibly living in our current house. Can we accept this? When do we think some of these things might happen? Do we have a plan for how we will adapt? When and how will we discuss this with family members?

Attitude

Facing reality is not easy. Our bodies are decaying. Opportunities and our influence on others are diminishing. Our legacy may be set. Not only are we changing, but so is the world around us. It is not what it used to be. Social and technological change is rapid, increasing, surprising, not necessarily for the better, and not easy to adapt to. Unlike during the bravado of youth, it is harder to deny our limitations and finitude. We now feel them in our bodies and brains. Loss rather than gain may be the norm. Funerals may outnumber weddings and births. Will we truly grieve our losses, whether it is the death of loved ones, a dream, or diminished mental capacity? Stages of grief may include denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance, not necessarily in a linear fashion.

Spiritual dimensions

The practical, intellectual, and emotional dimensions of ageing cannot be separated from the spiritual. My spiritual life can enable me to deal with the other challenges. Do I believe this life is all there is? Is it preparation for something better? Do I trust Jesus is walking next to me in this life stage, just as He has promised? As I experience weakness, is His grace sufficient for me? Am I looking back at past failures and disappointments with bitterness and shame? Or am I looking forward to being welcomed by Jesus into an eternal home? Do I have the hope of heaven, where there will be perfect love and justice, and no more death, tears, and pain?

A diversity of circumstances and experience

Everyone is different. Some people have excellent health and circumstances, and even when they are eighty years old, they don’t have to wrestle with some of the challenges I discuss here. Perhaps, they won’t have to for another decade. Some people die young. Some people have chronic health problems or disabilities their whole lives. Different family, social, or financial contexts can significantly affect the nature or extent of the challenges I discussed above. To illustrate the diversity I include a graph (at the end of this post) of the projected age of death for women in Australia who are 65 years old. It shows a large variation in life expectancy.

Some relevant books

Currently, Robin and I are reading three books. Each considers a different dimension of ageing.

"We need to talk about mum and dad" It is by the Australian comedian Jean Kittson and illustrated with cartoons by Patrick Cook. Although written for the children of ageing parents, it is helpful for anyone getting old. It discusses the complex family dynamics associated with ageing and how to navigate the many dimensions of the practical complexities of ageing. 

"Not Old, Not Young, Not Done: Following Jesus in Your 50s And 60s" by Christopher Ash.

"The Gift of Years: Growing Older Gracefully" by Joan Chittister. Although the author is a Benedictine nun, the book is intended for a broad audience. The book challenges our attitudes to ageing, but may be a bit idealistic for some of us.

Bonhoeffer as a model for an integrated Christian life

This month at the theology reading group, we are discussing a recent book by our leader.

 In the Shadow of a Rugged Cross: Reflections on the Spirituality of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Charles R. Ringma

Like most of Charles' books, this one is best read as a devotional book. There are ten chapters, each of which has six sections of about two pages in length. Each section begins with a Bible verse and ends with a short prayer. Most of the prayers are taken from the Celtic Daily Prayer book from the Northumbria Community or Liturgies from Below: Praying with People at the End of the World by Claudio Carvalhaes. Each section has a reflection on a specific topic, drawing on multiple short quotations from Bonhoeffer.

The book helped me appreciate how Bonhoeffer's Christian life was integrated in two senses. Bonhoeffer did not compartmentalise or over-emphasise one dimension of the Christian life.

First, in both his theology and his life, for Bonhoeffer, there was no separation or isolation of head, heart, and hands. They all matter. What we believe, what we love and worship, and how we serve are intertwined. 

Second, living as a Christian is not just an individual or private spiritual experience. It is intertwined with our relationships with family, church, society, and nation. On the one hand, the church is distinct from society and should not conform to its values, ethics, and priorities. On the other hand, the church is to be salt and light in society, loving and serving the marginalised, and speaking truth to power.

Most importantly, Bonhoeffer was Christ-centric. On any matter, in the end, he went back to the life, teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This meant the Bible, and particularly the Gospel narratives, were central to his theology and ethics. He wrestled, both intellectually and in prayer, to understand his life and context, what they meant in light of Scripture, and how to move forward in faith and obedience.

Here are a few quotations from Charles' book that I found helpful and challenging.

    "When we embrace the great gift of the Holy Spirit, we need to be discerning, what is most precious can be easily distorted.

If the Spirit we are following is not binding us to the Word and the person and work of Christ, we can be led into the side-alleys of subjectivism. We can make all sorts of claims that the Spirit "told" us to say or to do something, when in fact we are over-riding the ever-gentle Spirit, or letting our own imagination run rife."

page 63 

    "Prophetic spirituality has nothing to do with iron clad certainties. It is birthed in the contested space of discernment. It is the place of struggle – do I really understand what is happening in our society when so many seem to think that everything is good? Have I really “heard” the voice of God? And are my actions of proclamation and resistance consistent with my beliefs? And will there be good outcomes?"

page 120

Charles begins Chapter 9, "Celebrating the Good in our World," stating

 "I have been around radical Christians for much of my life. There is much to admire: their vision for a better world, their willingness to practice the good they hope for, their courage to proclaim truth to power, and their willingness to embrace suffering.

But radical Christians are often overly idealistic, unfairly critical of others, and over time, their projects can run out of steam. Another difficulty is that radical Christians don’t give much attention to the “ordinary” realities and structures of life. 

What is surprising is that the radical Bonhoeffer is different. He practices radical alternatives, while at the same time maintaining a vision for the continuance of the more ordinary realities of life – family, work, church, governance, among other themes. This is both refreshing and challenging. And importantly, this calls us to live a more dynamic dialectic. Church, yes. But also, community. Word, yes. But also, Spirit. Prophecy, yes. But also, maintenance."

page 146 

Memorial statue of Bonhoeffer in Westminster Abbey.

Highlights from John's Gospel

The Gospel According to John is a rich narrative built around many stories, metaphors, themes, concepts, events, prayers, teachings, and allusions to the Old Testament. After reading and listening to it multiple times over the past month, it is hard to pick out what is most striking, meaningful, challenging, comforting, or confusing. My previous post provided some brilliant and helpful summaries made by others. To those, I add Eugene Peterson's brilliant discussion in Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places (pages 85-108).

Here are a few interrelated themes that stood out to me personally. They are so connected that it is hard to put them in a particular order.

Incarnation

The living Word of God became a living human in the form of Jesus. He was the embodiment of God's love, promises, character, power, mystery, grace, and truth.

Sin and salvation

Make no mistake. Humans are sinful. Sin is slavery, destructive, evil, dark, opposed to truth, and leads to spiritual death and judgement, both now and for eternity. Humans need to be saved and redeemed from these terrible consequences. Jesus offers salvation through his sacrificial death. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The whole second half of the Gospel centres around Jesus' death.

Belief, love, and obedience

These cannot be separated. Belief is not just intellectual assent to propositional truth. Belief/faith is trust and active participation. Belief, obedience, love, and personal revelation are synergistic and not sequential. "He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me... I will love him and manifest myself to him." (14:21, RSV). (This verse was very helpful to me early in my Christian journey when I memorised it more than forty years ago). See also 7:18 and 8:31-2.

A new creation

John 1 echoes the creation account in Genesis 1, "In the beginning God created..." all life, something good, with powerful words. This creation continues in Jesus, the living Word, who entered this creation to make a new creation, an abundant life and salvation.

Abundant life

Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (10:10, NIV). John wrote his Gospel "that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." (20:31, NIV).

Jesus does not just offer eternal life but an abundant life now, even though that may involve suffering, sacrifice, sickness, and death. It is now but not yet. Time and eternity come together in the incarnation, his death, his resurrection, and even in our own lives.

The Spirit

Jesus promised his followers to not leave them alone but to send the Spirit: his living presence, a comforter and advocate. The Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgement. The Spirit guides us into the truth, reminding us of Jesus' teaching. The Spirit enables us to forgive others and can unite Christians. The Spirit empowers us for mission, enabling acts of service and bearing witness to the truth. (As the Father sent Jesus, so he sends us).

The characteristics above show that the Spirit is practical, concrete, and personal. This is far from some abstract, vague, and impersonal force. The spirit is not something special people tune into through some mystical process to provide some secret knowledge or an inner voice that will prompt them to take some action to enhance their affluent lifestyle.

False dichotomies and dialectic

The world [cosmos] is flawed, broken, evil, and opposed to Jesus and his followers. Yet this world is also created, beautiful, and redeemable. Jesus did not come to condemn the world but to save it.

Jesus' Kingdom is for this world, but its' values are not derived from this world. It is an upside-down kingdom.

The abstract and concrete, the spiritual and material, time and eternity, faith and works. Each half of these pairs is often brought into tension or said to contradict the other half of the pair. However, in the Gospel of John, and ultimately in Jesus, they are brought together in beautiful life-enhancing ways.

Participating in the Greatest Story ever told

What role should the Bible play in the life of Christians, individually and collectively? How is the Bible to be read, interpreted, applied, and lived out?

This month in the theology reading group, we are discussing Eugene Peterson's book, Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading.

It is the second book in a five-part series. Last year we discussed the first in the series, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places.

The title of the book is based on Revelation 10:9-10

...I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, ‘Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but “in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.”’ I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. 

Here are the main ideas from the book that stood out to me. They are interrelated. Some may seem basic or obvious, but they come alive through the power, creativity, and beauty of Peterson's prose.

1. The Bible must be central to the lives of Christians. It requires diligence for the Bible to not become peripheral due to the busyness of modern life and the seductive power of the self (the trinity of my Needs, my Wants, and my Feelings).

2. The Bible is to be lived. It is a great story that we are invited to participate in. This means obedience. Bible reading is not to be primarily about gathering information, but formation.

3. The Bible invites us into a "strange new world". [Here, Peterson is using Karl Barth's phrase.] It is counter-cultural to every culture of all time. To enter this strange world, we must read it as literature, having our imagination opened up by narrative, metaphor, and connectness.

4. The Bible is accessible to all regardless of their background (perspicuity). It can be and should be read by all. Just the plain old text! This accessibility does not preclude or diminish the value of careful and diligent scholarship.

5. Translation is necessary, subtle, and contentious. Translation is not just a technical exercise of precisely matching individual words in ancient Greek and Hebrew to words in modern English. Words are ambiguous. Phrases and sentences are even more ambiguous. "Context contaminates and interferes with precision" (p. 86) Translation matters because it makes the living Word of God accessible.

6. Lectio divina (reading spiritually) provides a model on "how to" read the Bible. But, it "is not a methodical technique... It is a cultivated, developed habit of living the text in Jesus' name." (page 116).  There are four elements, and they are not necessarily sequential. Lectio (read the text), meditatio (meditate on the text), oratio (pray the text), and contemplatio (live the text).

7. Bible reading is not just to be done alone. It is to be done in communities and out loud. The written word and the oral word are not the same. The original texts were largely read aloud and listened to by communities. Bible reading and liturgy should be inseparable.

Below are some choice quotes from the book.

“The Scriptures, read and prayed, are our primary and normative access to God as He reveals Himself to us. The Scriptures are our listening post for learning the language of the soul, the ways God speaks to us; they also provide the vocabulary and grammar that are appropriate for us as we in our turn speak to God.”

“The Bible is basically and overall a narrative - an immense, sprawling, capacious narrative.”

“All serious and good writing anticipates precisely this kind of reading-ruminative and leisurely, a dalliance with words in contrast to wolfing down information.”

“It is useful to reflect that the word 'liturgy' did not originate in church or worship settings. In the Greek world it referred to public service, what a citizen did for the community. As the church used the word in relation to worship, it kept this 'public service' quality - working for the community on behalf of or following orders from God. As we worship God, revealed personally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in our Holy Scriptures, we are not doing something apart form or away from the non-Scripture=reading world; we do it for the world - bringing all creation and all history before God, presenting our bodies and all the beauties and needs of humankind before God in praise and intercession, penetrating and serving the world for whom Christ died in the strong name of the Trinity.”

“The Holy Scriptures are story-shaped. Reality is story-shaped. The world is story-shaped. Our lives are story-shaped. 'I had always,' wrote G.K. Chesterton in accounting for his Christian belief, 'felt life first as a story, and if there is a story, there is a story-teller.' We enter this story, following the story-making, storytelling Jesus, and spend the rest of our lives exploring the amazing and exquisite details, the words and sentences that go into the making of the story of our creation, salvation, and life of blessing. It is a story chock full of invisibles and intricate with connections. Imagination is required.”

“We are fond of saying that the Bible has all the answers. And that is certainly correct. The text of the Bible sets us in a reality that is congruent with who we are as created beings in God's image and what we are destined for in the purposes of Christ. But the Bible also has all the questions, many of them that we would just as soon were never asked of us, and some of which we will spend the rest of our lives doing our best to dodge. The Bible is a most comforting book; it is also a most discomfiting book.”

“Obedience is the thing, living in active response to the living God. The most important question we ask of this text is not, 'What does this mean?' but 'What can I obey?' A simple act of obedience will open up our lives to this text far more quickly than any number of Bible studies and dictionaries and concordances.”

Living as a Christian is counter-cultural

What is absolutely basic to the Christian life? Eugene Peterson argues that it is not all about us. Rather, it is all about God. Furthermore, it is not about Christians doing stuff. Rather it is about Christians participating in what God is doing. This means that Christians must act in ways and use methods that align with the actions and methods of Jesus. This is Christian integrity. This goes far beyond avoiding sexual or financial impropriety.

Unfortunately, these absolutely basic things are contrary to the culture in which many Christians live, particularly in North America. And, due to globalisation, these pernicious influences have spread.

Two things absolutely basic to the Christian life are, unfortunately, counter to most things North American, which makes this intersection a confused place, clogged with accidents, snarled traffic, and short tempers. To begin with, the Christian life is not about us; it is about God. Christian spirituality is not a life-project for becoming a better person, it is not about developing a so-called ‘deeper life.’ We are in on it, to be sure. But we are not the subject. Nor are we the action. We get included by means of a few prepositions: God with us (Matthew 1:23), Christ in me (Galatians 2:20), God for us (Romans 8:31). With…in…for…: powerful, connecting, relation-forming words, but none of them making us either subject or predicate. We are the tag-end of a prepositional phrase.

The great weakness of North American spirituality is that it is all about us: fulfilling our potential, getting in on the blessings of God, expanding our influence, finding our gifts, getting a handle on principles by which we can get an edge over the competition. And the more there is of us, the less there is of God. 

Eugene Peterson, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places, page 335

The advertisement below crassly captures the powerful cultural forces working against those who want to follow Jesus.

Sooner or later in this life we get invited or commanded to do something. But in that doing, we never become the subject of the Christian life nor do we perform the action of the Christian life. We are invited or commanded into what I call prepositional participation. The prepositions that join us to God and God’s action in us within the world—the with, the in, the for—are very important, but they are essentially a matter of the ways and means of being in on and participating in what God is doing.

These ways and means are the second basic in the Christian life that are also counter to most things American. Ways and means must be appropriate to ends. We cannot participate in God’s work but then insist on doing it in our own way. We cannot participate in the building of God’s kingdom but then use the devil’s tools and nails. Christ is the way as well as the truth and the life. When we don’t do it his way, we mess up the truth and we miss out on the life.

Following Jesus in the 21st Century

I have finished reading a book by Eugene Peterson that I find helpful, enthralling, and challenging.

Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology

Why am I enthralled? Peterson has a way with words, carefully crafting sentences and paragraphs that are both easy to read and profound. The book resonates with much I have personally been observing, learning, and thinking about. The book is challenging because it exposes many of my own struggles and weaknesses, and those of the Christian communities, from the local to the global, that I am a part of or have been involved in over the years.

The title of the book, "Christ plays in ten thousand places" is taken from a line in the poem As Kingfishers Catch Fire by Gerard Manley Hopkins.

A few things that stand out are the following.

The basics matter

Love God and Love others. It can't get "simpler" than that!

Basic concepts: creation, sin, redemption, judgement, Trinity,...

Basic practices and habits: Bible reading, prayer, holy communion, fellowship, reading literature, Sabbath, meals together, hospitality,... We need to do these in an intentional, disciplined, and regular way, and be mindful of their profound theological meaning and significance.

Cultural pressures will choke or derail the Christian life, individually and corporately: individualism, consumerism, pragmatism, immediacy, managerialism, competition, efficiency, functionalism, ...

Most of these pressures derive from living in a capitalist society that is unrelenting in shaping our thinking, desires, and actions. I need this thing. I desire this thing. I will buy this thing.

Abstractions distract. We have a natural tendency to favour the abstract and impersonal over the concrete and personal. But the story of God's action recorded in the Bible is one of particularity of times, places, and persons: Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, Jesus, Peter, Paul, ...

It is a story, not an academic philosophical treatise. The Triune God is not a philosophical concept or an impersonal being but rather three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Church is not an abstract concept. Churches are Christian communities of particular persons with particular life histories, relationships, struggles, sins, joys, ... Community is complex and messy.

Be rooted in a time and place. Peterson gives a profound and creative exposition of Genesis 1 and 2. The six days of creation and the seventh day of rest define the reality of the rhythm of life. The Garden and the Promised Land are specific places, highlighting our need to be rooted in a particular place. We are not to be nomads, literal or spiritual.

Here is a small selection of quotations.

“If we don't know where we are going, any road will get us there. But if we have a destination - in this case a life lived to the glory of God - there is a well-marked way, the Jesus-revealed Way. 

Spiritual theology is the attention that we give to the details of living life on this way. It is a protest against theology depersonalized into information about God; it is a protest against theology functionalized into a program of strategic planning for God.”

“God’s great love and purposes for us are all worked out in messes in our kitchens and backyards, in storms and sins, blue skies, the daily work and dreams of our common lives. God works with us as we are and not as we should be or think we should be.”

It is all about Jesus! 

“Jesus prevents us from thinking that life is a matter of ideas to ponder or concepts to discuss. Jesus saves us from wasting our lives in the pursuit of cheap thrills and trivializing diversions. Jesus enables us to take seriously who we are and where we are without being seduced by the intimidating lies and illusions that fill the air, so that we needn't be someone else or somewhere else. Jesus keeps our feet on the ground, attentive to children, in conversation with ordinary people, sharing meals with friends and strangers, listening to the wind, observing the wildflowers, touching the sick and wounded, praying simply and unselfconsciously. Jesus insists that we deal with God right here and now, in the place we find ourselves and with the people we are with. Jesus is God here and now.”

The Christian life, individual and corporate, happens in the context of a specific culture. In the West, this culture is dominated by the ideology of the market.

“We live in a culture that has replaced soul with self. This reduction turns people into either problems or consumers. Insofar as we acquiesce in that replacement, we gradually but surely regress in our identity, for we end up thinking of ourselves and dealing with others in marketplace terms: everyone we meet is either a potential recruit to join our enterprise or a potential consumer for what we are selling; or we ourselves are the potential recruits and consumers. Neither we nor our friends have any dignity just as we are, only in terms of how we or they can be used.”

Here the Church and the Gospel of Jesus offer a counter-cultural liberating message: human identity and worth is intrinsic and independent of the whims and ideology of the market.