As noted yesterday, we will continue with the piece from Stanley Hauerwas.
Jesus' death was not a mistake but what was to be expected of a violent world which does not believe that this is God's world. In effect Jesus is nothing less than the embodiment of God's sabbath as a reality for all people. Jesus proclaims peace as a real alternative, because he has made it possible to rest - to have confidence that our lives are in God's hands. No longer is the sabbath one day, but the form of life of a people on the move. God's kingdom, God's peace, is a movement of those who have found the confidence through the life of Jesus to make their lives a constant worship of God. We can rest in God because we are no longer driven by the assumption that we must be in control of history, that it is up to us to make things come out right.
At first it may look as though we are to be a group of passive folks who simply wait for God to act. Well...not. Our rest is the rest we have when we know that our God is and will be the beginning and end of all things...that the Reign of God comes in the midst of promise. Therefore, we can say that our lives are lives of promise. The promise in which we rest is that of shalom - the peace & healing & justice & mercy that is available to all who trust in God. We can go there. We can live there. We can walk within its promise of life even as it is not the life that is being lived all around us. Quite like the sabbath where the world goes about its business attempting to secure itself while the people of promise rest and do not try to take advantage of anyone or anything...they/we are invited to rest and worship our God.
Connection: How do you rest? How do you re-group or re-focus or re-commit? When are you best at doing that?
We long for your peace to reign among us, O God. And yet, we are so pulled by the powers of the day that we forget to pause and step back within the rest of this day that you have promised for all your children. Guide us into that place and time as we rush about this day trying to make a life for ourselves. Guide us into your peace. Amen
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Monday 29 September 2008
Today we begin of section of Stanley Hauerwas' book "The Peaceable Kingdom" that focuses on the resurrection.
Jesus' death was not a mistake but what was to be expected of a violent world which does not believe that this is God's world. In effect Jesus is nothing less than the embodiment of God's sabbath as a reality for all people. Jesus proclaims peace as a real alternative, because he has made it possible to rest - to have confidence that our lives are in God's hands.
I will include this piece as the beginning of tomorrow's devotion as Hauerwas starts this section of his book with a power paragraph.
When Jesus is seen as the incarnation of our God whose Reign is one of peace, we can expect that the world will not get along with him. Nor will the world get along with the followers of Jesus when that Reign of peace guides us and leads us as we move through our daily lives. I really find the use of the image of sabbath powerful. We can rest and we can step back from the powers of war and violence because we are assured again and again that our "God Reign all contrary evidence notwithstanding" (Douglas John Hall). And yet, as we all know, it is one thing to speak those words of peace and talk about leaning on the everlasting arms and yet it is another to really rest...rest in God alone. We need to continue to carry this confidence with us and to speak those words so that it is the Good News being brought out in the middle of the bad news of the violence of the day - violence that can be in the shape of war, threat, economic crisis, etc.
Connection: I always go back to the simple action of breathing. It becomes a moment in time when we can face the fears and threats around us and be reminded of the Spirit that comes within the shalom of God's Reign. Breathe. I'm always telling myself to breathe.
As you open up your peaceable Reign, O God, you expect us to walk there and find the rest you have promised. Too often we pull back and attempt to secure our lives and then say we will walk with you. Inspire us to let go of all that we want to keep in place for ourselves and begin to enter into the domain of your promises. Amen.
Jesus' death was not a mistake but what was to be expected of a violent world which does not believe that this is God's world. In effect Jesus is nothing less than the embodiment of God's sabbath as a reality for all people. Jesus proclaims peace as a real alternative, because he has made it possible to rest - to have confidence that our lives are in God's hands.
I will include this piece as the beginning of tomorrow's devotion as Hauerwas starts this section of his book with a power paragraph.
When Jesus is seen as the incarnation of our God whose Reign is one of peace, we can expect that the world will not get along with him. Nor will the world get along with the followers of Jesus when that Reign of peace guides us and leads us as we move through our daily lives. I really find the use of the image of sabbath powerful. We can rest and we can step back from the powers of war and violence because we are assured again and again that our "God Reign all contrary evidence notwithstanding" (Douglas John Hall). And yet, as we all know, it is one thing to speak those words of peace and talk about leaning on the everlasting arms and yet it is another to really rest...rest in God alone. We need to continue to carry this confidence with us and to speak those words so that it is the Good News being brought out in the middle of the bad news of the violence of the day - violence that can be in the shape of war, threat, economic crisis, etc.
Connection: I always go back to the simple action of breathing. It becomes a moment in time when we can face the fears and threats around us and be reminded of the Spirit that comes within the shalom of God's Reign. Breathe. I'm always telling myself to breathe.
As you open up your peaceable Reign, O God, you expect us to walk there and find the rest you have promised. Too often we pull back and attempt to secure our lives and then say we will walk with you. Inspire us to let go of all that we want to keep in place for ourselves and begin to enter into the domain of your promises. Amen.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Friday 26 September 2008
Today will be the last piece from Stanley Hauerwas on "Jesus and the Kingdom of God"...next week we look at the resurrection.
Jesus' cross...is not merely a general symbol of the moral significance of self-sacrifice. The cross is not the confirmation of the facile assumption that it is better to give than receive. Rather the cross is Jesus' ultimate dispossession through which God has conquered the powers of this world. The cross is not just a symbol of God's kingdom; it is that the kingdom has come. It is only by God's grace that we are enabled to accept the invitation to be part of that kingdom. Because we have confidence that God has raised this crucified man, we believe that forgiveness and love are alternatives to the coercion the world things necessary for existence. Thus, our true nature, our true end, is revealed in the story of this man in whose life, we believe, is to be found the truth.
The cross shows us that "the kingdom has come." Being embraced by the God who brings this story of Jesus alive among us is the power to become a part of that living story. Whenever we turn to this story and say that we are baptized in Christ, Jesus, we are telling ourselves that this way of peace and forgiveness and mercy and justice is the way of our lives. It is so easy to hold the story off at a distance and admire what it tells us - much like any great event in history that can teach us something. But this story of the way to the cross and through the cross and through death is meant to be a turning to us with an invitation. We are invited to live as the one who lived before us in the face of all the powers that attempt to defy the Reign of God. Jesus' life, death, and resurrection sets us up to see and be who we are when our God takes us home to be God's own. Therefore, now we can set up a place and life that demonstrates our full participation in a truthfulness in life that can be and will be a contrary adventure.
Connection: I don't know about you, but fear can mess with me - big time. Even when I am standing with others, fear can easily creep in and move me into a life that is not reflective of the peace within God's Reign. How is it that God's Reign is seen as something so far away when it is meant to be so close to us...especially when the powers of our day are attempting to pull us into their grip?!?
When you break into this day, O God, and invite us to be your own, pull on us so that we take a look at what in this world we are hanging onto that is so opposite of the life you are offering us. Heal us of our anxiety and fear so that we may rest in you alone. Amen.
Jesus' cross...is not merely a general symbol of the moral significance of self-sacrifice. The cross is not the confirmation of the facile assumption that it is better to give than receive. Rather the cross is Jesus' ultimate dispossession through which God has conquered the powers of this world. The cross is not just a symbol of God's kingdom; it is that the kingdom has come. It is only by God's grace that we are enabled to accept the invitation to be part of that kingdom. Because we have confidence that God has raised this crucified man, we believe that forgiveness and love are alternatives to the coercion the world things necessary for existence. Thus, our true nature, our true end, is revealed in the story of this man in whose life, we believe, is to be found the truth.
The cross shows us that "the kingdom has come." Being embraced by the God who brings this story of Jesus alive among us is the power to become a part of that living story. Whenever we turn to this story and say that we are baptized in Christ, Jesus, we are telling ourselves that this way of peace and forgiveness and mercy and justice is the way of our lives. It is so easy to hold the story off at a distance and admire what it tells us - much like any great event in history that can teach us something. But this story of the way to the cross and through the cross and through death is meant to be a turning to us with an invitation. We are invited to live as the one who lived before us in the face of all the powers that attempt to defy the Reign of God. Jesus' life, death, and resurrection sets us up to see and be who we are when our God takes us home to be God's own. Therefore, now we can set up a place and life that demonstrates our full participation in a truthfulness in life that can be and will be a contrary adventure.
Connection: I don't know about you, but fear can mess with me - big time. Even when I am standing with others, fear can easily creep in and move me into a life that is not reflective of the peace within God's Reign. How is it that God's Reign is seen as something so far away when it is meant to be so close to us...especially when the powers of our day are attempting to pull us into their grip?!?
When you break into this day, O God, and invite us to be your own, pull on us so that we take a look at what in this world we are hanging onto that is so opposite of the life you are offering us. Heal us of our anxiety and fear so that we may rest in you alone. Amen.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Thursday 25 September 2008
An ongoing look at "Jesus and the Kingdom of God" by Stanley Hauerwas.
...our possessions are the source of our violence. Fearing that others desire what we have, or stung by the seldom acknowledged sense that what we have we do not deserve, we seek self-deceptive justifications that mire us in patterns of injustice which can be sustained only through coercion. And of course we believe our most precious possession to be the self we have created, that we have chosen. such a possession we do not lose - as we see clearly in the character of the disciples in the Gospels - simply by willing to give up all that we have. What Jesus offers is a journey, an adventure. Once undertaken, we discover that what we once held valuable, even the self, we no long count as anything.
Can we also say that by possessions we need to include our worldview...in the sense that how I see the world and how the world should be can be one of the great sources of the violence we are willing to enter? That world view or religious view or moral view can become something onto which we cling so strongly that we cannot hear or see the good news of the Reign of God. Instead, we fight to have our way become the way that is in possession of the power that gets things done in the world. At that moment, the shalom of the Reign of God is given over to the powers we choose to whip around our heads like a whip ready to strike those who act out in ways contrary to our view. Jesus' view of life was guided by the life with the promise of the Reign of God. That Reign of peace never comes among us through acts of violence. Rather, it is a way that will not - under any circumstances - become a partner in violence on behalf of any side. What may lead to peace is the inspiration to become -as noted yesterday - part of the dispossessed. That can appear to be frightening...but in that movement is a promise of new life.
Connection: Violence is just too easy to enter. The flip can be thrown with such ease that what appears to be a day of peace becomes one of violence on one level or another.
Lord of the Peaceable Reign, pull us into your domain and inspire us to live there as we move through this day. Remind us of the way of peace that was the life of our Lord, Jesus, and encourage us to follow. Amen.
...our possessions are the source of our violence. Fearing that others desire what we have, or stung by the seldom acknowledged sense that what we have we do not deserve, we seek self-deceptive justifications that mire us in patterns of injustice which can be sustained only through coercion. And of course we believe our most precious possession to be the self we have created, that we have chosen. such a possession we do not lose - as we see clearly in the character of the disciples in the Gospels - simply by willing to give up all that we have. What Jesus offers is a journey, an adventure. Once undertaken, we discover that what we once held valuable, even the self, we no long count as anything.
Can we also say that by possessions we need to include our worldview...in the sense that how I see the world and how the world should be can be one of the great sources of the violence we are willing to enter? That world view or religious view or moral view can become something onto which we cling so strongly that we cannot hear or see the good news of the Reign of God. Instead, we fight to have our way become the way that is in possession of the power that gets things done in the world. At that moment, the shalom of the Reign of God is given over to the powers we choose to whip around our heads like a whip ready to strike those who act out in ways contrary to our view. Jesus' view of life was guided by the life with the promise of the Reign of God. That Reign of peace never comes among us through acts of violence. Rather, it is a way that will not - under any circumstances - become a partner in violence on behalf of any side. What may lead to peace is the inspiration to become -as noted yesterday - part of the dispossessed. That can appear to be frightening...but in that movement is a promise of new life.
Connection: Violence is just too easy to enter. The flip can be thrown with such ease that what appears to be a day of peace becomes one of violence on one level or another.
Lord of the Peaceable Reign, pull us into your domain and inspire us to live there as we move through this day. Remind us of the way of peace that was the life of our Lord, Jesus, and encourage us to follow. Amen.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Wednesday 24 September 2008
Now we look at who we are within this Reign of God - by Stanley Hauerwas.
Finally, the nature of God's kingdom is found also, and perhaps most particularly, in the calling of the disciples. Jesus calls his disciples to follow him, to leave all that they have, to leaving dead to bury dead, in a manner not dissimilar to what is required of those called to fight a holy war. They are to make a radical break with security and possessions, with the customs and habits of everyday life, for no other purpose than to share in his ministry of preaching the repentance needed to become part of the kingdom (Mark 3:13; Matt. 10:5ff). Discipleship is quite simply extended training in being dispossessed. To become followers of Jesus means that we must, like him, be dispossessed of all that we think gives us power over our own lives and the lives of others. Unless we learn to relinquish our presumption that we can ensure the significance of our lives, we are not capable of the peace of God's kingdom.
"Discipleship is quite simply extended training in being dispossessed." I read that line and had to sit with it awhile. I possess so much. And yet, this is not merely about what I possess, it is about how that which I possess, possesses me. Being dispossessed means the power that is given to that which can make the calls on my life - other than God's invitation to live within God's Reign - is to become powerless in my life. That is not an easy adventure. It is surely a daily one. Quite like rising in the morning and remembering that I am baptized and that is the foundational event that will shape the day - not the things and people I try to possess me or that I let possess me. We are already in our baptism children of God. That is enough. How can my life or your life be more significant than that. It is from that status that we move through the day as the dispossessed and the beloved of God. Our God given status and identity is the power to make us significantly alive within God's peace.
Connection: Sometimes it takes a bit of remembering to change around how we take the next step or action within this day. Remember...you are a beloved child of God.
Gracious Lord, as you bring us into your loving Reign and as we keep that reality close to our hearts, we are able to begin the journey through the cross and into the realm of your shalom. You give us a place to stand and a place to begin again and a place to leap out into this day as ones blessed and ready to rejoice in the life you hand us. We thank you, O God. Amen.
Finally, the nature of God's kingdom is found also, and perhaps most particularly, in the calling of the disciples. Jesus calls his disciples to follow him, to leave all that they have, to leaving dead to bury dead, in a manner not dissimilar to what is required of those called to fight a holy war. They are to make a radical break with security and possessions, with the customs and habits of everyday life, for no other purpose than to share in his ministry of preaching the repentance needed to become part of the kingdom (Mark 3:13; Matt. 10:5ff). Discipleship is quite simply extended training in being dispossessed. To become followers of Jesus means that we must, like him, be dispossessed of all that we think gives us power over our own lives and the lives of others. Unless we learn to relinquish our presumption that we can ensure the significance of our lives, we are not capable of the peace of God's kingdom.
"Discipleship is quite simply extended training in being dispossessed." I read that line and had to sit with it awhile. I possess so much. And yet, this is not merely about what I possess, it is about how that which I possess, possesses me. Being dispossessed means the power that is given to that which can make the calls on my life - other than God's invitation to live within God's Reign - is to become powerless in my life. That is not an easy adventure. It is surely a daily one. Quite like rising in the morning and remembering that I am baptized and that is the foundational event that will shape the day - not the things and people I try to possess me or that I let possess me. We are already in our baptism children of God. That is enough. How can my life or your life be more significant than that. It is from that status that we move through the day as the dispossessed and the beloved of God. Our God given status and identity is the power to make us significantly alive within God's peace.
Connection: Sometimes it takes a bit of remembering to change around how we take the next step or action within this day. Remember...you are a beloved child of God.
Gracious Lord, as you bring us into your loving Reign and as we keep that reality close to our hearts, we are able to begin the journey through the cross and into the realm of your shalom. You give us a place to stand and a place to begin again and a place to leap out into this day as ones blessed and ready to rejoice in the life you hand us. We thank you, O God. Amen.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Tuesday 23 September 2008
Again we look at the "kingdom of God" as seen through Jesus.
The kind of kingdom that is present is also revealed in Jesus' relations with others. He makes no attempt to keep himself "pure," but enjoys meals with the poor and outcast. Moreover his meals are not tied to one time or place, but are spontaneous occasions of fellowship denoting the hospitality of God's kingdom. The celebration of such meals while Israel was under foreign rule with the (albeit indirect) agents of that rule also indicates the inherent political nature of the kingdom. For God's "Kingdom is not established only where other rulers have been overthrown; rather God's power erupts in the midst of oppression, forgiving and healing, and wherever that power is, there is cause for rejoicing. The world is not, that is to say, given over to Satan, or to Caesar, until God will restore his rule over, it by destroying the alien rulers. On the contrary, God is already present in this 'evil age', overcoming it with mercy.
The "kingdom" is present. It is revealed in Jesus and it continues to be revealed in the manner in which Jesus let it out! Within what is called evil there is unbounded mercy...again...and again...and again. It is the kind of action that creates hostility among those who do not want to see the work of mercy upset the very clear divisions between those who see themselves as good and those "others." It is also the kind of action that takes place in the most basic movements we can make within this day. The "hospitality of God's kingdom" is the life of those of us who claim to already we walking along the pathways of this Reign. Mercy flies in the face of the powers of our world. That doesn't mean that mercy will 'win the day.' In fact, we have seen over and over again that the powers of evil - the powers of the world as it is - have a winning record. They are able to destroy those who are relentless in their acts of mercy. Then again, there are always new witnesses - new followers - new martyrs - who, in the face of such violence and hatred, continue to walk in the ways of mercy and loving kindness so that no person is left out or forgotten.
Connection: This hospitality of God's Reign is so basic to who we are. Remember it is what takes place even in those passing glances and interactions that happen throughout the day...yes, even there is the Reign of God among us.
Within your blessed Reign, O God, we become the welcome and the touch and the listening ear and the helping hand that is available to all. Make us a courageous people who will risk being hospitable in your name. Amen.
The kind of kingdom that is present is also revealed in Jesus' relations with others. He makes no attempt to keep himself "pure," but enjoys meals with the poor and outcast. Moreover his meals are not tied to one time or place, but are spontaneous occasions of fellowship denoting the hospitality of God's kingdom. The celebration of such meals while Israel was under foreign rule with the (albeit indirect) agents of that rule also indicates the inherent political nature of the kingdom. For God's "Kingdom is not established only where other rulers have been overthrown; rather God's power erupts in the midst of oppression, forgiving and healing, and wherever that power is, there is cause for rejoicing. The world is not, that is to say, given over to Satan, or to Caesar, until God will restore his rule over, it by destroying the alien rulers. On the contrary, God is already present in this 'evil age', overcoming it with mercy.
The "kingdom" is present. It is revealed in Jesus and it continues to be revealed in the manner in which Jesus let it out! Within what is called evil there is unbounded mercy...again...and again...and again. It is the kind of action that creates hostility among those who do not want to see the work of mercy upset the very clear divisions between those who see themselves as good and those "others." It is also the kind of action that takes place in the most basic movements we can make within this day. The "hospitality of God's kingdom" is the life of those of us who claim to already we walking along the pathways of this Reign. Mercy flies in the face of the powers of our world. That doesn't mean that mercy will 'win the day.' In fact, we have seen over and over again that the powers of evil - the powers of the world as it is - have a winning record. They are able to destroy those who are relentless in their acts of mercy. Then again, there are always new witnesses - new followers - new martyrs - who, in the face of such violence and hatred, continue to walk in the ways of mercy and loving kindness so that no person is left out or forgotten.
Connection: This hospitality of God's Reign is so basic to who we are. Remember it is what takes place even in those passing glances and interactions that happen throughout the day...yes, even there is the Reign of God among us.
Within your blessed Reign, O God, we become the welcome and the touch and the listening ear and the helping hand that is available to all. Make us a courageous people who will risk being hospitable in your name. Amen.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Monday 22 September 2008
Jesus and the Kingdom of God continues to be our focus this week - again from Stanley Hauerwas.
The reality of that new age...is manifest through Jesus' healings and exorcism, where Jesus comes face to face with the demons that rule our lives and this world and decisively defeats them. Thus in Mark Jesus comes preaching, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel" (1:15), but it is the demons and unclean spirits which recognize him as a threat (1:23; 1:34). Jesus' healing is not an end in itself, or simply a sign of compassion, but an indication of the power of the kingdom. He makes no attempt to cure all; rather he must go to the next towns to preach "for that is why I came out" (1:38).
Jesus comes "face to face with the demons that rule our lives and this world." Remember that this is not some strange supernatural battle against aliens who are trying to win us over. Rather, these are real sides of our world...of us. So many things try to rule us and pull us into a life that is contrary to the Reign of God. In that life...dis-ease is manifest and able to kill and devour us. In that life...war breaks out over the slightest difference or misunderstanding or need to have something that someone else has. These are demons around and within. Jesus comes to defeat them and bring us into a life where the shalom of the Reign of God grasps us and healing does take place on many levels. I think we need to also think of these demons as poverty and homelessness and economic oppression and military control. They are demons "out there" and they are demons cause war among us and in us. That is why even we do not like what Jesus brings when he confronts the demons and brings new life. We are often a part of the power of darkness that wants nothing to do with a new life in a new age.
Connection: Imagine thinking of this day as a cosmic battle in which we are invited to follow our Lord, Jesus, into a life of shalom where shalom is not honored. What would it be like!?!
Lord of All Peacefulness, you deliver us from the powers of death and lead us into the life that grows in the midst of your peace. It is not always a easy place to be. Peace is often resisted and new life often seems frightening because we are so used to the ways that already exist. Be our encouragement and hope. Amen.
The reality of that new age...is manifest through Jesus' healings and exorcism, where Jesus comes face to face with the demons that rule our lives and this world and decisively defeats them. Thus in Mark Jesus comes preaching, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel" (1:15), but it is the demons and unclean spirits which recognize him as a threat (1:23; 1:34). Jesus' healing is not an end in itself, or simply a sign of compassion, but an indication of the power of the kingdom. He makes no attempt to cure all; rather he must go to the next towns to preach "for that is why I came out" (1:38).
Jesus comes "face to face with the demons that rule our lives and this world." Remember that this is not some strange supernatural battle against aliens who are trying to win us over. Rather, these are real sides of our world...of us. So many things try to rule us and pull us into a life that is contrary to the Reign of God. In that life...dis-ease is manifest and able to kill and devour us. In that life...war breaks out over the slightest difference or misunderstanding or need to have something that someone else has. These are demons around and within. Jesus comes to defeat them and bring us into a life where the shalom of the Reign of God grasps us and healing does take place on many levels. I think we need to also think of these demons as poverty and homelessness and economic oppression and military control. They are demons "out there" and they are demons cause war among us and in us. That is why even we do not like what Jesus brings when he confronts the demons and brings new life. We are often a part of the power of darkness that wants nothing to do with a new life in a new age.
Connection: Imagine thinking of this day as a cosmic battle in which we are invited to follow our Lord, Jesus, into a life of shalom where shalom is not honored. What would it be like!?!
Lord of All Peacefulness, you deliver us from the powers of death and lead us into the life that grows in the midst of your peace. It is not always a easy place to be. Peace is often resisted and new life often seems frightening because we are so used to the ways that already exist. Be our encouragement and hope. Amen.
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