overheard

"Jesus is there only for others...Our relation to God is not a 'religious' relationship...but our relation to God is a new life in 'existence for others,' through participation in the being of Jesus...the church is the church only when it exists for others." -Dietrich Bonhoeffer as quoted in Foster's Streams of Living Water

I was stunned by this assertion by Bonhoeffer that our "relation" to God is not something that is primarily focused on our edification or even our salvation. Rather, our "relation" to God is an invitation to invest our lives in and allow our stories to unfold in the midst and on behalf of others.

My prayer is that our "relation" to God will lead us into a proper "relation" with others, among whom we freely give and freely receive, freely embrace and freely surrender. God has blessed us by making us recipients of His grace. By the indwelling of His Spirit, I pray that he will teach us to live lives of "gratuite."

where I skirt the issue and settle for a quote

From my perspective, the Judeo-Christian tradition doesn’t offer a lot answers about the source or origin of suffering. I know that oceans of ink have been spilled on this issue and there is even a type of theological inquiry - known as theodicy – that tries to unravel the “problem of pain.” I am thankful for the work my fellow sinners and saints have done in this area, but I have not found any of their answers persuasive.

However, while our rich tradition doesn’t seem to provide many solid answers, I think that it does provide us with incredible resources for persevering through our pain. In fact, if we utilize these resources - which include innumerable texts such as Job, Proverbs, the Gethsemane stories and the Apocalypse of St. John – I’m convinced that together we can persevere through the trials and travails which regularly confront us and occasionally even find a few streams in the desert.

Why am I saying this? Well, because I’m really stumbling forward right now on a path that intermittently skirts the edge of the abyss, and I need the self affirmation. Also, I thought it would be wise to provide a little context for this Henri Nouwen quote from The Inner Voice of Love *

“This is what Jesus means when he asks you to take up your cross. He encourages you to recognize and embrace your unique suffering and to trust that your way to salvation lies therein. Taking up your cross means, first of all, befriending your wounds and letting them reveal to you your own truth.

There is great pain and suffering in the world. But the pain hardest to bear is your own. Once you have taken up that cross, you will be able to see clearly the crosses that others have to bear, and you will be able to reveal to them their own ways to joy, peace and freedom.”

So there you go. Simply writing this stuff out is therapeutic for me. Thank you for taking the time to listen.

* In answer to your question ahbahsean, stick with Nouwen. I think his books are excellent, if not essential, companions for this journey.

overheard

“we can do no great things. only small things with great love.” –Mother Theresa

Lord, remind me of Mother Theresa’s wisdom when i feel the temptation to be spectacular and powerful. remind me that my life will not be measured by the size of our congregation or the scope of my influence, but by our community’s attempts to proclaim the gospel of Jesus, incarnate His compassion and apply the Sermon on the Mount to our lives. when temptation comes, fill me with your Spirit so that i might remain faithful to both this calling and ministry in this particular place. amen.

this and that

for the past week the sinners and saints community had the privilege of hosting a week of e group from lcc. for an entire week josh jackaway and his friends tyler and knox served with beverly bootstraps, slept on our floors, played halo into the wee hours of the night and connected with members of our community. highlights of their visit included:

* teaching knox how to give and receive a “high five”
* tyler leading our community’s discussion of Luke 16…er, I mean, Luke 17
hearing about the hilarious exploits and overwhelming trials of deion – the boys’ imaginary best friend
* talking at length with josh and tyler about our dreams and intentions of serving God
* watching josh and tyler compete for the coveted title of “world’s most whipped man.”
* i particularly enjoyed whipping all three of their asses at halo on a daily basis

several weeks ago I met ben d10, a good friend of jon wise, who just so happens to lead a home church community in the atlanta area. i am incredibly excited about connecting with ben and his community and am looking forward to partnering with them as together we seek to incarnate the gospel of Jesus Christ and apply His teachings to everyday life. if you’re interested in intriguing theological reflection, constant dialog and/or finite element engineering, be sure to check out ben’s blog.

if you live in the boston area, try to stop by sinners and saints’ fourth annual saint patrick’s day party. our little shindig will be kicking off around 7 p.m. at kellie and i’s place (e-mail me for directions). holli-brooke and I would like to make this our first official home church keg party, but something tells me that our fellow home church leaders will never let that happen. probably for good reason...

that’s all for now. have a week.