A Vision for Unity
"To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. The reason I speak to them in parables is that 'seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.' "--Matthew 13:11-13.
Today's Lenten Meditation from The Rev. Dr. Michael Battle of CREDO:
Christian spirituality offers us a powerful way of life in which to practice God's reign on earth. In such spirituality we have a responsibility to become visionaries; as the biblical prophets remind us, without vision, people inevitably perish. This is an important discussion because increasingly, religion (and Christianity in particular), has acquired a bad rap for dividing rather than uniting people and communities. And perhaps I am no better as I present to some a controversial version of Christianity -- one concerned less with personal salvation in isolation, and more with the salvation of persons in whole communities. In fact, I argue that personal salvation is unintelligible apart from communal salvation. Jesus was often controversial not only to His enemies but also to His disciples, who half the time couldn't understand Jesus. But Jesus was not some ethereal or otherworldly person in isolation; on the contrary, Jesus was the vision of God's communal presence continually wrapping us up in God's midst. More particularly, Jesus taught that salvation was wrapped in our relationships with God and neighbor. And Jesus taught through his parables that the kingdom of heaven is recognized and cooperated within how God is already acting in our relationships and communities. Jesus taught the disciples: "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven." As I imagine the scene, however, the disciples continue to look at Jesus like deer in headlights. A good interpretation of these scriptures does not imply that Jesus is trying to further divide us with talk of parables and secrets. In other words, Jesus is not speaking in parables to confuse us; rather, the parable is the judgment against confined ways of thinking-of boxing in God. Jesus is trying to coax us away from our limited way of understanding reality.
Let us pray,
Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Today's Lenten Meditation from The Rev. Dr. Michael Battle of CREDO:
Christian spirituality offers us a powerful way of life in which to practice God's reign on earth. In such spirituality we have a responsibility to become visionaries; as the biblical prophets remind us, without vision, people inevitably perish. This is an important discussion because increasingly, religion (and Christianity in particular), has acquired a bad rap for dividing rather than uniting people and communities. And perhaps I am no better as I present to some a controversial version of Christianity -- one concerned less with personal salvation in isolation, and more with the salvation of persons in whole communities. In fact, I argue that personal salvation is unintelligible apart from communal salvation. Jesus was often controversial not only to His enemies but also to His disciples, who half the time couldn't understand Jesus. But Jesus was not some ethereal or otherworldly person in isolation; on the contrary, Jesus was the vision of God's communal presence continually wrapping us up in God's midst. More particularly, Jesus taught that salvation was wrapped in our relationships with God and neighbor. And Jesus taught through his parables that the kingdom of heaven is recognized and cooperated within how God is already acting in our relationships and communities. Jesus taught the disciples: "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven." As I imagine the scene, however, the disciples continue to look at Jesus like deer in headlights. A good interpretation of these scriptures does not imply that Jesus is trying to further divide us with talk of parables and secrets. In other words, Jesus is not speaking in parables to confuse us; rather, the parable is the judgment against confined ways of thinking-of boxing in God. Jesus is trying to coax us away from our limited way of understanding reality.
Let us pray,
Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
posted by Don+ @ 2:31 PM
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