I keep reading because I want to keep learning. I know one of the tag lines all colleges and universities use is “life-long learning.” I am not sure that phrase means anything to eighteen-year olds. For most of them, learning has been life-long: pre-school, kindergarten, secondary education and now college. Most of them have not thought about learning outside a school context. So the phrase probably does not carry much punch.
Of course, it has meaning for someone my age. I don’t have to read; I could actually watch tv all day if I wanted to do so. I could watch movies. Many folks are not actively engaged I thinking about life. If we are lucky, we have a sense of purpose in life, although when people retire, they sometimes lack the purpose that has driven them for so many years. Life does not come wrapped with meaning. I think meaning is both discovered and created. Even if meaning is there to be discovered, it usually takes some work on our part. It cannot be delivered by Amazon!
So many people in our culture want nothing to do with churches, synagogues or mosques. These places predictably were places that conveyed meaning to their members. Religious traditions pass on---often through story---how to live and understand life. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but I wonder about the many different ways people now make meaning in their lives. Where do folks get their meta-narrative? A meta-narrative is the big story---the story that explains how and why we are in this world and where life is meant to head.
Perhaps for too many people, they have no real model or mentor to help them think and choose lives that hold forth purpose, promise and meaning. Religious traditions typically have such a figure---a Jesus, Moses, Muhammed or the life. Our heroes today might more likely be some kind of sports’ star, a musical figure, etc. While some of these folks may be amazing, they are not saints. Their journeys through life is not one most folks can imitate, such as Christians are encouraged in imitatio Christi---imitation of Christ.
I do not think the days of religion are numbered and religion’s death is certain. But I also don’t have much desire to try to defend the way religion is done---institutionalized---as it is today. I certainly hear the common student complaint that they are not religious---as if that were like driving a horse and buggy instead of a car. But in the same breath, they also are likely to claim that they are spiritual. For sure, many of them do not know what they are saying, but they do have an instinct or impulse in a different direction.
And they are not all students. I try to read people who also are in tune with this kind of thinking and are able to imagine alternatives. One such person I like is Ilia Delio, a Franciscan sister, who is also a scientist. I see her doing some cutting-edge thinking. Let’s follow her a little way. In a recent book, The Emergent Christ, Delio affirms Christianity and the message it brings. In a bold statement that I like, she proclaims that “The whole gospel message is based on the advent of new life.” I am excited by how she portrays the advent of new life.
Delio offers a summary of what Jesus brought to the world that should help makes sense of the faith for a new generation. She suggests, “The message of Jesus can be summed up in several key ideas: make wholes where there are divisions, forget the past and go forward, allow the Spirit to work in you to create a new future; do these things because God seeks a new presence in the cosmos, a new unity in love, peace, and justice.” Let’s isolate each key idea to see it alone.
Jesus is a whole-maker. Indeed, this is a good way to see how to understand the idea of salvation. To be saved is to be whole. We are made whole as persons and, then, as a world. Doing away with divisions seems very attractive, given the fractious nature of our world today. I applaud her boldness when she tells us to forget the past. Go forward. It is ahead where we will find and be given new life. It is not in the past---in history or in doctrine, as important as they are.
Probably the most important declaration for me is her admonition to allow the Spirit to work within us. This sounds very Quaker---and she would smile and say, “and Catholic, too!” The Spirit will do God’s work in us and in the world. The Spirit is creative. We will become new creatures and will work to create a new world. This is what she is getting when she reminds us that God wants a new presence in the cosmos---the world.
And in the process, God will create a new unity---the wholeness described earlier. God will through us creates a new unity, but it is a spiritual unity. It is a unity in love, in peace and with justice. Those are often characteristics of the kingdom of God or of heaven. Indeed, to have love, peace and justice means we will have to become community---to have unity with each other and with our world.
I dare say, only the Spirit can help us get there. On our own, we likely will stay divided, stuck in past paradigms of life and continue writing an old script. The Spirit leads to an advent of new life.
Of course, it has meaning for someone my age. I don’t have to read; I could actually watch tv all day if I wanted to do so. I could watch movies. Many folks are not actively engaged I thinking about life. If we are lucky, we have a sense of purpose in life, although when people retire, they sometimes lack the purpose that has driven them for so many years. Life does not come wrapped with meaning. I think meaning is both discovered and created. Even if meaning is there to be discovered, it usually takes some work on our part. It cannot be delivered by Amazon!
So many people in our culture want nothing to do with churches, synagogues or mosques. These places predictably were places that conveyed meaning to their members. Religious traditions pass on---often through story---how to live and understand life. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but I wonder about the many different ways people now make meaning in their lives. Where do folks get their meta-narrative? A meta-narrative is the big story---the story that explains how and why we are in this world and where life is meant to head.
Perhaps for too many people, they have no real model or mentor to help them think and choose lives that hold forth purpose, promise and meaning. Religious traditions typically have such a figure---a Jesus, Moses, Muhammed or the life. Our heroes today might more likely be some kind of sports’ star, a musical figure, etc. While some of these folks may be amazing, they are not saints. Their journeys through life is not one most folks can imitate, such as Christians are encouraged in imitatio Christi---imitation of Christ.
I do not think the days of religion are numbered and religion’s death is certain. But I also don’t have much desire to try to defend the way religion is done---institutionalized---as it is today. I certainly hear the common student complaint that they are not religious---as if that were like driving a horse and buggy instead of a car. But in the same breath, they also are likely to claim that they are spiritual. For sure, many of them do not know what they are saying, but they do have an instinct or impulse in a different direction.
And they are not all students. I try to read people who also are in tune with this kind of thinking and are able to imagine alternatives. One such person I like is Ilia Delio, a Franciscan sister, who is also a scientist. I see her doing some cutting-edge thinking. Let’s follow her a little way. In a recent book, The Emergent Christ, Delio affirms Christianity and the message it brings. In a bold statement that I like, she proclaims that “The whole gospel message is based on the advent of new life.” I am excited by how she portrays the advent of new life.
Delio offers a summary of what Jesus brought to the world that should help makes sense of the faith for a new generation. She suggests, “The message of Jesus can be summed up in several key ideas: make wholes where there are divisions, forget the past and go forward, allow the Spirit to work in you to create a new future; do these things because God seeks a new presence in the cosmos, a new unity in love, peace, and justice.” Let’s isolate each key idea to see it alone.
Jesus is a whole-maker. Indeed, this is a good way to see how to understand the idea of salvation. To be saved is to be whole. We are made whole as persons and, then, as a world. Doing away with divisions seems very attractive, given the fractious nature of our world today. I applaud her boldness when she tells us to forget the past. Go forward. It is ahead where we will find and be given new life. It is not in the past---in history or in doctrine, as important as they are.
Probably the most important declaration for me is her admonition to allow the Spirit to work within us. This sounds very Quaker---and she would smile and say, “and Catholic, too!” The Spirit will do God’s work in us and in the world. The Spirit is creative. We will become new creatures and will work to create a new world. This is what she is getting when she reminds us that God wants a new presence in the cosmos---the world.
And in the process, God will create a new unity---the wholeness described earlier. God will through us creates a new unity, but it is a spiritual unity. It is a unity in love, in peace and with justice. Those are often characteristics of the kingdom of God or of heaven. Indeed, to have love, peace and justice means we will have to become community---to have unity with each other and with our world.
I dare say, only the Spirit can help us get there. On our own, we likely will stay divided, stuck in past paradigms of life and continue writing an old script. The Spirit leads to an advent of new life.
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