Choosing the way of contemplative activism is not simple or easy. The way of contemplative activism calls us to a deeper, fuller, richer human experience, in which the sacred and the material, the being and the doing, the other and the self, intermingle and balance and nurture us to become humans who are fully alive with love, joy, conviction, and purpose. But that often leads to pride and narrow-mindedness. The typical way of the world is to pick one path and stick to it. Only through this integrated approach can we faithfully and humbly sustain the call to be ambassadors of God’s love, grace, and justice. We love our neighbors, our enemies, and ourselves we speak truth to power and we listen empathetically we agitate for change and we joyfully celebrate the good and beautiful around us. We are fully present to the needs of the world, while also being fully connected to spiritual restorative work that is in process but not yet realized.
We commune with God through prayer, Scripture, worship, and meditation we also engage with the world as people grounded in our identity and as active restorers of shalom. As people made in the image of God, we are also meant to be integrated beings who embody the both/and of contemplative activism. Prayer led to faithful service led to rest led to healing led to celebration, and so on. These were not two distinct sides of the incarnated God they were one integrated whole. He taught sermons and he attended parties. He turned tables and he played with children. But the heart of God, as recorded in Scripture and as lived out in the life of Jesus, has room for nuance, complexity, and balance. Again, nothing else mattered in my quest to be a “good” Christian. Transform the world and bring about the kingdom. This was also narrowly defined: love your neighbors and resist oppression. When, as a college student, I learned about God’s heart for justice, I discovered another way to follow Jesus. Nothing else mattered on the road to heaven. In the church I grew up in, there was only one way to follow Jesus: pray, read your Bible, and attend church.
0 kommentar(er)
