April 23, 2018 Chapter 36 An Uprising of Worship
One of the things I like about this book is that McLaren will often invite us to imagine ourselves in the world of Jesus or those early followers of his. Today's chapter is an example of that. He invites us to imagine a table fellowship where all are treated as equal. The rich and the poor dine together. The slave and the master eat from the same table. The woman and the man drink of the one cup. And because of this "awe came upon everyone." Acts 2:42
Why is it that Christianity fails to "awe" today. Have we simply become so routine, so mainstream that people don't see us as different. What would a truly Christian community look like?
Our parish has been through a tough few weeks. I'm not sure how well we would pass the Jesus test. Some among us have sought to exclude others not because of anything they have done but simply because they are a little bit different. I'm not sure anyone would be in awe over that.
We have a ways to go, we Christians...we have more journeys that we need to walk.
I once attended a session at the cathedral where the priest talked about the "social commentary" of those times and suggested the "first christian community" story to be more of an ideal than actual practice.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure there where some disagreements. Otherwise, Paul and Peter wouldn't have split.
What I think it is much different in Today's world, is the amount of noise and distraction.
I have been trying to sit still for 10 minutes when I wake up, and the mind doesn't seem to want it. I keep thinking about all the things I "must" do, and all the activity and notifications that "must" be addressed.
I think we are forgetting what it feels to be connected with God and the oneness with have with him.