In the Midst of the City, the Gospel and God's Politics

In the Midst of the City, the Gospel and God’s Politics

Barkley Thompson

“As Christians, we must not begin with our secular political beliefs..and then use the Gospel to prop them up. Rather, we must begin with the Gospel and allow the Gospel to shape our politics.”—Barkley Thompson In the Midst of the City, the Gospel and God’s Politics.

I have now had the privilege of being in three book groups reading Barkley Thompson’s second book, In the Midst of the City.

The book’s first section represents a collection of sermons he wrote as dean of Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral in Houston.

Barkley reminds us of Marcus Borg’s story of the two processions in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday entering from opposite gates. Pilate enters as the representative of the Roman power of war, while Jesus enters, symbolizing God’s politics, the power of peace. “For Christians, leaving God’s politics out of the church is not an option. The Gospel, however, is not partisan, and God is neither conservative nor progressive.”

Barkley constantly reminds us of Karl Barth’s mandate to read both the Bible and the newspaper. Interpret the newspaper from the Bible, never the other way around. For example, in the face of the great tragedy of the killing and wounding at the Boston Marathon, the Gospel leads Barkley to remind us to look for the helpers, those who are reaching out to those who have been harmed.

The second section addresses what it means to be a Christian and an American in light of the Gospel. Patriotism differs from nationalism. The patriot gives his heart to the best that patriotism stands for, even in the face of fear and assault by those who have lost an understanding of liberty.

The third section represents essays published on his blog in the Houston Chronicle. They represent his personal discernment process, hoping to see God’s vision for the world. The chapter titles speak for themselves: “I Own Guns, and I Believe in Gun Control,” “Of Orlando and the Virtue of Embrace,” and “On Civil War Monuments.”

We look forward to hearing Barkley discuss his book further at the Saint Mark’s Rector Forum at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, September 6th, in the Parish Hall.

Joanna. https://www.joannaseibert.com/

The Lens Through Which We See

Bourgeault: The Lens Through Which We See

“If you wear glasses, you likely often forget that they’re even there! Only when you take the lenses off do you realize how much your capacity to see is informed by the lens through which you are seeing, or as Richard Rohr often says, ‘How we see is what we see.’”—Cynthia Bourgeault in The Shape of God: Deepening the Mystery of the Trinity (CAC, 2004), disc 2.

DC glasses

Here Cynthia uses an analogy to teach us about the Trinity, but we can also apply it to everyday life. If you or the spiritual friends you meet wear glasses, try this exercise:

Take off your glasses. Try to see at a distance or read a passage of text. Perhaps you will “see” or realize that what you “see” depends on the lenses of your glasses. Our lens, or how we see the world, is often filtered by our work, family, or position. We might experience a need for prestige, a desire for money, control, or power; a longing to be in the spotlight or successful; or we could be obsessed with beauty, clothes, food, another person, alcohol, drugs, or other addictions. We must wear sunglasses when our world or the sun is too bright. Sometimes, if we are depressed or grieving, we may see the world through dark glasses.

Meditation, prayer, and meeting with spiritual friends can help us find the prescription of the lenses we use to view our family, friends, enemies, and the world. We learn to take those glasses off and are led inward to see the light, the Christ in ourselves, and the Christ in our neighbor. We begin to see ourselves, the world, and others through the lens of the fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

I will be speaking at the Arkansas Daughters of the King Fall Assembly in Little Rock, September 9 on Forgiveness and the Spirituality of Aging. Contact me for more information.

Joanna  https://www.joannaseibert.com/

Willingness and Surrender

Gerald May V: Willingness and Surrender

“The gentlest form of spiritual narcissism is the idea that one can accomplish one’s own spiritual growth. ‘I can do it.’’”—Gerald G. May in Will and Spirit (HarperOne, 1982), p. 115.

In Will and Spirit, Gerald May writes about struggles in our world today and the many battles within ourselves. We will likely have will, willingness, control, and surrender issues in our spiritual lives. Whenever we start our spiritual journey with willingness, as soon as we are aware of some spiritual growth, we become vulnerable to spiritual narcissism: the unconscious use of spiritual practices to increase our self-importance. We try to become holy, assuming we can accomplish our own spiritual growth. This becomes willfulness masquerading as willingness.

When we gain awareness of our own self-interest in participating in charitable works, these actions and gifts will be better given and received. But, on the other hand, sin occurs when self-image and personal willfulness become so vital that one forgets, represses, or denies one’s absolute connectedness and grounding in the God within us, the power who creates and sustains the cosmos and who placed in us that yearning.

May encourages us to allow attachments to come or go, rather than constantly clinging to them. We must be aware of our need for self-importance; thus, he cautions us about immediately leaping to shore ourselves up. He places less emphasis on coping and mastery, and more on waking up to whatever is happening in the present moment.

As we surrender some of our self-importance, we make friends with mystery. Even though we may not always find God when we sacrifice our self-importance, May believes that as we lose our need for self-importance, we realize that God has already found us. We will experience more spontaneity and awareness when we are not driven to perform and can let things flow: when we no longer need to be defined through self-judgment or evaluation of our own actions.  

May reminds us that spirituality cannot be a means to end our discomfort.

Spiritual growth must be a way into life, not an escape from it. God calls us to be in the world, not of the world. But, unfortunately, this side of the world may be uncomfortable.

I share this familiar statue of the Return of the Prodigal Son in the Bishop’s Garden at the National Cathedral. It is an icon of surrender and willingness….for both the son and the father. They are our role models.

I will be speaking at the Arkansas Daughters of the King Fall Assembly in Little Rock, September 9 on Forgiveness and the Spirituality of Aging. Contact me for more information.

Joanna. https://www.joannaseibert.com/