Living Together
Dear Friends
Global warming… there are now sharks off our coast! I am reminded of my time in Zoology lab picking at the entrails of a Dogfish, carefully laying out each component and drawing observations in my sketch book.
I still have a mental image of the spiral structure of the alimentary canal and other structures that highlight its position in the evolutionary story. Yet,somehow I never dwelt on the creature in its natural habitat or found out
about its prowess in the oceans or its relationship to other aquatic life.
Similar things can happen in Bible study! It is possible to become so engaged with the detail in support of a preconceived narrative that one forgets how the detail contributes to the ecology of Christian living.
Probing the formaldehyde of dead religion, like that of preserved sharks, does little for ones social grace, spiritual development let alone life of love.
Rowan Williams shares this perspective about the role of ministry in the Christian community:
“The apostle, the public witness of Jesus’ resurrection, who directs the thoughts and prayers of the Church, is the one in whom the porous boundaries of life in Christ are most pronounced, the one who senses most acutely both the joy and pain of other believers. The apostles’ ministry is thus not essentially one of control but one of literal com-passion, suffering with, and congratulation, rejoicing with. ……it is to do with inhabiting the common life with a particular intensity, so that the minister can point with authority to what is basic in this common life. Being a Christian minister isn’t about managing religious technology for an uninstructed public but about witnessing to the distinctive character of a common life in which each depends on all…….A well functioning Christian community is … one in which everyone is working steadily to release the gifts of others.”
Once again I take the pleasure of encouraging and thanking you for sharing your witness of Christ’s victory over sin and death to enhance the life we all live in His communion.
Best regards,
Victor