I have been writing on this blog for a number of years, and it seems to be a good time to take a fresh look at this blog. First, I want to provide a brief update on on the blog in general -- organization, posting frequency, etc. Then, I want to provide a fresh summary of what the them of this blog is all about.
Over the last few months, I have been trying to post regularly. However, my schedule does not allow for me to do daily posts, so I have been trying to post weekly. Today, I have made some changes that would allow people to better find this blog and subscribe to its feed. My intent is to try to raise the number of regular readers. In order to do that, I need to post more regularly, so I commit to you to post weekly. New updates should be out by the end of the day on Sunday, Central Time, in the USA. My posts tend to be longer, so I have also been intentional about not posting too frequently, because I realize most people do not have time to read long posts every day.
I have done a number of things to make it easy to find things on this blog. It is setup to allow you to subscribe to its feed using RSS or Atom. You can also find this blog on FeedBurner. All posts are categorized to make it easier to find topics. You will find book reviews under the Books category. Favorite books links are my all-time favorites that relate to the blog theme. Blog categories most closely related to the blog theme are Christopraxis, Sacrament of the Present Moment, and Spiritual Formation.
My original intent is to reflect on what it means to "practice Christ" (more on this in a moment), with the goal of processing through my day to day walk with God. I chose the blog medium because I wanted to share my own life experience with the hope that others might benefit from it. However, I also use the blog medium in an attempt to engage others on the topics so I can learn from their insights, as well as they learn from mine. In practice, this blog has mostly been me putting things "out there" with the hopes that others will find it useful.
What do I mean by "Reflections in Christopraxis?" What does it mean to "practice Christ?" This question can be answered on many levels. In some ways its encompasses all of life. In other ways, it has to do very specifically with Christian spirituality. The reflections in the blog will likewise be at times broad and others specific. They will reflect spiritual things, and at other times, very ordinary things that reflect human life.
I realize that not all my readers will be Christians, and in fact, I encourage non-Christians to read this blog and engage the topics with me. This is because, as I will explain in a moment, I believe we all are created in God's image and likeness, and that God's redemptive work applies to all humans, regardless of the particular religious affiliations they might hold at the moment. God sees what is in our heart; He sees us as we truly are, and He is seeking relationship with each of us. I believe that if we create a space for God in our lives, that He will meet us there. It is my hope that this blog will create a space to meet God, for me, as well as my readers.
When I write, I try to be authentic. As such, I write as a Christian, making no apologies. Realizing that the Christian faith is often eclipsed by the evil acts of men and women, and the divisions with the churches, I feel the best defense is to direct the reader to the source, to the God who is love, and to Jesus Christ, who I suggest most accurately reflects what God is like. Most people who have problems with Christianity and its followers, or who have problems with God (as they understand Him), find much less to object to in the life and teachings of Jesus. My intent is not to convert the reader to some particular religious sect. I do hope to inspire my readers toward a day by day walk with God, trusting God to deal with what he finds in their lives, as He does with me.
What is the practice of Christ? To answer this question I would first say that I believe that we are all spiritual beings, created in God's image. As such, we have a very specific purpose in our existence. Being created beings is not so unique here on Earth, but being created in God's image is. There is in all people a spark that is intended to reflect God. Edith Schaeffer describes this as "left-over glory." It is "left-over" because this world is not the way God intended it to be. Christians use the term "fallen," and C.S. Lewis in his science fiction trilogy described it as "bent" (as in distorted from its original form). We live in a war zone, where good and evil engage each other daily. That war goes on within us, as well as around us. Yet, we have this left-over glory that we call the "image of God."
We are spiritual beings and God has not left us to our own devices and destruction. He has been working to redeem His creation from the beginning. At the heart of the Christian message is the story of God's love for us and his works of redemption. The point is that God wants to do something in us today. He wants to make something of us in this life. We are to realize that image of God, that leftover glory, within the context of our uniqueness as a creative being with free choice. We are to become like God -- not God, but like God -- the way He originally intended. There are perhaps any number of beliefs and religions that claim to help us achieve our spiritual potential. G.K. Chesterton observed, "The religions of the earth do not greatly differ in rites and forms; they do greatly differ in what they teach." Enter Jesus Christ.
To better understand Christopraxis, we have to understand Jesus Christ. Needless to say, the life and teachings of the man Jesus Christ have impacted the world more than any other over the last two thousand years. Many religious leaders have given a nod to Jesus, either out of respect, or to gain support for their own position. Yet Jesus is not someone we can take out of context of the Bible. Jesus was a Jewish man, who came within the context of the history and religion of the Jews. The claims of Jesus are more than being a teacher/rabbi. They are more than one who claims to have discovered the secret of living as a human being, or a spiritual being. Christianity recognizes Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, and understands him to be the Incarnation of the one living God. There are many terms the Bible use for Jesus: King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Savior, Lamb of God. Each one is to be understood within the context of the rich teachings of the Bible. To practice Christ means to follow the life and teachings of this Jesus.
The life an teachings of Jesus, as stated above, have influenced people for the last two millennium. Admittedly, some of those people did not do things that we can be proud of. However, to the extent that people have tried to be true to the life and teachings of Jesus, they have continued the world-changing ministry of Jesus. There have been many untold stories of men and women who sought to practice the life and teachings of Jesus, but to the extent that they truly reach the heart of his life and teachings, these people often ended up as standing out in history. Francis of Assisi, Mother Teresa, Gandhi, and thousands of others inspired by their lives, come to mind. We cannot help but see the difference of how these people impacted this world.
My perspective is that we are created by God, in his image and likeness. Christian spirituality is holistic. Our humanness includes body and spirit. Spiritually, and we have the capacity to be united with God's Spirit, and we to commune with Him. (Trinitarian Theology plays an important role here.) The Bible teaches about God's kingdom as being "now, but not yet." It is a prolepsis. It is breaking into the moment, into our lives and the lives of those around us, and it is not yet fully realized. We look forward to the time when this world and mankind is fully redeemed and transformed into that which God intended from the beginning. The Christian walk is not purely spiritual, thought at times the church, influenced by Hellenistic thought, emphasized the spiritual over the physical. However, one only needs to look at the Biblical teachings of the resurrection to see that God intends to transform us physically and spiritually. Being a follower of Jesus includes all of life.
At the core of Jesus' teaching are his teachings of love. Affirming the Old Testament teachings he taught us:
Those who sought to follow Jesus have realized that this is the key. Learn to practice love toward God and mankind (our neighbors and enemies cf. Mt 5:44), and you discover the key to being human. For as scriptures teach us:
Here we find the heart of the practice of Christ. Yet, this is easier said than done. There is an art and science to all of this, and it takes a lifetime to learn. When I speak of the practice of Christ, I speak first of the practice of love. The art and science of that practice can be found in what we call spiritual formation, and the imitation of God, as revealed in Jesus Christ. It is something we do in relationship with God. It is something God does in and through us.
More recently, I have been exploring the idea of the Christopraxis within community. Some of these reflections are found under the category of Prophetic Community. We cannot practice love in a vacuum.
The practice of Christ also has to do with the compassion of God for the poor, needy, oppressed, and afflicted in this world. Jesus' followers are supposed to be a prophetic community that stand as an alternative to the dominant culture, and whose lives energize toward the hope of God's freedom and justice. This may play itself out in many ways, whether it is simply living or a more radical life of service which is reflected in the lives of people like Mother Teresa.
I want to thank you, the reader, for taking the time to ready these posts. It is my hope that you will find something that inspires you in your own walk with God. I leave you with this prayer from scripture. I ask God to apply it to you and your lives.
