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03/31/2003 Entry: "Monday musings"
Yesterday, I chalked up what I'm pretty sure was a first for me. I got a sermon out of a blog entry. You might remember that Darren was asking
What are the 5 most important, non-negotiable, aspects of faith and discipleship for you? If you had to boil it down - you had to get to the crux of it all - what would your core values, your DNA, be when it came to your faith.It's been bugging me all week (thanks, Darren!) and it seemed to me that it would be a useful starting point for the sermon at a quiet evening service. My first response is here - the points I listed here were essentially the first 4 points of the sermon. I added a fifth, which for completeness I'll share here, which would be the importance of that moment when we simply "are" in the presence of God - "lost in wonder, love and praise." Christian faith is sterile without worship in the Spirit.
On a related theme I've been at my theology reading group today, where we were discussing the book, Standing in God's Holy Fire: The Byzantine Tradition by John Anthony McGuckin. One of the things I enjoy about the group is that it puts me on to stuff I wouldn't otherwise come across, and this book definitely comes into that category. I'd never even heard of the likes of Evagrios Pontike, the Hesychasts or Makarios the Great, but I'm glad I've discovered them. Only last week I was talking with an Orthodox priest about the differences between my own tradition and Orthodoxy, particularly in relation to ministerial training. But this book has helped me see the close parallels between Wesleyan piety and Orthodoxy. I must look more closely into what Wesley had to say about Byzantium.
In the meantime I'm left with the sense that the Western Church needs to rediscover that sense of the experience of the beauty of holiness which the Orthodox tradition has never lost. We can't simply ditch our penchant for theological analysis but we do need to regain a trust that this is not the only way, maybe not the best way, for believers to grow in grace and holiness. What Barth called "faith seeking understanding" is always going to be important to our discipleship, but time spent in the presence of God needs to be put back in the central place where it properly belongs.
