A New Vision
a)
Believing, b) Behaving, c)Belonging
Diana Butler-Bass
offers a new vision in her book which includes three key areas of awareness of
who God is. These are believing, behaving and belonging. This reflection will
focus on the second- behaving.
b) Behaving
Will our children have faith? This
is a question posed my many seniors today because there are fewer people under
40 attending services on a regular basis. Religious services used to be shared
or inherited by standing or kneeling by one’s parents and learning the
practices that composed a spiritual way of life. Through time each person
learning how to be Christian, reading the Bible, singing, listening to sermons,
feeding hungry people, gathering used clothing for those in need, saintliness…
etc. Faith was inherited and it was also a craft, joining together skills and a
community. What was taught was how to be a Christian but no one shared what was
significant about being this or why we should be one.
Spiritual
Question 1—What is it you do in this congregation that has changed your life
and the life of your church? What
spiritual practices help you be alive in God and others? How intentional are
you in this?
Spiritual Question 2- Why do I do it? Do you do
something because you like to do it or are you imitating someone else and doing
it their way? The primary why for any
Christian practice is that the action, in some way, imitates Jesus. Christians
do certain things seeking to imitate Jesus and Jesus’ followers who went
before—not necessarily the person who arranged the flowers the same way for 30
years. Following Jesus involves encountering the same God they encountered
through prayers, study and worship; imitating Jesus and the saints means
enacting God’s love in the world by feeding the hungry, comforting the
sorrowful, standing for the oppressed, caring for the poor, healing the sick
and making peace.
Thought to consider:
How does imitation and intention
influence your life as a Christian believer. The what and why of behaviour, of
practice leads back to the how. What does this mean for you?
What spiritual practices are
deepening your love of God and neighbour?
As you consider what you / your
church does spiritually to deepen your love of God consider praying these
words:
Holy One, you know us better than
anyone, help us to draw closer to you in what we say and do. Open our hearts to
your Spirit; reveal yourself to us and enable us to show others the depth of
our love in what we do. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Diana Butler-Bass Christianity
after Religion: the end of church and the birth of a new spiritual awakening. .New
York Harper2012 (chapter5
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