We make the road 1
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Transcript of We make the road 1
we make theroad by
walking
3
Broadway was originally the Wickquasgeck Trail, carved into the brush of Manhattan by its Native American inhabitants. This trail originally snaked through swamps and rocks along the length of Manhattan Island.
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When all else fails ...go back to the
beginning.
The Christian religion was originally a grass-roots movement called the Way, which mobilized marginal people in the Roman Empire. The movement trained people as non-violent activists for “justice, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
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PROVERBIOS Y CANTARES - XXIX
Antonio Machado (1875-1939)
Caminante, son tus huellas el camino y nada mas; Caminante, no hay camino, se hace camino al andar. Al
andar se hace el camino, y al volver la vista atras
se ve la senda que nunca se ha de volver a pisar. Caminante no hay camino sino estelas en la mar.
Traveler, the road is your footsteps and nothing more;
Traveler, there is no road.We make the road by walking.
To walk is to make the road,
and to look back is to see thatwe can never pass this way again.
Traveler, there is no road, only wake-trails in the sea.
Last night while I was asleep, I had a dream.
O blessed illusion! A fountain flowed through my heart.I said: why is this hidden canal, this water, coming to me,This spring of new life from which I have never drunk before?
Last night while I was asleep, I had a dream.
O blessed illusion! There was a beehive within my heart,and bees of gold were making, from my longstanding disappointments,
White wax and sweet honey.
Last night while I was asleep, I had a dream.
O blessed illusion! A radiant sun shone within my heart.
It was radiant with the warmth of a glowing home,and it was a sun because it illuminated and brought me to tears.
Last night while I was asleep, I had a dream.O blessed illusion! It was God I had within my heart.
As a living tradition,Christian faith is not
a dead end,a parking lot,
a warehouse, ora circular track.
As a living tradition,Christian faith is in the making,under construction,a direction, trajectory,a road we make.
PROVERBIOS Y CANTARES - XXIX
Antonio Machado (1875-1939)
Traveler, the road is your footsteps and nothing more;
Traveler, there is no road.We make the road by walking.
To walk is to make the road,
and to look back is to see thatwe can never pass this way again.
Traveler, there is no road, only wake-trails in the sea. How do yo
u resp
ond?
A fresh vision of the
road we make
A fresh vision of the big picture:
- the Biblical story
- the Christian way of life
- looking back to look ahead
52+ short chaptersCan be read aloud in 10-12 minutesCover the whole Bible from Genesis to RevelationA comprehensive biblical lectionaryFollows the general contour of traditional church year- Pre-Advent - Hebrew Scriptures- Advent - transition to Jesus- Epiphany - life of Jesus-Lent - Sermon on Mount- Passion Week - passion- Easter - church as community of resurrection- Pentecost - Epistles/RevelationPresent a coherent reading of the biblical narrative(s)- An evolving view of God- And evolving view of humanity - Focused on creation and new creation - Outside of traditional atonement categories
Plus ...
6 discussion questions for each chapter5 Guidelines for Learning Circles
- Participation- Honor- Silence- Understanding- Brevity
Introductory LiturgyEucharistic Liturgy
conversational
&eucharistic
R. Allan Street, Subversive Meals: An Analysis of the Lord’s Supper under Roman Domination in the First Century
Greco-Roman Two-Part Meal:Deipnon - reclining meal- Libation - to honor the Emperor and godsSymposium - discussion, interaction, drinking, entertainment
Eucharistic Meal/Agape:Deipnon - reclining meal (with differences)- Eucharist - “Jesus is Lord”Symposium - discussion, interaction, singing, prayers, mutual ministry
Eucharist as transformative ritual ...- bonding to bottomless meaning- identifying with a family and identity- joining a revolutionary movement- receiving spiritual empowerment
My hopes:1. Churches can use it for a season or whole year
- Breaks routine, provides liturgical innovation- Provides framework for Revised Common Lectionary- Provides space for invitation, outreach- Frees pastoral time for other activities for a year
2. Families, small groups, classes, campus groups, senior living groups, summer camps, prison groups, spiritual directors, etc., can use the book as a curriculum or catechism.
3. Spontaneous learning circles can form - and become affiliated as “satellites” or partners with existing congregations.
4. Individuals can use it for their own orientation and reorientation.
Why?1. We need a fresh, coherent understanding of the overarching Biblical story of God and creation.
2. We need to rediscover Jesus as the Word of God.
3. We need to recover liturgy as group spiritual (Holy Spirit) formation - and eucharist as profoundly transformational.
4. We need to practice honest spiritual conversation.
5. We need to face critical issues - especially about the Bible.
science
violence
miracles
historicity
abuse
lectionary
authority
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science
violence
miracles
historicity
abuse
lectionary
authority
7
science
violence
miracles
historicity
abuse
lectionary
authority
7
science
violence
miracles
historicity
abuse
lectionary
authority
7
science
violence
miracles
historicity
abuse
lectionary
authority
7
science
violence
miracles
historicity
abuse
lectionary
authority
7
science
violence
miracles
historicity
abuse
lectionary
authority
7
science
violence
miracles
historicity
abuse
lectionary
authority
7
science
violence
miracles
historicity
abuse
lectionary
authority
7How do yo
u resp
ond?
Reading the Bible Afresh:4 Options
(beyond liberal and conservative)
Literal: Like a newspaper, science text, or work of nonfiction - attempting to tell objective, literal, observable, scientific facts.
Literary: Like a poem, novel, journal, or movie -
attempting to convey meaningful, mysterious, multi-faceted beauty and truth.
Critical: Questioned. Tested. Scrutinized. Evaluated.
Treated as human, situated, constructed, and interpreted.
Innocent:Taken at face value. Unquestioned. Univocal. Treated as divine, transcendent, incorrigible, or absolute.
Literal Literary
2. Critical Literal 4. Critical Literary
1. Innocent Literal 3. Innocent Literary
Inn
oce
nt
C
riti
cal
Option 1: Innocent Literal
The Bible is a divine text, akin to a
TextbookInstruction manual
Objective historical accountAudit reportConstitution
Option 2: Critical Literal
The Bible is a human text, akin to
a collection of mythsa collection of folk tales
a collection of propagandaa collection of misinformation
Option 3: Innocent Literary
The Bible is a collection of literary artifacts, akin to ...
an anthology of moralistic fablesa collection of magic chants or mantras
a source of inspiring stories and quotations
Option 4: Critical Literary
The Bible is a collection of human literary artifacts, akin to ...
a museum an heirloom quilt
a family scrapbook or photo albuma refrigerator door or classroom bulletin board
a specialized library
Literal Literary
2. Critical Literal 4. Critical Literary
1. Innocent Literal 3. Innocent Literary
Inn
oce
nt
C
riti
cal
Literal Literary
2. Critical Literal 4. Critical Literary
1. Innocent Literal 3. Innocent Literary
Inn
oce
nt
C
riti
cal
FaithfulFaithful
Option 4: Faithful Critical Literary
The Bible is a collection of human literary artifacts, akin to ...
a museum an heirloom quilt
a family scrapbook or photo albuma refrigerator door
a specialized library
through which God can speak to us today.
Why Faithful Critical Literary?
1. Takes the text seriously2. Takes art of interpretation seriously3. Takes humans seriously (producers/readers)4. Takes God seriously5. Takes Jesus seriously6. Takes the Spirit seriously7. Takes the living tradition seriously8. Takes both liberal and conservative concerns seriously
What is the shape of the biblical narrative?
(A pre-critical question)
Hell
Salvation
Fallen history/
Fallen world
Fall
HeavenEden
Hades
Atonement, purification
Aristotelian
Real
Fall
Into Aristotelian
Real
Platonic IdealPlatonic Ideal
Destruction, defeat
Civilization, development,
colonialism
assimilationBarbarian/ pagan world
Rebellion
into barbarism
Pax RomanaPax Romana
Is there an alternative understanding?
sdrawkcab gnidaerRick Warren, Billy Graham, Charles Finney, John Wesley (or Calvin), Luther, Aquinas, Augustine, Paul, Jesus
reading forwardsAdam, Eve, Sarah, Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, John the Baptist, Mary, Jesus
Exodus: Liberation & Formation
Exodus: Liberation & Formation
Genesis: Creation and Reconciliation
Exodus: Liberation & Formation
Genesis: Creation and Reconciliation
Isaiah: Peaceable Kingdom - Justice and Mercy
Exodus: Liberation & Formation
G
e
n
e
s
i
s
Isaiah: Peaceable Kingdom - Justice and Mercy
Exodus: Liberation & Formation
G
e
n
e
s
i
s
Isaiah: Peaceable Kingdom - Justice and Mercy
HUMAN DESTRUCTION
HUMAN VIOLENCE
HUMAN EXPLOITATION
Exodus: Liberation & Formation
G
e
n
e
s
i
s
Isaiah: Peaceable Kingdom - Justice and Mercy
HUMAN DESTRUCTION
HUMAN VIOLENCE
HUMAN EXPLOITATION
Exodus: Liberation & Formation
G
e
n
e
s
i
s
Isaiah: Peaceable Kingdom - Justice and Mercy
HUMAN DESTRUCTION
HUMAN VIOLENCE
HUMAN EXPLOITATION
How do you re
spond?
The Bible places us in three great narratives:
CreationLiberationReconciliation
Tensions reveal deeper truths.
Not contradictions to be “resolved” or exposed ... but statements, counter-statements, new insights, new counter-statements, etc.
Constitution?
Library?
The Bible as Constitution
• What purposes do constitutions (or social contracts) fulfill?
• How is the Bible like a constitution?
• What problems arise with this approach?
Bible as Library• Culture as community united by
arguments
• Library as preserver of minority opinions and ongoing arguments
• Meaning emerges among stories in tension
Stories in tension ...David, Goliath, and the Temple
Two ArksPharaoh, Hagar, Solomon
Ezra, RuthJudges, Ruth
Call of Abraham, Blessing for cursingJoshua, Jesus, and the Canaanites
Convergence happens.
Narrative theologyLiberation theologyMimetic theoryOrality/AuralityChristo-focal theology
Convergence happens.
Narrative theologyThe text records the evolutionary emergence of new ways of thinking about God and life ... and reveals a trajectory that continues today.
Convergence happens.
Liberation theologyThe primary storyline is an audacious claim that God takes the side of the oppressed, and that salvation is God’s liberation from all that oppresses the goodness of creation.
Convergence happens.
Mimetic (Girardian) theorySacrifice (human, animal) was an early anthropological means of reducing violence. The Bible reveals a new way of peace ... a new “covenant” to replace violence with peace.
Convergence happens.
Orality/AuralityThe Bible was a spoken and heard composition before it was a written text. It should be rediscovered as “performance art” in a communal experience.
Convergence happens.
Christo-focal theologyJesus was a faithful radical who introduced a new way of interpreting ancient texts, thus opening up new possibilities for humanity.
Go and learn what this means: “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” (Matthew 9:13)
Mercy - compassion, love, empathy, human kindness, nonviolence
Not sacrifice - blood, death, fear, violence, priesthood, temple, holy city,
sacrifice industrial complex
a newroad to
walk
Lord, inspire us to read your Scriptures and meditate on them day and night.
We beg you to give us real understanding of what we read, that we may in turn
put its precepts into practice. Yet we know that understanding and good
intentions are worthless, unless rooted in your graceful love. So we ask
that the words of the Scriptures may also be not just signs on a page, but channels
of grace into our hearts.--Origen of Alexandria (c.186-254)
we make theroad by
walking