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Advent | Day 4
Daily Reading: Matthew 24:40-44
When I was a boy, I loved to play baseball — and I was pretty good at it, too. Tall for my age and lean, the coaches decided one day at midseason to move me from the outfield, where I tended to drift in and out of conscious awareness of the game I was playing in, to first base in the infield where a long span from toe to the tip of my glove would ensure an advantage for the force out.
I had to re-learn how to play defense in that transition from the outfield to the infield: where outfielders are expected to have the hand-eye coordination to know where a fly ball would land, the infielder is expected to anticipate fielding a hit before the bat is even swung. Where outfielders are expected to have a strong arm with generally good aim to get a base hit back to the infield before a runner can get into scoring position, the infielder is expected to be able to respond quickly and pivot, turning a throw with pinpoint accuracy to the appropriate base. Even our posture was different: where the outfielder stood erect and ready to run fast, the infielder stood on his haunches, bouncing on the balls of his feet with his weight slightly forward.
As we press into the season of Advent, it’s good to ask ourselves what Jesus means by keeping watch. Is he talking about having the most accurate theological position on the immanence of his return, or is he referring to the daily posture of his disciples? Striking a balance in the relationship between orthodoxy (believing well) and orthopraxis (living well) is vital to living into our role as the Body of Christ in the world. For some, orthodoxy is king, and this season is about polishing and affirming our belief system. For others, orthopraxis is king, and this season is about appreciating the moral of the Jesus story and seeking to live in response to that. Perhaps this season can be a meeting of those two planes as we seek to make Jesus king, and choose his kingdom as a spiritual reality that frames for us a fundamentally different way of being consumers, of being in community, of being human.
“Because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
Shane Claiborne is campaigning for Jesus in his new book and tour, “Jesus for President.”
While I haven’t yet read the book, my first observation about the book tour alone is that Shane Claiborne and his subversive message of radical adherence to the Way of Jesus seem like strange bedfellows when matched with Zondervan, a Christian publishing juggernaut. Even more so when, at first blush, it seems like the publisher is going for a mega media blitz by way of viral advertising, baiting bloggers like me to post links to their merchandise in exchange for the potential for wider readership and comments from Claiborne himself. Read the rest of this entry »
Julie Clawson, uberblogger and Fe-mergent author wrote in a post entitled America, Race and the Church perfectly my own sentiments, albeit with greater skill and dexterity. Please, if you haven’t read this yet, take the time to do so. Barack Obama’s relationship with UCC and the broad response of American evangelicalism provides a litmus test for allegiance.
