Today’s Readings: Psalm 70; Leviticus 26:27-42; Luke 22:31-38; Ephesians 1:16-23; Psalm 60
There are lots of words or phrases that are used to describe the times in which we live. One of those phrases is “post-Christian”. Let me tell you my understanding of what the phrase means. From the time of Emperor Constantine in the 4th Century on, the Christian movement has enjoyed a degree of power and privilege; this has been particularly true in Western cultures. While there was some degree of ebb and flow to this, for the most part this was true. Over the last Century, however, that power and privilege has decreased dramatically. The implications of this decline? Christianity went from being front and center in people’s lives to being on the periphery. As I’ve alluded to in earlier posts, I actually think it was a good thing that Christianity lost its institutional power because I think that institutional power caused the movement to stray away from Jesus’ values in desperate attempts to maintain its societal status. I think the shift of peoples’ faith from the center of their lives to the periphery is a tragedy, however, at the personal level. Today’s reading from Ephesians addresses this very issue and makes a powerful challenge for each of us when it comes to the location of our faith. The passage reads: “The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church” (Ephesians 1:22 from The Message). My question for you to consider today is this: where would you locate your faith in terms of your life? Is it at the center of your life, or does it lie along the periphery? Til next time…
There are lots of words or phrases that are used to describe the times in which we live. One of those phrases is “post-Christian”. Let me tell you my understanding of what the phrase means. From the time of Emperor Constantine in the 4th Century on, the Christian movement has enjoyed a degree of power and privilege; this has been particularly true in Western cultures. While there was some degree of ebb and flow to this, for the most part this was true. Over the last Century, however, that power and privilege has decreased dramatically. The implications of this decline? Christianity went from being front and center in people’s lives to being on the periphery. As I’ve alluded to in earlier posts, I actually think it was a good thing that Christianity lost its institutional power because I think that institutional power caused the movement to stray away from Jesus’ values in desperate attempts to maintain its societal status. I think the shift of peoples’ faith from the center of their lives to the periphery is a tragedy, however, at the personal level. Today’s reading from Ephesians addresses this very issue and makes a powerful challenge for each of us when it comes to the location of our faith. The passage reads: “The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church” (Ephesians 1:22 from The Message). My question for you to consider today is this: where would you locate your faith in terms of your life? Is it at the center of your life, or does it lie along the periphery? Til next time…
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