Willard's World 7- Towards Godly Community
We talk alot about community; What it is, how to build it and the lack of it. In Matthew 7 Jesus gives us instruction on how we are to live in Godly community.
Judge Not
Willard states, "If we would really help those close to us and dear, and if we would learn together with our family and 'neighbours' in the power of the kingdom , we must abandon the deeply rooted human practice of condemning and blaming." Rather than condemning and blaming Willard suggests that restoring one another is the biblical instruction from Jesus. "It is a matter of restoration. The aim of dealing with one caught is to bring them back on the path of Jesus and to establish them there so their progress in kingdom character and living can continue. Nothing is to be done that is not useful to this specific end." Willard also specifies that this restoration should only be undertaken when the sin is really a sin and when the one approaching this person is living in the kingdom and has the attitude that , "they could very well do the same thing."
Willard then wisely explains that not judging is very different from discerning which we are to undertake constantly. "We do not have to--we cannot--surrender the valid practice of discerning how things are in order to avoid condemning others. We can, however, train ourselves to hold people responsible and discuss their failures with them--and even assign them penalties, if we are for example in some position over them--without attacking their worth as human beings or making them as rejects. A practices spirit of agape will make this possible."
Don't Throw Pearls at Pigs
Matthew 7:6 reads, "Do not give dogs sacred things to eat, nor try to get pigs to dine on pearls. For they will simply walk all over them and turn and take a bite out of you." Most read this and are either confused or think it is maybe an excuse to not help feed or cloth those "not deserving". Willard reminds us, "We are to be like the Father in the heavens, 'who is kind to the unthankful and the evil.'" Instead Willard suggests that the problem with pearls, as pigs see it, is not that the pearls are wasted but rather that they are useless. A pig needs food and water but not pearls. We offer pearls (a metaphor for teaching, higher education or theology perhaps) thinking that we have much to offer. Rather we deprive those people of the simple things that they do need.
Instead of forcing Willard suggests that community should be formed around asking. Asking first of all encourages people to share where they are at. "As I listen , they do not have to protect themselves from me and they begin to open up." Secondly we become their ally because we can joining them in their journey and don't have an agenda of our own. Thirdly, asking drives us to pray for one another. "Prayer is nothing but a proper way for persons to interact." Willard quotes Bonhoffer who goes so far as to say, "Because Christ stands between me and others, I dare not desire direct fellowship with them. As only Christ can speak to me in such a way that I may be saved, so others, too, can be saved only by Christ himself. This means that I must release the other person from every attempt of mine to regulate, coerce or dominate him with my love.... Thus this spiritual love will speak to Christ about a brother more than to a brother about Christ. It knows that the most direct way to others is always through prayer to Christ and that love of others is wholly dependent upon the truth in Christ." (Its evident I'm sure, that I don't entirely understand this idea of asking of and loving one another with Christ as the intermediate. So read it for yourself (Pg.231-239) or go straight to Bonhoffer's Life Together from which Willard quotes.) Fourthly and last, asking will lead to Joy by causing laughter. Laughter comes from seeing incongruity in the world and this no doubt will be plentiful as we share a life of questions together.
Don't Forget to Pray
Prayer according to Willard is the act of asking God. He explains, "We human beings have two different kinds of causation. One is entirely under our control. The other which work through request is not." C.S. Lewis gives us this example. "It is not unreasonable for a headmaster to say, 'Such and such things you may do according to the fixed rules of the school. But such and such other things are too dangerous to be left to general rules. If you want to do them you must make a request and talk over the whole matter with me in my study. And then--we'll see.'
Willard uses the Old Testament stories of Moses reasoning with God (Exodus 32:10-14) and Hezekiah asking God to extend his life (2Kings 19:8-20:6) to argue that God does indeed change his mind in response to our prayers. He says that having a God who does not respond to our prayer, "makes prayer psychologicaly impossible, replacing it with dead ritual at best." He reminds us though that, "God is great enough that he can conduct his affairs in this way. His nature identity, and overarching purposes are no doubt unchanging. But his intensions with regard to many particular matters taht concern individual human beings are not."
How do we pray then? This again is an illustrartion not a formula.
1)Address God- "It is one of the things that distinguishes prayer from worrying out loud or silently, which many unfortunately , have confused with prayer."
2)Ask that his name be uniquly respected- Willard suggests that sanctified or uniquly respected is a better translation than hallowed.
3)Ask for the fullness of the kingdom to come to earth- We ask, "for those [earthly] kingdoms to be displaced, wherever they are, or brought under God's rule."
4)Ask for todays physical sustinence- Not that, according to Willrd, having more than todays is wrong but we need only ask for todays and trust that each days will be provided as needed.
5)Ask for pity- "I need pity because of who I am. if my pride is untouched when I pray for forgivness, I have not prayed for forgivness. I don't even understand it.
6)Ask for escape from trials- "[This request] expresses the understanding that we can't stand up under very much pressure.... It is a vote of 'no confidence' in our own abilities."
Judge Not
Willard states, "If we would really help those close to us and dear, and if we would learn together with our family and 'neighbours' in the power of the kingdom , we must abandon the deeply rooted human practice of condemning and blaming." Rather than condemning and blaming Willard suggests that restoring one another is the biblical instruction from Jesus. "It is a matter of restoration. The aim of dealing with one caught is to bring them back on the path of Jesus and to establish them there so their progress in kingdom character and living can continue. Nothing is to be done that is not useful to this specific end." Willard also specifies that this restoration should only be undertaken when the sin is really a sin and when the one approaching this person is living in the kingdom and has the attitude that , "they could very well do the same thing."
Willard then wisely explains that not judging is very different from discerning which we are to undertake constantly. "We do not have to--we cannot--surrender the valid practice of discerning how things are in order to avoid condemning others. We can, however, train ourselves to hold people responsible and discuss their failures with them--and even assign them penalties, if we are for example in some position over them--without attacking their worth as human beings or making them as rejects. A practices spirit of agape will make this possible."
Don't Throw Pearls at Pigs
Matthew 7:6 reads, "Do not give dogs sacred things to eat, nor try to get pigs to dine on pearls. For they will simply walk all over them and turn and take a bite out of you." Most read this and are either confused or think it is maybe an excuse to not help feed or cloth those "not deserving". Willard reminds us, "We are to be like the Father in the heavens, 'who is kind to the unthankful and the evil.'" Instead Willard suggests that the problem with pearls, as pigs see it, is not that the pearls are wasted but rather that they are useless. A pig needs food and water but not pearls. We offer pearls (a metaphor for teaching, higher education or theology perhaps) thinking that we have much to offer. Rather we deprive those people of the simple things that they do need.
Instead of forcing Willard suggests that community should be formed around asking. Asking first of all encourages people to share where they are at. "As I listen , they do not have to protect themselves from me and they begin to open up." Secondly we become their ally because we can joining them in their journey and don't have an agenda of our own. Thirdly, asking drives us to pray for one another. "Prayer is nothing but a proper way for persons to interact." Willard quotes Bonhoffer who goes so far as to say, "Because Christ stands between me and others, I dare not desire direct fellowship with them. As only Christ can speak to me in such a way that I may be saved, so others, too, can be saved only by Christ himself. This means that I must release the other person from every attempt of mine to regulate, coerce or dominate him with my love.... Thus this spiritual love will speak to Christ about a brother more than to a brother about Christ. It knows that the most direct way to others is always through prayer to Christ and that love of others is wholly dependent upon the truth in Christ." (Its evident I'm sure, that I don't entirely understand this idea of asking of and loving one another with Christ as the intermediate. So read it for yourself (Pg.231-239) or go straight to Bonhoffer's Life Together from which Willard quotes.) Fourthly and last, asking will lead to Joy by causing laughter. Laughter comes from seeing incongruity in the world and this no doubt will be plentiful as we share a life of questions together.
Don't Forget to Pray
Prayer according to Willard is the act of asking God. He explains, "We human beings have two different kinds of causation. One is entirely under our control. The other which work through request is not." C.S. Lewis gives us this example. "It is not unreasonable for a headmaster to say, 'Such and such things you may do according to the fixed rules of the school. But such and such other things are too dangerous to be left to general rules. If you want to do them you must make a request and talk over the whole matter with me in my study. And then--we'll see.'
Willard uses the Old Testament stories of Moses reasoning with God (Exodus 32:10-14) and Hezekiah asking God to extend his life (2Kings 19:8-20:6) to argue that God does indeed change his mind in response to our prayers. He says that having a God who does not respond to our prayer, "makes prayer psychologicaly impossible, replacing it with dead ritual at best." He reminds us though that, "God is great enough that he can conduct his affairs in this way. His nature identity, and overarching purposes are no doubt unchanging. But his intensions with regard to many particular matters taht concern individual human beings are not."
How do we pray then? This again is an illustrartion not a formula.
1)Address God- "It is one of the things that distinguishes prayer from worrying out loud or silently, which many unfortunately , have confused with prayer."
2)Ask that his name be uniquly respected- Willard suggests that sanctified or uniquly respected is a better translation than hallowed.
3)Ask for the fullness of the kingdom to come to earth- We ask, "for those [earthly] kingdoms to be displaced, wherever they are, or brought under God's rule."
4)Ask for todays physical sustinence- Not that, according to Willrd, having more than todays is wrong but we need only ask for todays and trust that each days will be provided as needed.
5)Ask for pity- "I need pity because of who I am. if my pride is untouched when I pray for forgivness, I have not prayed for forgivness. I don't even understand it.
6)Ask for escape from trials- "[This request] expresses the understanding that we can't stand up under very much pressure.... It is a vote of 'no confidence' in our own abilities."
Dear Father always with us,
may your name be treasured and loved,
may your rule be completed in us--
may your will be done here on earth in just the way it is done in heaven.
Give us today the things we need for today,
and forgive us us our sins and impositions on you as we are forgiving all who in any way offend us.
Please don't put us through trials, but deliver us from everything bad.
Because you're the one in charge, and you have all the power,
and the glory is all your--forever--
which is just the way we want it!
-Matthew 6:9-13 (Translated by Dallas Willard)
posted by Luke at
10:04 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home