ECG Dispatch 2: On the Other Hand, Please Do Stand so Close to Me

This morning's plenary focused on living out (rather than merely describing) the life of Christ in the world through the church.  The thesis was pretty straight forward and did not break a lot of new ground for most listeners, but some things need to be repeated until we finally get it!  The idea of living into living a Christlike life was summed up in six words:

• Presence: We need to physically move to the places we hope to evangelize. 
• Proximity: We need to reach out and touch and share with people who are not always just like us.
• Prevenient: We need to remember that God's grace has been at work in the life of another long before we get there.
• Powerlessness: We need to remember that God id not coerce the world into loving God but took on the mantle of powerlessness.
• Passion: We need to remember that Jesus suffered for his message.
• Proclamation: We need to let our lives as well as our words proclaim the glory and grace of God. 

On the whole, I was with her.  I do get a little concerned when we get to far afield in the "Passion"bit and too closely relate our suffering to Christ's suffering.  What I heard this morning though was a little closer to Moltmann's idea of the Crucified God which is a beautiful theological model.  (Well worth the read.)

What struck me in particular today was something that may not have been an intended theme and may even be counter to what the speaker was trying to communicate.  So if this is wierdly off the wall, it is not her fault!

In describing what it means to take on the powerlessness of Christ, she spoke of Philippians 2 and the idea of kenosis or emptying oneself.  That was the basis of the fourth "P"in the list above.  Just as Christ emptied himself and took on powerlessness so must we.  I agree.  I also think that there is something to be said for the kenotic nature of the second "P" however.  

To really draw near to another person- to diminish the distance between us physically- requires a sort of interpersonal and spiritual kenosis; a giving up of personal space and personal security.  We tend to think of being Christlike in almost exclusively spiritual terms, however there is something Christlike about holding a hand or standing shoulder to shoulder or walking toward rather than away from another person.  

Perhaps the most important question for us to ask when thinking about reaching out beyond the walls of the church is not "who"are we trying to reach but "where"they are.  If we are going to live the witness of Jesus Christ, we need to be ready to unload the baggage that keeps us physically as well as spiritually at arms length from others.  We need to close the gap between the body of Christ in the world and the world we seek to serve the way God, in Christ, closed the gap between heaven and earth.