Text:
Elizabeth A. Johnson, Abounding In Kindness (published in 2015)
Dr.
Elizabeth Johnson is a popular award-winning author, speaker and contemporary
Catholic theologian whose provocative presentations appeal to wide audiences
worldwide.
Topics:
1 Passing
on the Faith: The Banquet of the Creed
2 Jesus,
the Living One: Jesus Research and Christian Faith
Remembering
the Holy Spirit: Love Poured Out
4 Truly
Our Sister: A Critical Reading of the Marian Tradition
5
This
course offers a new inclusive, innovative educational program for spiritual
transformation for contemporary believers, activists and ministers. The aim is
to inspire all to be visionaries, mystics and prophets in our time.
Each
topic will present a beautiful tapestry of the God of life present in all and
working for justice for all. The purpose is to integrate theological insights
and spiritual experiences in order to develop commonsense approaches to living
a faith-filled life of contemplation, compassion and prophetic action for justice
in our world today.
The group used the "lectio Divino" sacred reading approach to reflect on the text, take a prayerful pause to let it sink into the depths of the soul, and then share insights.
Some Highlights:
.
The
creed begins by affirming that God makes and loves the entire magnificent
universe.
God
is infinite, incomprehensible, holy mystery beyond imagining.
The
God who is beyond all images and beyond all telling can be described in the
following images from scripture: “father, of course and also mother, midwife,
shepherd, lover, artist, potter, liberator, friend, Wisdom, hovering mother
bird, angry mother bear, blowing wind, blazing flame, flowing water,
unapproachable light, the One in whom we live and move and have our being.” Loving
the Earth: Through time, “God was continuously empowering the cosmos’ own
creative emergence.” The natural world is a beautiful sacrament of divine
presence. The
task now is to develop a “life-affirming theology of earth/matter/ bodies, one
that will do better justice to this world that God makes and so loves.” We
must hand on to the “next generation a faith that loves the earth.”p.9
"The
Messiah “heals the sick, exorcises demons, forgives sinners, and cares for
those whose lives are a heavy burden. He practices table companionship so
inclusive that it gives scandal.” MT. 11:19 He establishes divine solidarity
with those who lack basic necessities. (Mt 25:35, 42) “Neglecting the least of
these means turning your back on God.”
…”Jesus
death on the cross is the price he paid for his prophetic ministry…He is risen
that there will be a blessed future for all the violated and the dead, cast off
as if their lives had no meaning.” Contemporary theology is “moving away from
the notion of the cross as a death required by God in repayment for sin and toward an
appreciation of the cross as an event of
divine compassion in solidarity with human suffering, sin and death.” P.14.
Atonement
theology comes from St. Anslem in the 11century. He took the idea of
satisfaction as it was practiced in feudal times and applied it to God, namely
that our sins so offend God that he demands death as recompense. “Aquinas,
Scotus and others criticized this theory… but it won the day for the next
thousand years.”p.13.
Criticism
of atonement theology is:
1.
It
focuses on purpose of Jesus’ life was to die.
2.
Diminishes
importance of ministry
3.
Glorifies
suffering rather than joy as path to God
4.
Fosters
domestic violence and child abuse
5.
Image
of blood thirsty God placated by suffering
Cross
1.
Not
as repayment for sin, event of divine love
2.
Creator
of world entered into contact with human suffering, sinfulness and death in
order to heal, liberate and redeem from within
3.
Jesus
did not come to die but to live and help others live in the joy of the reign of
God. God is not a sadistic father, and
Jesus was not a passive victim of divine desire for satisfaction.
4.
Rather
his suffering, borne in love out of fidelity to his ministry and his God is
precisely the way our gracious God has chosen to enter into solidarity with all
those who suffer are lost in this violent world, thereby, opening up the
promise of new life out of the very center of death." P. 14.
1 comment:
Beautiful, and much more hopeful, view of our faith. May your tribes increase!
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