musings on orthodoxy…

Most of you know that I’m currently working on my Masters of Divinity. While I love the cohort that I’m having discussions with, I’d love for some of those conversations to be continued in a larger forum, so occasionally this year I’m hoping to repost some of my thoughts here for your reflection and interaction. Enjoy!

Magnetic Chess - Opposites Attract by johnthurm, on Flickr

This past week we had a discussion on orthodoxy (right belief) and orthopraxy (right action) and how/if they interact. We read a variety of articles that I reference…hopefully the essence is still conveyed even though you’ll be missing some of the context.

Question: Can we really do without orthodoxy or orthopraxy? If not, what is their relationship? If we can, what would that look like?

hopelessly hopeful.

"seed of hope"

Salvadoran martyr Archbishop Oscar Romero:

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.

The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation
in realizing that. This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well. It may be incomplete,
but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference
between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
Amen.

(ht matt hunter)