God in the Alley, by Greg Paul is the story of a faith community in Toronto, Ontario that reaches out and welcomes those in the inner-city who struggle with life and addictions. Yet, that description is inadequate because it shares how regular every-day Christians have become the hands and feet of God in a place where few want to go. The book is a collection of stories woven together cohesively. Stories of tragedy that sometimes becomes redemption and sometimes end in more tragedy. Where we can see how God can transform human life lived in difficult situations and places into something glorious.
The second book, The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne really made me think and I could see why my friend said this book was life changing. He shares his story of transforming from a typical christian kid to a radical looking to change the world for Jesus. It is not his story alone but also of The Simple Way community. He challenges the typical protestant christian response to the poor and vulnerable and encourages the reader to reach out beyond themselves. I ended up reading this in two parts because I checked it out from the library and had to return it before I was finished the first time around! I am still digesting what I learned, but I will share a few highlights/quotes that I found significant along with some comments in italics.
- "Community is what we are create for. We are made in the image of a God who is community, a purality of oneness." (Claiborne, pg 134)
- He quotes Mother Theresa "Following Jesus is simple but not easy. Love until is hurts, and then love more." (Pg 136)
- "Vocation comes from the same root as voice, denoting the hearing of a divine call. Beyond knowing that God has a purpose for our lives, most of us (especially non-Catholics) spending little energy seeking our vocation, especially in light of how the needs and sufferings of our neighbors how we use our gifts for divine purposes. There are plenty of people who are miserable in their jobs, for they have not listened to God's call. And would add there are many Christians who are not fulfilled in their spiritual lives because they have no sense of their gifts or purpose, and they just run to the mission field to save souls rather than transform lives and communities using their gifts and those of the people they live among. Both lead to emptiness and burnout." (pg 138)
- This particular quote struck hard. As a Catholic, I see vocation as marriage vs. religious life but had not considered career. Yet, as I struggle with the question of "What do I want to be when I grow up?" I realize that I still have work to do in this area. Last year at a retreat, I asked God if he was calling me to religious life and the answer was "No". Yet, am I called to marriage and family? It is something I have desired since a young child, but as a thirty-something singleton I need to accept that perhaps he has a different calling. And I need to intentionally seek guidance add Godly advice.
- "Conversion is not an event but a process, a process of slowing tearing ourselves from the clutches of the culture." (pg 150)
- "a college professor who said, "All around you, people will be tiptoeing through life, just to arrive at death safely. But dear children, do not tiptoe. Run, hop, skip or dance, just don't tiptoe." (pg 225)
- "Christianity can be build around isolating ourselves from evildoers and sinners, creating a community of religious piety and moral purity. That's the Christianity I grew up with. Christianity can also be built around joining with the broken sinners and evildoers of our world crying out to god, groaning for grace. That's the Christianity I have fallen in love with." (pg 246)
- I too grew up in the former Christianity in the Protestant, but I have found the second in the Roman Catholic church. Going to confession and seeing fellow parishioners seeking God's grace and absolution from our sins. Seeing the poor and vulnerable at mass worshiping alongside those with plenty. Opportunities to help those in need. God's grace.
- "when we have new eyes, we can look into the eyes of those we don't even like and see the One we love. We can see God's image in everyone we encounter." (pg 266)
- "One of the underlying assumptions is that money from the offering or tithe belongs to the church. But the Scriptures consistently teach that the offering is God's instrument of redistribution and that it belongs to the poor. ... historically, church offerings were part of God's economy of redistribution, and over 90 percent was given to the poor. We live in an age when we have nearly reversed what God set in place. An average of 85percent of the church offering is used internally, primarily for staff and buildings and stuff to meet our own needs. And this borders on embezzlement." (pg 330-331)
- "We are to be fire, to weave our lives together so that the Spirit's inferno of love spreads across the earth." (pg 352)
- "If you have the gift of frustration and the deep sense that the world is a mess, thank God for that; not everyone has that gift of vision. It also means that you have a responsibility to lead us in new ways. Recognizing that something is wrong is the first step toward changing the world." (pg 354)
- I'm not sure I want the gift of frustration but I still ask myself, how can I change the world into a better place?
One thing that I found interesting about both books is that while they are written from an Evangelical Protestant perspective, they have Catholic roots. Both authors quote Roman Catholics authors for the rational of their work: Henri Nouwen, Dorothy Day, Mother Theresa, Edith Stein and Ignatius just to name a few. Essentially they are promoting Catholic Social Teaching to Evangelicals Protestants. Not that all Catholics are completely on board with their social teachings - which Claiborne points out quite clearly. I found The Irresistible Revolution uncomfortable to read because like my friend said, it is one of those life changer books. The question now is: How will I respond to what I read and learned from these books?
That's an excellent question, thank you for asking!
First, I am seeking to create community for myself through a mix of church and social involvement. Cathedral choir, young adult group and the prayer chain at my parish. Attending Catholic Active Single events - dinners and a bible study. Opening my hands and arms to new friends. Volunteering. Second, I'm challenging myself to take more risks in 2014. The second book along with a friend's example have helped me see the need to take more risks in my life. Thirdly, I'm going to seek out assistance figuring out my vocation and God's plan for my life. Lastly, I plan to offer some sort of tangible help to those in need: it might just be giving a package of hand-warmers or a bottle of water to a panhandler or picking up a tag from the manger project to purchase an item for someone in need or offering a friend a place to stay for a few days.
"We can do not great things, only small things with great love. It is not how much you do but how much love you put into doing it."Mother Theresa
Advent Reading
Part 3
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