Living Together

"We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer. The only profitable relationship to others—and especially to our weaker brethren—is one of love, and that means the will to hold fellowship with them. God himself did not despise humanity, but became man for men's sake." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison

“Saints cannot exist without a community, as they require, like all of us, nurturance by a people who, while often unfaithful, preserve the habits necessary to learn the story of God.” - Stanley Hauerwas, Critical Reflections on Stanley Hauerwas' Theology of Disability

Reading the works of theologians throughout history changed my identity over four years at university. I went in thinking that the debate between Arminianism and Calvinism over free will was the most pressing issue for the Church, or at least for me. A professor who would spend the next four years challenging me only smirked and told me there was so much missing from my questions.

This blog will deal with questions, but not questions like the one I had when I went to university; I prefer the ones I had when I left: How does Christ resolve issues of suffering, identity and hospitality in his body? What is the eternal significance of human work and play in the here and now? What does it mean to be human from the perspective of persons of disability? Stanley Hauerwas says that all theology is ethical and therefore political, so I care about reflecting theologically on life’s questions in a way that challenges the ethical and political presumptions of our societies.

The title of this blog is an adaption of Bonhoeffer’s Life Together, and this blog will reflect on what it means for the Church to image the Trinity in our world and societies. In a world of clashing identities, fraught with questions and suffering, the Church is the community of hope in this life. This community doesn’t make life easy or provide answers to all life’s questions; it just promises to work and wait together in the life of God’s Spirit, while anticipating his kingdom. As such, the Church always ought to regard others the same way that God regarded humanity in Christ. The Father did not regard the world according to what it did or didn’t do, but according to what it suffered. If the world is to receive this love of God, it must come from Jesus’ body, which he gave for mankind—his Church. This community can only perform this purpose the same way that Jesus did himself: by inviting a suffering world into its community.