We were buried together with him through baptism into his death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too can walk in newness of life.
Romans 6:4 (CEB)
If you’ve been following along, today is the end of a five-part series exploring the Wesleyan Quadrilateral (go back and start here if you’d like to read it all). In my tradition, we value the theological insights of both professionally trained clergy AND untrained laity. We see theological development as the work of the community, with all its rich diversity. The world is shrinking as technology makes it easier for us to communicate and travel anywhere quickly. Science and physics continue to expand our previously held paradigms. When we do theology, it is from the starting point of “faith seeking understanding.” How does our initial encounter with the love of God through the crucified and risen Christ help us navigate the complexities of life together in the 21st century? Our theological guidelines are scripture, tradition, experience and reason.
In this series, I’ve intentionally been stirring the pot on this process. Don’t get me wrong, I deeply love scripture and I do respect tradition. And that is exactly why I feel it is necessary to shine light on the different ways our unchecked assumptions contribute to so much disagreement and misunderstanding among the children of God. I am not claiming that by checking your assumptions you can somehow magically overcome them. I do not believe that any of us are capable of stepping outside of our context to get a God’s-eye view on the perfect theology. “Now we see a reflection in a mirror; then we will see face-to-face. Now I know partially, but then I will know completely in the same way that I have been completely known” (1 Cor. 13:12). I mean, if Paul himself admitted that he didn’t have all the answers, who the hell are we?
But when you encounter the risen Christ, when that spark of the Holy Spirit ignites a flame in you, you want to know God more and more. You want to “go on to perfection” as John Wesley puts it, meaning you want to grow every day in your love for God and for others. Methodist Christians don’t speak of salvation as a moment, but as a way. A way of being in this world, where you “work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:12-13, NIV). By God’s grace, we are empowered and equipped to fulfill God’s good purpose.
I do not believe the church is infallible. All of our traditions are fraught with great harm that has been done in the world. We cannot blindly accept our church history without examining the ways previously held theologies led Christians to work against God’s good purpose. Questioning and critiquing is important for us to learn, to grow in knowledge and wisdom. But it doesn’t automatically make us perfect. Even if we believed we did everything right, I am certain our great-grandkids will look back at our decisions and be amazed at the stuff we didn’t get right.
Every week before preaching, my pastor prays, “Lord, speak through me, perhaps even in spite of me.” That repeated phrase has worked its way into my daily theology. The infinite love of God has chosen to partner with limited, contextualized people just like me. And even when I don’t get it right, even when I seriously mess things up, God doesn’t let me go. This is where the fear and trembling part of working out your own salvation kicks in. But it also inspires me to want to do better. To seek out a better understanding of the love of Christ. To repent of my own contributions to the brokenness of the world and accept the freedom and forgiveness that relentlessly pursues me at the cross. To believe and trust that because of my partnership with the crucified/risen Christ, I too can walk in newness of life.
I’ll admit, when I was writing the script for this week’s comic, I was a little concerned to write the line, “The process IS the cause.” I want there to be real victories. I want there to be real justice. I want to see realized solutions to the pain and conflict in this world. But the reality is, we serve a relational God who works through relationships. We follow a religion that was originally called The Way. It’s a path. It’s a journey. It’s a way of being in the world. It’s not an immediate utopia. It’s yeast being worked into the dough. And there’s always more to learn, always more to love. Rest in the faith, then get back out there and seek understanding.