MEDITATION:
Written by N.T. Wright, a contemporary theologian, writer, teacher, and Anglican bishop. This is an excerpt from his book “The New Testament In Its World.”
A Christian worldview generates basic beliefs about God, Jesus, the atonement, resurrection, spirit, the future, and so forth. We might see this set of beliefs as those elements of the Christian faith that transcend culture (though they include the call to be culture makers and culture transformers). They constitute a kind of portable story which Christians take with them wherever they go. And from the basic beliefs there emerge what we may call consequent beliefs, beliefs that vary more widely based on context and environment, as Christians in all places have to navigate and negotiate how to live faithfully in their unique situation.
Part of the urgent task facing global Christianity in our day is to figure out what is basic (and therefore unalterable) and what is consequent (and therefore open for debate). The New Testament provides the basis for a theology and a worldview in which we can explain and enact, under the guidance of the Spirit, several things universal to human experience: justice, spirituality, relationships, beauty, freedom, truth, and power. A Christian worldview tells us what those things mean, what to do with them, how to enjoy them, and how not to abuse them. A Christian worldview, focused on such topics, will enable us to engage in authentic worship, enact the Christian vocation, and promote the flourishing of humans, individually and together.
PRAYER:
This prayer is from the United Church of Christ Book of Worship.
Grant us, Lord God, a vision of your world as your love would have it: a world where the weak are protected, and none go hungry or poor; a world where the riches of creation are shared, and everyone can enjoy them;
a world where different races and cultures live in harmony and mutual respect; a world where peace is built with justice, and justice is guided by love. Give us the inspiration and courage to build it, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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