The Liturgy of Politics: The Partisan Liturgy of Fear
Release Date: 09/15/2024
The Practice Church Podcast
This imaginative prayer is focused on Jesus and his conversation with the rich young ruler.
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Have you ever considered how fascinating the disciples are as characters in the Gospels? We often read these stories with our focus on Jesus, but how often do we pay attention to the disciples’ perspective? Throughout the Gospel narratives, the people who followed Jesus are ‘representative characters.’ In so many ways, they stand in for us as we try to understand and be formed by the ministry and presence of Jesus. In this series, we will contemplate six stories from the Gospels through the eyes of the disciples. How did they understand the teaching and ministry of Jesus? How did they...
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In this imaginative prayer, we watch as Jesus is approached by a Roman centurion asking for his servant to be healed.
info_outlineThe Practice Church Podcast
Have you ever considered how fascinating the disciples are as characters in the Gospels? We often read these stories with our focus on Jesus, but how often do we pay attention to the disciples’ perspective? Throughout the Gospel narratives, the people who followed Jesus are ‘representative characters.’ In so many ways, they stand in for us as we try to understand and be formed by the ministry and presence of Jesus. In this series, we will contemplate six stories from the Gospels through the eyes of the disciples. How did they understand the teaching and ministry of Jesus? How did they...
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In this imaginative prayer written by Joan Kelley, we find ourselves on the boat with Jesus and the disciples in the midst of a storm.
info_outlineThe Practice Church Podcast
Have you ever considered how fascinating the disciples are as characters in the Gospels? We often read these stories with our focus on Jesus, but how often do we pay attention to the disciples’ perspective? Throughout the Gospel narratives, the people who followed Jesus are ‘representative characters.’ In so many ways, they stand in for us as we try to understand and be formed by the ministry and presence of Jesus. In this series, we will contemplate six stories from the Gospels through the eyes of the disciples. How did they understand the teaching and ministry of Jesus? How did they...
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In this imaginative prayer, we imagine ourselves watching and participating in Jesus's miracle feeding of the multitudes.
info_outlineThe Practice Church Podcast
Have you ever considered how fascinating the disciples are as characters in the Gospels? We often read these stories with our focus on Jesus, but how often do we pay attention to the disciples’ perspective? Throughout the Gospel narratives, the people who followed Jesus are ‘representative characters.’ In so many ways, they stand in for us as we try to understand and be formed by the ministry and presence of Jesus. In this series, we will contemplate six stories from the Gospels through the eyes of the disciples. How did they understand the teaching and ministry of Jesus? How did they...
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In this imaginative prayer written by Ashlee Eiland, we imagine ourselves with disciples as Jesus invites us to follow him.
info_outlineThe Practice Church Podcast
Have you ever considered how fascinating the disciples are as characters in the Gospels? We often read these stories with our focus on Jesus, but how often do we pay attention to the disciples’ perspective? Throughout the Gospel narratives, the people who followed Jesus are ‘representative characters.’ In so many ways, they stand in for us as we try to understand and be formed by the ministry and presence of Jesus. In this series, we will contemplate six stories from the Gospels through the eyes of the disciples. How did they understand the teaching and ministry of Jesus? How did they...
info_outlineAristotle said the purpose of politics is to create a people who are better than they would be without it. Politics has a way of shaping how we see ourselves, how we see others, and how we should live in the world. Have you noticed how this is parallel to the task of the gospel? This journey of faith creates us to be someone better than we would be without Jesus. Jesus shapes how we see ourselves, how we see others, and how we should live in the world. Is it any wonder our political activity has gotten so bound up in our understanding of the gospel?
In fact, our partisanship and faith have become so wrapped up together, that it is like one big ball of tangled string. They influence one another in various ways (some helpful and some not), and often times it is hard to tell where one begins and the other ends. This month, we will be crafting experiments together. These experiments will center on how we engage politics and how we are being formed by politics. Together we will notice what strings in this tangled mess the Holy Spirit is drawing to our attention, and we will intentionally practice ways of untangling that thread. How can we seek to be formed in the way of God's kingdom and bring that to bear on politics rather than allowing politics to shape how we view the kingdom?
We continued our experiments this week exposing the partisan liturgy of fear, reflecting on the use of fear as a tool and noticing how it forms us. Then, we considered the counter-formational liturgy of love. What if all our political activity was rooted in love rather than fear?
You can find the handout for crafting an experiments here.
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