Brueggemann and the Practices of Readiness and Presence

 

Paul writes – I’m a significant ‘fan’ of US Theologian Walter Brueggemann, and here’s a good example of why. Brueggemann broadens ands deepens what it means to live out of a Jesus-following narrative. He broadens and deepens what it means to live Christianly in the world. He invites us into praxis – the bringing together of our everyday practice(s) and theological reflection (which is profoundly related to the issues of living, of living fully, humanly, and Christianly).

The “post” below is taken from a recent post by Canadian Len Hjalmarson. Len writes that Brueggemann is of the view “that we need to learn disciplines of readiness and stand in reflective criticism of the Empire and its economics of affluence and politics of oppression...” “Disciplines of readiness” are practices that nourish and nurture both our imaginations and our broader Jesus-following practices in the midst of the everyday. They enable us to live in the world and for the world out of an alternative narrative.

The disciplines of readiness which Brueggemann is referring to, and which Len presents on his blog, are as follows:

·            DANGEROUS MEMORIES reaching back to Abraham and Sarah. Israel was tempted to substitute more reasonable and respectable memories rather than embrace the ambiguity and embarrassment of such messy heroes.

·            DANGEROUS CRITICISM that mocks the deadly Empire. We need two kinds of critique. First, we need an ongoing religious critique of the tamed gods of the Empire (commercialized Christianity). Second, we need the political critique of entrenched power, wherever we find it.

·            DANGEROUS PROMISES that imagine a shift of power in the world. The kingdom of God will come. The poem of Isa.54:1-3 is first despairing, but then affirms a wild and outrageous hope.

·            DANGEROUS SONGS that predict unexpected newness of life. We sing a new song and affirm a reality we have not fully experienced. Worship is a political statement.

·            DANGEROUS BREAD free of all imperial ovens. The food God gives is reliable. Hardness of heart comes when we think the Empire controls all the resources.

·            DANGEROUS DEPARTURES of heart and body and mind, leavings undertaken in trust and obedience. Israel looked forward to a time of freedom from exile. Similarly, we need to imagine a time when we leave behind consumerism, ambition, and militarism for other territory.

·            DANGEROUS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of how life really is. Our God is good; but He is not safe. We sometimes cry out for the elusive Presence, and acknowledge like the early Apostle that we are “hungry and thirsty, homeless and ill treated.”

All these disciplines come courtesy of Walter Brueggemann in Cadences of Home)…” You can read Len’s whole post here.