One of my best Burkinabé friends here the other day gave me the following example of how the emphasis on all things spiritual can hurt
Yet I have witnessed this same friend healing others through prayer. So I have rediscovered this paradox that I think most of us are aware of: there is far more of a spiritual element to our daily lives than westerners care to believe; and far more of a physical element to daily life than a lot of
So what does this have to do with Anabaptism? By the way, I don’t want to in any way give the impression to non-Mennonite friends who may be receiving these articles that the raison d’être of Anabaptists (aka Mennonites) is to “expand the denomination”. Rather, as I said in the first article, I believe in learning from the richness of the Christian denominations (and beyond) and with that comes the responsibility to participate in this sharing by giving what my tradition has to offer to the discussion.
To put it briefly, Mennonites accentuate and find normative the life of Jesus. This means that the life of Jesus is as central to understanding the will of God for humanity as his death and resurrection. This can sometimes contrast starkly to other Christian views, though it would be preferable if it complemented them. Typically, the “core of the gospel” for most Evangelical Christians is that Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins. Mennonites tend to add, “Amen, but what about his life and how he showed us how to live in the present?” Can this emphasis on the earthly existence of Jesus somehow be reconciled with the Burkinabé spiritual worldview?
A Burkinabé sees firstly a spiritual realm in which spirits are fighting each other for power. In Christ’s death and resurrection, we have freedom from the binding spiritual powers that can make earthly existence miserable. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit after he departed from his disciples that glorious yet confusing ascension day. The disciples were filled with this Spirit and did amazing things.
What we can offer the Burkinabé is the aspect of “doing” or acting in faith of the Spirit. The Spirit helps us do and live how Jesus taught us to live. His life is normative for us – our example. (But of course, we will not be able to do all that the Son of God did!) At many times in the Gospels, Jesus is interacting simultaneously with the spiritual and physical realms.
What the Burkinabé can offer western Mennonites in particular is to be more attuned to the Spirit while we are doing. The early Anabaptists were Spirit-filled people – how else does one face that kind of persecution and torture with joy?
Perhaps Burkina needs to top up its “physical realm” tank while we in the West top up our “spiritual tanks”.
Next time: Eternal life vs. Kindom theology
1 comment:
One friend who was less familiar with blogging sent me this message in response to this article. With her permission I post it here...
Hi,
I'm not computer competant enough to have opened your first blog but appreciate very much this article that you shared. When I read about your dilema in terms of sharing the anabaptist perspective, my inner reaction was to wonder, some of the distinctives we feel we have as Mennonites need to be labelled as either Mennonite or Anabaptist. Is it possible to work at some of these issues simply as a "biblical perspective". For instance, our Mennonite forebears didn't invent the peace position or the idea of discipleship, they rediscovered it. That's just a thought. I fully agree that our Western thinking needs to be more in tune with the fact that all of life is sacred because it comes from the hands of the Creator. We have too much of a split between the sacred and the natural world. However, the functions of the created order are also such that the human and animal world need to get rid of those things in the body that, if they remained in the body would lead to death. I think this is also a metaphor for the spiritual life. I know this is an over-simplification. But, I sympathize with your dilema. There are no easy answers.
My thoughts and prayers are with you. Hilda
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