THE WAY OF THE RADICAL
by Rev. Dr. G. Penny Nixon

In its earliest stages, the Christian faith was called The Way. The Way didn’t mean exclusivity, it connoted a path—a way of being in the world that was different. In the midst of oppression it meant the way of freedom, the way of liberation, the way of peace. It did not refer to a set of beliefs, but rather a way of living.

I have been pondering for some time the question: What does it mean to be a “Christian” in this day and age? What are the essentials of a liberating Christianity? Many of us have visceral reactions to the word “Christian” because its association today is so confusing and often linked with the very things we fight against. We need to reclaim its meaning for us in this time.

Provoking my thinking further was an article in Time about the decline of Protestantism in the United States. It is no secret that Mainline Protestantism is experiencing a steady decrease of adherents. This is in contrast to Evangelical and conservative Christianities. These demand a higher level of commitment and a fairly unquestionable set of beliefs. These brands of Christianities offer salvation, freedom from eternal damnation and the promise of heaven.

So if these beliefs and rewards are not part and parcel of liberating or more liberal (or even queer we might say) Christianities, than what does our faith offer? What is the path—the way?

Last fall our theme was Radical Relationships in beloved community. I return to the theme of Radical (going down to the roots)—talking about a radical relationship to our faith, to the path.

I will be using stories from the Gospel of Luke—which of the four gospels is, in my opinion, the queerest. Every story in Luke is a story told from the margins. Every teaching is an undoing, every relationship an overturning of the status quo—I have been gripped anew by the radical way revealed and hidden in this embodied telling of the story of liberation.

I believe that our faith, as different as we experience it, and as varied as it is from person to person in this spiritual community, is meant to provide us with life abundant—the fullness and vitality of a life well-lived. The essence of this faith offers us freedom—freedom from fear, judgment, worry, the past—things that affect all of humankind—and freedom from things that are particularly challenging in our culture--individualism, consumerism, endless work, power, and dogma.

The real question is —what is the path, the way, to these freedoms? This is what The Way of the Radical will explore.

Fall 2004 Worship Themes - Evening Worship

QUESTIONS TO LIVE BY
by Rev. Dr. G. Penny Nixon

One of my favorite quotes of all time was penned by the German poet Rilke:

"I beg you…to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without ever noticing it, live your way into the answer…”

In a day and age when people are seeking for answers, I invite us to turn to looking at the questions—questions to live by. After all, the point is to live everything. When we dare to ask the deepest questions of life, then we begin to live ourselves into the answers.

Without realizing it, we are lulled into living by the questions that propel successful advertising, not by the questions that frame a well-lived life. We construct a life too often by “what do I need to do to be successful,” rather than a deeper quest—what does success really mean? More conservative Christianities ask the question—What do I need to do to get to get to heaven? Whereas a more helpful question might be, how do I experience heaven now?

The greatest spiritual teachings are often grounded in leading people to their own insights through asking the right and meaningful questions.

Each week I will pose a question and explore some of the ways to further reflect on the question. I will seek to provide creative ways to help you live your way into the answer. I believe our innate beings search for ways to grow into completion, into wholeness. The right questions are stepping stones on the journey to wholeness, to complete joy.

There is another quote from an unknown source that speaks to our yearning for growth:

Growth is a process of surrendering to a development
That has already taken place.
There is a way in which
Our lives are ahead of us.
We are two in one body:
The ME holding on to the person I have out grown,
The ME afraid to become the person I have already become.
If we cling to the out grown me,
We feel lifeless
Because our vibrant life has moved ahead
And we are holding on to a person who is no longer there.

So, journey with me on the path of questions. And someday, we will live ourselves into the answers.