Church,
God is inviting us to get real about our role in his ongoing work of reconciliation in creation. We are not the center of this story. We are Gentiles – we who were once aliens to the kingdom of faith, but God has invited us in.
God is forming us out of a colonial posture shaped by Whiteness and into a community posture so we can bear witness to the rule and reign of Christ in our midst. Recovering our identity as guests who have been invited in is essential for this transformation.
As Michael Gonzalez shared in our Reimagining Life Together Beyond Whiteness workshop at the beginning of Lent, when our role in this story is properly understood we can see ourselves as “guesting” others in our churches and our communities. This may seem like a subtle semantic change, but it actually represents a cataclysmic shift in our posture. When we reckon with our identity as outsiders who have been invited into the people of God the shape of our life in the kingdom is drastically altered.
- The church and its mission are not ours, they are God’s.
- Theology isn’t ours to defend or protect.
- We are not in charge or in control of the Spirit’s work in our midst.
- We are free to discern God’s work among us and discern together how to join in that work.
We have been invited as guests to the marriage supper of the Lamb. The table is not ours, but our place at it is permanent. God has not only invited us in, but he has invited us to join him in inviting others in. I believe that this idea of “guesting” is key to moving us beyond Whiteness to a place where we can faithfully bear witness.
In preparation for our discussion groups this week, would you reflect on the following:
- What does this reckoning with our identity as Gentiles bring up for you?
- How does the concept of “guesting” strike you?
- What are some concrete ways we can embody a posture of “guesting” as a church?
May you walk through your week in the assurance that God is at work in the particulars of your everyday life. The Lordship of Christ is altering not just our souls, but also the way we inhabit the material world around us.
Peace be with you, friends!
Fr. Spencer
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