Been thinking a bit about openness within the community of Christ. What kinds of relationship makes it possible for us to speak with each other trustfully and listen attentively? These essential presuppositions of mutual pastoral care and accompaniment are about our willingness to entrust ourselves to others, who also entrust themselves to us, in a relationship of mutual respectful love. Such New Testament imperatives as ‘bear one another’s burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ’, and ‘admonish one another in love’, require an openness of heart and spirit that is hard to manufacture, and grows within us only as we are open to the grace of Christ.
When Paul is having a hard time with the Corinthian community he urges them to open their hearts to him. For Paul Christian fellowship is only possible when generosity of heart issues in emotional and spiritual hospitality as we welcome one another as God in Christ welcomes each of us. Paul is not commending emotional exhibitionism, spiritual self-advertisement, or any other self-concerned form of ‘sharing’. He is rooting our care for each other in the compassionate competence of Christ, the sufficient grace of God, the enabling and transforming counsel of the Counsellor. Such open-hearted conversation enables each of us within the Christian community to speak and listen, and come to a new understanding of what it might mean to be heard, understood, and affirmed within the love of Christ.
A couple of recent encounters with folk have led to conversation about just how hard it is to follow after Christ, just to keep going, and to know that we are travelling in the right direction
De-motivation – what takes the wind out of our sails? Which of our recent experiences drained us of energy, eroded confidence, knocked our self-esteem - which is different from teaching us humility? Recognising and challenging de-motivators in us, and in others, is one of the first principles of a ministry of encouragementis important in sustaining our ministry.
Life Balance – Prioritising is an obvious way of managing conflicting demands. But who decides on the order of priority? Family; personal walk with God; wider ministry; ministry in the church; Sabbath; study versus people. How far would we trust someone to tell us we are unbalanced?
Hopes – ambition is not a bad word, unless it is an engine driving us along a self-chosen road. So what we hope for arises both from our identity and from our self-awareness. Talking of our hopes is an important way of articulating our faith – and of putting anxiety, fear and tedium into perspective. But who would we netrust with our hopes, and with the insight to guide us towards them?
These I think are crucial areas in which genuine spiritual accompaniment takes place within a discerning and wise sharing. When Paul speaks to the Corinthians about opening their hearts in affection towards him he is asking an awful lot; and so do we when we throw around that word, 'sharing'.
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