God barking commands. Yikes! And yet I do think of God as speaking. So I’ve come to think of obedience as attentive, genuinely curious listening. Still, I generally avoid using the word. It does connote barking fir lots of us
Thank you, Jake, for your honest reflections on my piece. I love the concept of attentive, genuine, curious listening. I have found that more and more to be true as I have been walking the contemplative path in my faith. I must say that I understand the message of obedience, especially in first half of life spirituality. It was a guide for me when I was a young adult but now in my 40s it feels like a trigger word. A word that demanded my submission, especially as a woman raised in Conservative Evangelicalism. Eventually the rule-led spiritually became an obstacle to attentive genuine listening. When I finally stopped trying to be “good”, I was then able to be loved, and let Love guide my actions.
Thanks for sharing about your background, Colette. It sounds like you've traveled and are continuing to travel a deep, rich path. Roman Catholic nuns shaped by Vatican II had an early influence on me. One in particular nudged me toward social justice and serving the poor. Rule following has never really been my strength. Still, perhaps ironically, I have taken an obedience vow as an ordained person. But as you can probably tell from my earlier thoughts we Episcopalians mean something different by that
Thank you so much, Jake. When I first began to explore outside of Evangelicalism, I was in my late 20s and attended a small Episcopal parish here in Portland, OR. It was the sweetest time of engaging my faith in a totally different way. I believe it to be one of my major turning points. Many blessings to you and your ministry!
This. A thousand bells for this.
If Jesus wanted soldiers, he’d have stormed the Temple with a legion.
Instead, he radiated something so compelling it made fishermen forget their fish.
Obedience stifles. Invitation awakens.
One builds walls; the other opens doors.
Too many modern preachers still bark as if grace wears combat boots.
It doesn’t. It dances barefoot.
—Virgin Monk Boy
“It dances barefoot” YES!! ❤️ thank you for such a thoughtful reflection.
I love the stories when Jesus starts his little band of misfits. Like Shelley, I like to imagine what didn’t get written down.
So true. We all know there was much not written down!
This was so good! Obedience has always been such a hard word
Yes 🙌🏻 Yes… expansively curious to move our thoughts… invitation is expansive.
Invitation. Yum!
God barking commands. Yikes! And yet I do think of God as speaking. So I’ve come to think of obedience as attentive, genuinely curious listening. Still, I generally avoid using the word. It does connote barking fir lots of us
Thank you, Jake, for your honest reflections on my piece. I love the concept of attentive, genuine, curious listening. I have found that more and more to be true as I have been walking the contemplative path in my faith. I must say that I understand the message of obedience, especially in first half of life spirituality. It was a guide for me when I was a young adult but now in my 40s it feels like a trigger word. A word that demanded my submission, especially as a woman raised in Conservative Evangelicalism. Eventually the rule-led spiritually became an obstacle to attentive genuine listening. When I finally stopped trying to be “good”, I was then able to be loved, and let Love guide my actions.
Thanks for sharing about your background, Colette. It sounds like you've traveled and are continuing to travel a deep, rich path. Roman Catholic nuns shaped by Vatican II had an early influence on me. One in particular nudged me toward social justice and serving the poor. Rule following has never really been my strength. Still, perhaps ironically, I have taken an obedience vow as an ordained person. But as you can probably tell from my earlier thoughts we Episcopalians mean something different by that
Thank you so much, Jake. When I first began to explore outside of Evangelicalism, I was in my late 20s and attended a small Episcopal parish here in Portland, OR. It was the sweetest time of engaging my faith in a totally different way. I believe it to be one of my major turning points. Many blessings to you and your ministry!