Latent Possibilities

Sunday, March 11, 2012

A Place at the Table ~ Session 4

Session 4: The Meaning of Abundance

In Day 11’s reading, Chris uses the category of slavery to describe our situation. In what ways are we slaves?

Then Chris turns this idea of slavery on its head and suggests with Paul that our true Master is God. We are meant to be slaves of the “Eternal One,” as The Voice translation puts it. What do you think about this paradox of being a slave to the one who has liberated us from all other masters?

The reading for Day 13 starts with a quote from Blaise Pascal: “All of man’s misfortune comes from one thing, which is not knowing how to sit quietly in a room.” Can you relate? Why do we have so much trouble with this?

Day 14’s reading is all about living out of weakness rather than strength. He writes, “I dread the taste of failure or a missed opportunity. . . . One of the reasons we despise weakness in ourselves is that it forces us to rely on one another and God to find the strength to move forward.” Jesus began his movement by inviting his followers to embrace a voluntary poverty. His followers were “armed with vulnerability.” How can we make a regular habit of being in touch with our weaknesses and relying on God and others to move forward?

The readings this week end with a focus on remembering the countless times God has rescued us, just as he rescued the Israelites, and giving thanks. Again and again God parts the waters of our sin, and we walk on the dry land of his grace. How can we orient our hearts toward remembering and thanksgiving?

Video: The Things We Trust
In this film Chris says the feast is a symbol for the kingdom of God, and yet so often we eat with the TV on or otherwise fail to eat together in a way that expresses humility and thanks for how God has provided. How can we revise our table manners in a way that is suitable to those who are receiving provision from the hand of God?

Many of us have 401Ks or investments or retirement accounts. Think about Anna in this Compassion project. What is her retirement plan? In what do we trust, and in what should we trust?

Saturday, March 03, 2012

A Place at the Table ~ Session 3

Session 3: The Meaning of Abundance

Quotes from this week’s readings, with questions:

“If entitlement is like a disease to a healthy spiritual life, then gratitude is the proven vaccine.” What has your relationship with gratitude been like on this fast? When have you been grateful? When have you found yourself falling short of gratitude?

“Too often we understand sin as doing ‘bad things,’ when the truth is that our actions are only the fruit of our sin.” If this is true, what are the implications for how we deal with our sin?

“When work and material goods become our gods, we are the only ones to blame. This time of fasting is about repentance, and now is as good a time as any.” What does repentance look like? Have you given in to temptation on this fast? How did you respond?

“Our true affections will be exposed on this journey. . . . Do you see the chaos created when you love anything more than you love God?” What are you learning about your true affections?

“Some commands in Scripture are so clear that when we talk about them, we ought to speak with a confidence that pushes back the powers of evil and brings comfort to the oppressed. . . . When it comes to justice, we speak on behalf of God, and we should do it forcefully.” What do you think Chris is getting at with this quote?

Video: The Meaning of Abundance

When you see the images of these children in Ecuador eating food, what thoughts go through your mind?

Chris refers to the expansion of our tables. What does he have in mind? How can we see this happen with our own tables?

“We have one big problem in the world: some of us have too much, and some of us have too little.” Chris goes on to say that God expected us to even things out, that his people would be the ones to level the playing field. If all of us had enough, what are some ways the world would look different than it does now?

A Place at the Table ~ Session 2

Session 2: Things Sacred and Holy

The readings this week focused on liberation from Pharaoh, exodus, faith over fear, using power for the weak, mission (“the work we were made to do”), and triumphing over self-doubt.

“You don’t have to mindlessly obey the mad impulses that master you. You are free indeed.” We don’t need to share what our “mad impulses” are, but most of us, if we’re honest, recognize that we have them. How do you think this journey can help to be free of these?

“Don’t misunderstand me: seeking power as its own reward is literally a fool’s errand. But using the considerable power every Westerner already enjoys for the sake of the poor is both righteous and life-changin—for us and for the poor.” Have you ever thought of yourself as having considerable power in the world? How can we, like Moses, use the power God has given us to help ourselves and others experience freedom from slavery?

“God used Moses to lead his people out of Egypt, and Nina Simone to lead her people out of oppression and into a better day through her music and her work in the civil rights movement. God also intends to use each of us.” Do you relate to Moses’ and Nina’s struggle with self-doubt? How can we overcome it?

Video: “Things Sacred and Holy”

What does the phrase “on earth as in heaven” mean?

Just as the veil was torn so heaven could break loose, some things need to be destroyed in our own lives so that God can dwell fully within us. What needs to be destroyed in our lives?

Where do we see heaving breaking loose on earth?

People have fought and continue to fight for a place that they believe will bring them close to God. As Christians we believe God is in us. We don’t look for God in a temple; we recognize we are his living stones that make the temple. What are the implications for how we live and interact with the world around us?

At the same time, there are places in our lives or things that we do that help us experience God as more real or in a special way. What are these places and practices for you?

Sabbath reading?