Some days feels much like a nice soft cosy pillow doesn’t. Trials and tribulation abounds! I’m rather blessed in that one of the worst thing that can happen to me is that my computer, and my bike breaks down, all in the same day. But, it was enough to get me started on the wrong side. Don’t worry though, I have recovered from the devastating events of my morning, I feel much better now. Thank you for your concern. I did however want to take a “Hibernation Day“, as Jars of Clay so nicely puts it. Anyways, told you earlier I was going to write something about a book I started reading. So, here goes.
Inhabiting the Church
Biblical Wisdom for a New Monasticism
- By Jon Stock, Tim Otto, and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove
I thought I would first mention something about the last part of the book’s title, the phrase New Monasticism. I’m not going to try to explain what it is, but I encourage everyone to go to the link I just provided and stroll around on that page awhile. In short though, the phrase is used to describe a way of life in community. I first encountered it about a year ago, when I was informed of a gathering in Skarpnäck, for those interested in, guess what… New Monasticism. Well, they used the swedish version but it’s the same.
Even though the phrase is relativly new to me, many of the concepts behind it are ideas that I’ve carried with me for a much longer period. The importance of contemplation and prayer, non-violence, sharing economic resources and a life marked by simplicity, a communal life where people depend on and are accountable towards eachother, and taking Christ’s mountain-teachings seriously, striving to live out the same self-sacrificial love that he showed us. These are things I have longed and dreamed for. Therefore, even though the phrase is new to me, it feels like I’ve been heading towards this for a long time. I could ofcourse argue that the New Monastic life is what the Kingdom of God, ie. a christian life, is suppose to look like, but I’m not going to do that. I’m simply going to say that this way of life is something that I’m about to get myself involved in, in order to be able to live out the Kingdom of God more fully.
The phrase was coined by a guy named Jonathan Wilson, in a book titled Living Faithfully in a Fragmented World. This Jonathan is the father-in-law of Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, easily mixed-up I know. Anyways, Wilson was building on the thoughts of Alasdair MacIntyre, who closes his book After Virtue with a longing for another Benedict, to lead a renewal of morality and civility through community. Wilson outlines this “prayer” into a vision of a new monasticism, one that…
- Will be “marked by a recovery of the telos of this world” revealed in Jesus, and aimed at the healing of fragmentation, bringing the whole of life under the lordship of Christ.
- Will be aimed at the “whole people of God” who live and work in all kinds of contexts, and not create a distinction between those with sacred and secular vocations.
- Will be disciplined, not by a recovery of old monastic rules, but by the joyful discipline achieved by a small group of disciples practicing mutual exhortation, correction, and reconciliation.
- Will be “undergirded by deep theological reflection and commitment,” by which the church may recover its life and witness in the world.
Taking this vision for a new monasticism, and the longing for another Benedict, the authors write a book, the one I’m suppose to be talking about, where they reflect on the Benedictine Vow of Obedience, Conversion, and Stability, looking to see what, if anything, Benedict got right, and hoping that New Monastic communities, and in the end the whole church, will benefit from the wisdom of these vows.
The book is structured by breaking the Vow into its three components, one for each author, which actually turns out to be four parts, beginning with one about Vows. Like they say though, in a sort of funny-private-joke-for-christians type of way…
While these three components can be distinguished for the sake of clarity, they cannot stand on their own. This is, we admit, something of a mystery. But Christians are at least accustomed to mysteries in which three are one.
Since I like three-fold mysteries, I’m going to stick to the same structure. Beginning my next post talking about Vows, and my reflections on what John Stock writes in this book. So expect four more posts about this book.
PS. The really perceptive of you might notice that the page looks diffrent now aswell. Feedback is appreciated, though I really like it, so…