Text Size
blogs :: A Pilgrimage of Art and Faith :: January 23, 2009
Communion and Solitude: Reflections on a Mystery
by Kristyn Winters
Isn’t it ever curious that things that bring people together often occur or originate in solitude? Intercessory prayer may happen between one person and God. We write alone, read by ourselves, and listen to music individually. Yet books close the gap between people. A person may read a novel and experience another culture, or better, feel connected in a new way to the human race. There’s the image of a moody teenager listening to music in his room, whether it was by records or cassettes or CDs or now by the bud of the iPod. There's something about the music that brings him through the dark or awkward periods of adolescence.Countless people have pondered these questions before me, but they retain the same level of importance and wonder today. How is it that one can read the Bible in a quiet room as so many have done before? Or a group may hear the same passage read aloud. We participate in traditions without realizing it at times. And a generation takes shape through the same set of songs, though each person has slightly separate experiences or associations with those songs.
Solitary activities may cause one person to feel utterly alone while bringing others together.
It’s amazing that every person is unique, yet we make up a collective history, a shared body. Billions of little worlds existing within the larger one.
I have no revelatory statements for this topic, but every now and then reflecting on the mystery and awe of our world can reshape one’s perspective. I often forget to immerse myself in the inexplicable after my education taught me to question everything. In our age we sharpen our analytical skills but do little to engage in and embrace timeless wonders.
Words still hold the capacity for beauty and awe and rhythm and wisdom, but to notice those qualities we have to slow down, reread, look beyond simple information or functionality. And what about worship? No wonder so many of us don’t really understand what this means; we learn about God like we learn about health or auto mechanics. We approach faith through apologetics instead of mystery. Perhaps we can cultivate the ability to marvel at God and creation, especially as we analyze the intricacies.
O God, Where Art Thou? A Review of A Serious Man
rwsmoore says ::
nice work John. Good thoughts on a good movie. One part I was intrigued by that you didn't touch upon was the link between the morality of our actions and the effect they have in the world. The closing scene of him changing the grade & getting t . . .READ MORE >
Friend of the Opposing Views
jfo1966 says ::
I'm trying to think well, and because of an atheist friend, I doubt more, and have deeper faith. So, my comment is pretty simple: I wonder if Ockam's razor is of help: if a business relationship cannot in any way touch the depth, breadth of a relat . . .READ MORE >
Young Life and the Gospel of All-Along Belonging
Alan K says ::
What can serve as an adequate reference for sin, evil and death? How is the world supposed to know that it is supposed to be different than it already is? Maybe earthquakes in Haiti and tsunamis in the Indian Ocean are just the way things are. May . . .READ MORE >
Young Life and the Gospel of All-Along Belonging
jking says ::
"whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son" how does the gospel of all-along belonging come from this?READ MORE >
Young Life and the Gospel of All-Along Belonging
jking says ::
i do think the incarnational model has been incorrect throughout the twentieth century. especially in ministry. we minister to Jesus, not as Jesus.READ MORE >
Young Life and the Gospel of All-Along Belonging
hesed says ::
It was that...and "go and sin no more" (Jn 8:11). Which is said immediately AFTER saying "Where are those that condemn you?...Neither do I." ABSOLUTELY, jking, absolutely. That is what is remarkable about the ministry of Jesus. He comes to sin . . .READ MORE >
Young Life and the Gospel of All-Along Belonging
jking says ::
"With 'sinners' and those outside of faith, his message was a banquet thrown for them, a father running to embrace, a shepherd looking for sheep." It was that...and "go and sin no more" (Jn 8:11).READ MORE >
Tempting Science Fallacies 1: Seeing Is Believing
jking says ::
did your article commit the "personal anecdote + mention of tree rings = article to shame naive creationists" fallacy?READ MORE >
Young Life and the Gospel of All-Along Belonging
jking says ::
could someone explain what "belonging" is and how it is a valid theological category? also, could someone remind me why our language of "incarnational ministry" makes sense for someone other than Jesus? by going to a high school and loving te . . .READ MORE >
Young Life and the Gospel of All-Along Belonging
jking says ::
being inclusive makes us feel oh so good, too. too bad our "Christian bros" just don't understand. (oh crap, have we become exclusive again?)READ MORE >
The Way Mulattas Make Me Feel: Michael Jackson's Domination of the Feminized Other
jking says ::
did you consider the context that generated this video? before using the occasion of your "cousin's" death as an opportunity for an article (in which you place the ills of the video solely on jackson's shoulders), it would have been helpful to l . . .READ MORE >
New TOJ Book - God Is Dead And I Don't Feel So Good Myself
gilman says ::
I bought the book. I haven't read it through, yet, but I've started it. It kicks ass and really is what it claims to be, a fresh, smart, compassionate, confessional new take on this tired old culture-war. I'm proud to be in such company, with m . . .READ MORE >
Friend of the Opposing Views
gilman says ::
Wow, great post. What a dose of honesty. This is the kind of stuff that makes TOJ great. I really will have to re-read to digest. When I got married 14 years ago, my wife was not a Christian. She was not an atheist either -- she was a Baha'i. . . .READ MORE >
Recycling
blaze says ::
Wow. Stunning and gripping story with great elements of faith and sexuality and life. All these things mixed in together and an author willing to admit the doubt in her own heart. Yet so modern too, talking about Java and Kayaking and traveling the w . . .READ MORE >
Young Life and the Gospel of All-Along Belonging
hesed says ::
jgriss, Yes sin needs to be talked about. We need, and have, a savior, again no argument there. I have read the gospels a bunch and have not been able to find the times where Jesus tells his listeners about sin, sends them home for 24 hours and th . . .READ MORE >