As we study Romans in Chapel together this quarter, we have been exploring this tension in the Christian experience: the strangeness of being declared righteous by God--simply by faith, defying reason--yet simultaneously, being broken people in desperate need of restoring. In other words, even as God declares us to be righteous in his sight because of Jesus, he also asks us to be open to the transforming and healing work in our lives of sanctification.
Drummer and core member Tyler Scott shared a reflection on his personal blog this week that we'd like to share with the Chapel community, because we feel it captures this essence of this tension:
"My decision to pick up a minor in reconciliation here at SPU has allowed me to take some really great classes, I otherwise would not have needed to take. Last quarter I took Eschatology (the study of the end times). This class, and the subsequent conversations and discussions, have completely changed the way I read, think, pray and live. Having a direction and a hope to live towards, and live into will dramatically change the way live your life. What is it you hope for?
This quarter, I have been taking a cultural anthropology class with Dr. Neuhouser—one of the best professors at SPU. Dr. Neuhouser has spent extensive time in Brazil, studying culture and helping many villages develop. The other day, during a lecture about ‘language,’ he shared a story about Brazilian culture.
Often times, there is not a word-for-word translation that can be used in translating some languages. In fact, the Portugese language (which they speak in Brazil) has a word that does not exist in English, unless there is much explanation.
Saudade (pronounced saw-daj-ay) is a word that means both pain and joy. It is a memory which is both sad and joyful, of things distant and gone, and is accompanied by the desire to once again see or have them.
When Dr. Neuhouser shared this word with us, all I could think about was themes of hope and the Kingdom of God. What would it mean if we held this pain and joy in tension in our day-to-day lives. What if we lived right in the middle of pain and joy? When we feel weighed down by the weight of the world, what if we looked forward to the possibilitys of the future renewal. And when we feel ecstatic and joyful, what if we also remembered the past, where we came from to get to this current joy."
Thanks for sharing, Tyler!
Big picture: We plan to explore in our last service of the year the ways Paul's address to individual believers in the early Christian church might apply to us today, many years after its original writing. Specifically, Katie will be leading us in a reflection on both the freedom and sacrifice involved in becoming the people of God. As many of us look forward to either graduation or perhaps a new chapter of our student careers, we anticipate this message as being timely for many members of our congregation.
This quarter, I have been taking a cultural anthropology class with Dr. Neuhouser—one of the best professors at SPU. Dr. Neuhouser has spent extensive time in Brazil, studying culture and helping many villages develop. The other day, during a lecture about ‘language,’ he shared a story about Brazilian culture.
