What types of complexity and fragmentation characterize modern life? Your life?
In what ways are our lives becoming more or less complicated? Do you have personal stories to illustrate this?
What are some areas of life that you struggle to connect to your faith?
Leader to life, Path to truth, our Lord Jesus Christ; you led Joseph to Egypt, and the people of Israel through the Red Sea; and Moses to Mount Sinai, and his people to the land of promise. And you traveled with Cleopas and his companion to Emmaus. Now, I pray you, Lord lead me and my companions to travel in peace on the journey before us. Save us from the visible and invisible enemy and lead us safely to the place we are headed. For you are our way and our truth and our life. Glory and worship to you now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
–Hovhannes Garnets’i
Hi family, I figured I'd get this ball rolling as it was my idea in the first place. As for types of complexity and fragmentation that characterize modern life /my life...
ReplyDelete1. geographically far from family, soil, culture, relationships and cultural narratives of origin.
2. little is assumed about the way to live life well in the world. It feels a bit like a choose your own adventure. Sure, there are differing stories or narratives that have their own version of the good life, but sorting through those stories, their differences and incongruities is complicated. Unlike dad who knew from the age of five that he wanted to be a doctor, and who knew how he was going to pursue his calling, younger generations are much more prone to feel the incongruities of the world, and the ambiguities as to which direction to go. Take for example parenting. There are probably a thousand books on parenting which can leave parents profoundly confused about how to parent. In the past, one would generally have raised children within the context of a wider family and community which held and imparted wisdom and gave guidance. Because our lives are so scattered (pt. 1) and because family and community systems are often fragmented and unable to offer a solid foundation, parents must wrestle with the complexity of opinions and choose a path that makes sense to them.
3. America is increasingly post-Christian, meaning culture does not provide a positive feedback loop reinforcing assumed Christian perspectives. I don't think this is a bad thing because it requires Christians to wrestle with what it means to believe in and follow Jesus. Whereas, when Dad and Rene were kids, much of this was assumed and unquestioned for the majority of Americans. Put another way, perhaps its not so simple or straight forward being a Christian in the US today. For example finding a church home in this context seems complicated. For Erin and me, as we hope and pray for kids, we also pray for guidance as to how to raise children given our ecclesial differences. We don't want to introduce the burden of that complexity--the potentially fragmenting tension of that reality into their lives.
4. We function as individuals of the most powerful member nation of the global economy. There is an unimaginably complex network of relationships behind the goods and services and products and people and resources that make possible our daily lives. The complexity of this network--the number of people and places and things that touch our lives from a far without our knowledge is almost impossible to fathom. As human beings created for relationships wherein our knowing one another necessarily takes on an embodied component, we simply cannot know all the lives on which our lives depend. Being thankful for provision from God is complicated when we are so very unhooked from the relationships of dependency through which God's provision flows to us. For Dad and Rene, this is probably less the case simply because you both spent large portions of your lives living off of gardens you grew.
At Moriah Pie we are trying to simplify this thanksgiving -fragmenting-complexity by serving food from the neighborhood to the people who call this place home. We are trying to make more simple the flow through pathway of God's provision so that we all might feel fuller in a deep down way.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on these questions!
-little r
Oops, just realized I should have replied on the comment section - yep, would have been easier! Next time will do :) Sorry for the new post!
ReplyDeleteI deleted my "post" and will paste what it was. I didn't answer in so organized a way as Robert, so forgive me. :) Learning process!
ReplyDeleteThree nights about Brian and I sat down to watch Episode 1 of this series and I am really excited about the upcoming topics - and integrating what I learn into my life! Thanks Robert and Erin.
First off, let me preface this that life doesn't allow for multiple drafts and precise wording in responses on this blog, so bear with me! If something is confusing (because it was a train of thought at the time) please ask for clarification. :)
So after watching this, I felt like two main things stuck out to me. One, the stories I find myself living in in the context of my life, and two, the Emmaus Road example.
I think on the outside I actually feel like since I am here in LA on mission with our church (which over the years has come into and out of focus for me), living and homeschooling in a rough but gentrifying neighborhood, and focusing on instructing my kids in a godly way that it should be obvious that all aspects of my life encounter Jesus. However, I think this is where complexity of life comes in. Yes, all of these compartments of life that overlap with each other in different ways are focused in many ways on the Lord, BUT in the day-to-day interactions and sometimes monotonous grind of laundry, cleaning, meal prep, discipline, teaching, nursing, etc. leaves me feeling empty and like I haven't encountered Jesus at all! And then other times, usually on hard days, I am met with His Word in a clear, obvious way. It is something I am already working on (that is, how to walk with Jesus in my day) and aware of so I am looking forward to more focus on life intersections with Jesus in the future episodes.
I also don't want to be immune to thinking I am not being influenced by the cultural stories in which I live. I think in LA with all of the cool, new, current things on display constantly, it is hard not to get caught up in getting the next best thing or even in looking a certain way. Brian and I have been enjoying the book "Enough" that Dad and Maureen gave us, and it is something that we have been desiring - to simplify life and the voices that clamor for our attention in order to focus on what is real and what is "filling" in God's eyes. I don't think this fully grasps what the "Stories" part of the talk was about, but it is what I am taking away from it. I think I might need more clarification about the "stories" part (historical, etc.).
Overall, for me (Sara) I enjoyed just listening to the episode and having it come to mind in various ways this week. I have recently started reading through the Bible in a year (I am sitting and nursing the girls several times a day so why not) and reading God's Word has started to make me crave it each day again! Looking forward to seeing how God uses is Word and these episodes to spark change in a way that is deep and real.
Love you all!
Sara
Robert - I appreciate the perspective you bring in response number 4. I hardly EVER think of this, but it is something hard to wrap my head around because I am living in my own little bubble, so I think. Also, what you said in #2 about complexity of life is so true! So many voices vying for attention about how to do something (like parent, homeschool, be a wife, etc) and this adds to the complexity of life and is definitely a story we find ourselves in, in this information age.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, Robert