Committing to Tentativeness

Philippians 3:4b-14 (Part Two: esp. vv 13-14)

Not that I have become perfect, or have a complete understanding of the gospel yet, still I continue to wrestle with the revelation of God in Jesus, I struggle to make Jesus' revelation my own revelation, Jesus' story my own story--because Jesus made me his own. I'm certainly not finished yet, I haven't nearly made it my own. But regardless, this one thing I have committed to: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead--I am prepared to abandon the treasures and beliefs of my past if the upward call of God requires it. This forward straining, this search for the prize, this movement toward the goal is the most important thing--more important than tradition or previous understanding. It is this common yearning to grow, to be remade, to learn anew that is our faith, it is God as revealed in Jesus--an perennial call to unceasing creative transformation.

It is too bad that verses fifteen and sixteen aren't included in the lectionary selection, because they sum up nicely Paul's thinking here: there is room for diversity of opinion, room to disagree within the body of Christ, we are all growing and at different places inside ourselves. Just remember to focus on what we share, what we have attained as a community, the conclusions we have reached (keeping in mind that even these we might be called upon to abandon in the future--ever straining forward to what lies ahead).

I strain to hear the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Among my faith claims that one should stand alone, above all other claims I make: above all, I am committed to listening for and straining to follow the upward call of God, willing to abandon all other beliefs, preconceptions, confessions, understandings and priorities... even those I once held as revelation of God. I hold up the best that I know, knowing all the while that I may be called to abandon even that should I learn something better.

I think, generally, Christianity has a hard time with this. We revere tradition as something more than just the revelation of the past, more than just custom and culture and practice. Tradition and even scripture become holy in themselves, definitive revelations of God, not only constituting revelation but limiting and restricting it (even while scriptures like this point to the reality of needing to look beyond scripture or tradition to the Spirit).

There is good reason to acknowledge the tension here between the truth of past revelation and the truth of the uncertain future. (The devil you know is better than the devil you don't?) ;-) But there is also preserved here the value of diversity--we won't all agree, won't all see the same things the same ways, but there is much we have all been transformed by that we share, and we can build on that.

This is important for me to remember when approaching nationalist Christians--part of me would like to deal harshly with them, but I have to step back and admit that the Spirit is working with them as best it can under the circumstances, and that the Spirit is working with me, too, and that I may be called upon to change in the future. (I can't take myself too seriously, then.) We all have to accept each other for what we are--people who have committed to struggling to understand the gospel, forward-straining people, and that because of where we are or where we're leaning we won't be the same kind of people. None of us is perfect, and so none of us can claim absolute knowledge or authority, not you or me or the pastor or even Paul or any other Biblical author, let alone the Bible itself. We are all pressing on to make it our own, because we are convicted that Jesus made us his own. And what that means we may think we understand now, but tomorrow be shown we don't have a clue.