I am
grateful for events that evoked in me the longing to live the Gospel message in
the spirit of Francis of Assisi. I am
also plagued by the compulsion to take every reaction to me personally. And
since I regard myself as a careful and competent reader, I am rendered
speechless when I encounter someone who pretends to read the Scriptures
literally. If I see that this belief is
bearing fruit in their personal lives, I can justify my refusal to discuss the
issue by assuring myself that God does not call me to shake their faith, and I
do not hesitate to agree that this is his job, not mine. But I am saddened. Though they do not realize it, they accept
the authority of some preacher or Protestant denomination without question.
In this regard, Francis of Assisi's life
remains a powerful commentary on the meaning of the Gospel message precisely
because it does not generate definitive interpretations of any Scriptural
passage. Rather, it understands the
Gospel message as a call to discern the intensely personal involvement of the
Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit in every event in my personal journey into
the unknown. As such, it offers me a
spirituality which is radically incompatible with any theology which promises
instant intimacy with Jesus as one's personal Savior or a contract-model of the
covenant which promises the reward of eternal bliss.
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