WMTRBW 27: A New Identity

With the beginning of Lent, we have started a new section in We Make the Road by Walking. We are past the halfway point in our journey and have now moved into a quarter of imagining what it means to be "Alive in a Global Uprising." As Brian McLaren writes in the introduction to this session,

Joining the adventure of Jesus is a starting line, not a finish line. It leads us into a lifetime of learning and action. It challenges us to stand up against the way things have been and the way things are, to help create new possibilities for the way things can and should be. It enlists us as contemplative activists in an ongoing uprising of peace, freedom, justice, and compassion. In Part III, we focus on what it means for us to join in his adventure. 

The first part of this journey will be five weeks spent in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus' longest recorded block of teaching in the Bible. Many of us are striving to read the Sermon on the Mount daily through the season of Lent. Many of the words in Matthew 5-7 are among the most familiar Jesus spoke--how can we strive to hear them with fresh ears?

I would encourage you as your read each week's chapter on the Sermon--starting with this week's, which focuses on Matthew 5:1-16--asking yourself these questions prompted by McLaren's intro:

• How do these words of Jesus challenge me to stand up against the way things have been and the way things are?
• How do these words of Jesus help create new possibilities for the way things can and should be? 
• How might I live differently if I take these words to heart?

If we read Jesus' sermon with these questions in mind, I think Lent has the potential to be a transformative time for all of us. Read the first part and share your reflections in the comments section!