Context

 

Context is central to Christian faith: this is clear throughout the New Testament. The fact that scripture is written in so many different voices into different situations underlines this. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are not the same: each has a unique writer who has selected (often) differing stories, and has a particular style and emphasis—because they are written for different audiences. A move in the second century to produce a synthesized version (The Diatesseron), in which all the gospels’ surface differences were ironed out, was rejected by the church. They said (in essence), “We want these different versions, bringing different perspectives, for different contexts.”

The centrality of context is clearest in the earliest church: we glean this from Paul’s letters to different groups of Christ followers. (And other later non-Pauline letters to others.) Each letter is unique because each situation is unique. To some he emphasizes their freedom as Christ followers; to others the fact that they need to rein that freedom in. In their contexts, these believers (some with strong Jewish backgrounds and others with none) are struggling in different ways. Of course, Paul’s letters to these groups would vary widely, because members of those early fellowships were different. Context!

The attempt to flatten scripture, so that it is all equally authoritative, dropped from heaven by God in one piece—is wrong-headed, even heretical. At the center of God’s project, from creation, is a deep contextuality, an entering into a specific time and place, a particular culture. That is how we see and meet God. This is incarnational theology.

When the church forgets its contextual center, it slides toward idolatry— declaring as central (often culturally imbibed) ‘truths’ at the expense of the central message of God’s love and liberation. At different times in the church’s history, some of these have been as earth-shattering as the position of tonsure (how you as a monk shaved your head), the date of Easter, card-playing, movie watching. While these seem almost laughable, their danger is that they blind good churchgoers to real gospel issues of love and liberation.

In The Black Church, a PBS documentary by Henry Louis Gates (based on his book by the same name) this contextuality is crystal clear. The Black Church focuses on biblical stories of liberation (Exodus), incorporates lament (“Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen…”), developing its own soul-stirring music and preaching style. Some based on traditions brought from Africa. As you watch the documentary, you will see the richness of this deeply contextual version of the faith, how it provided and provides hope and life to its people. You’ll also see what a gift one contextual church has for another— the remarkable spirituals and preaching style gives pep to other churches that are perhaps a bit more staid! I highly recommend The Black Church.

Context: we are called to hold fast to what is central— the liberating love of Christ—and welcome contextual variation in other areas as gifts.

Each month a member of the Cook County Ministerium will offer Spiritual Reflections. This month’s contributor is Mary Ellen Ashcroft, Vicar of Spirit of the Wilderness Episcopal Church.