evolution of the word: all things change

I borrow the title from a book of Marc’s: “Evolution of the Word: the New Testament in the order the books were written.” The chronological order of the New Testament shows us how stories and understanding about Jesus changed and evolved within the first 100+ years after his death. (And even more so after the first 300 years when councils constructed pronouncements of belief.) There are many layers, voices, of the Jesus tradition. There are many layers and differing understandings of what is Christianity. Another way to say this, there has never been one Christianity. Arguably there has never been one Jesus either. The chronological New Testament is not our focus this year. But the “evolution of the word,” capitalized or not, will be. And the fact that all things change.

All things change. Everything. Nothing is static. Not even the truth. The truth is more elusive than we think. But that doesn’t mean anything goes. Or that nothing really matters. How we live matters. But truth is experienced in a given frame, a particular context. And those frames and contexts and our angle of vision changes as our understanding of self and world and cosmos change. By necessity we find ourselves changing with the changed. And so must Christianity.

So our overall theme this year acknowledges the “givenness” of change. And how then we go about interpreting hoped for meaning amidst such change. How we navigate in a world where there are no fixed points.

We will explore our own journeys this year as well. Where we have been. And where we find ourselves now. Accepting that all things change and all things change when we do.

Here is a transcript of our chat from the Second Saturday Session