The God-breathed life is available for all

Started reading Eugene Peterson’s Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places this week and in his prologue, in this first book of his on spiritual theology; he provides two stories, three texts, four terms and one dance in order to to “clear the field for conversation, get rid of the clutter of misconceptions and misunderstandings.”

The two stories are the story of Nicodemus in John 3 and the woman at the well in John 4.  In these two stories, he notes that we have

• A man and a woman
• City and country
• An insider and outside
• A professional and a layperson
• A respectable man and a disreputable woman
• An orthodox and a heretic
• One who takes initiative; one who lets it be taken.
• One named, the other anonymous
• Human reputation at risk; divine reputation at risk

Yet In both Spirit is the key word and Jesus is the primary figure!

Peterson says,

What do we learn about spirituality or the God-breathed life?  When it comes to a relationship with God, there is “accessibility”, available to all, “no preferred gender”, “geography has no bearing on perception or aptitude”, “racial background, religious identity and moral track record are neither here nor there in matters of spirituality”; “reputation and standing in the community don’t seem to count for anything”; “reputation is put at risk”, “conventions ignored”, and there is the risk of misunderstanding.

This is going to be a good read.  Next: Three Texts

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