Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Lovin' N.T. Wright

"In any case, the Psalms give every indication that they stand intentionally at the intersection of God's time and human time, with all the tensions that brings as well as the yearning for resolution. They stand deliberately on Mt. Zion,  where heaven and earth dangerously meet in the Temple, but they also look out into the whole creation. And they invite and they facilitate that actual material transformation of the worshiper, of Israel as a whole, and of  God's world as a whole, of which they sometimes speak."

That's from N.T. Wright's wonderful The Case for the Psalms, which I am finding absolutely delightful. He follows up this statement by saying that this is precisely why we find Jesus in the psalms. Not just because of this or that christological interpretation that the Fathers have discovered, or the messianic prophecies that appear here and there:

"No. They resonate with Jesus because he was the one who stood, by divine appointment, precisely at the intersection of God's time and ours, of God's space and ours, of God's matter and ours."

I think I've found my lenten reading, except that I will be enjoying this so much that it won't seem appropriate for lent.

Okay, so is it okay to take instruction from the leader of an  Christian denomination that accomodates its doctrine and discipline to the times so readily as does the Anglican Church? Given how many of us have had our faith strengthened by C.S. Lewis, I've have to say yes, so long as we read Wright with our Catholic glasses on.

Welcome new blog followers  Tami and Patti. You are just in time for lent.