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Listening: Authority and Obedience
Scott Bader-Saye
We like vision statements and we "set our sights" on something as a goal. listening seems to indicate that we don't know where we are going quite yet. Yet, as Christians we are called to listen in worship. The Shema starts out, "Hear O Israel", call to listen.
Modernity: The Crisis of Authority. Descartes and Kant are examples of using the self to determine what is right. Authority has been relocated to the individual. The conflict between authority and freedom turns out to be a conflict between community and individual.
Scripture: Authority as Transparent and Cruciform. There are struggles over authority in the Scripture. In the OT, the saga of the judges where authority breaks down completely to the kings where authority is centralized, but has mixed results. In the NT, Jesus defines a completely new kind of authority--that of vulnerability and service.
Liturgy: Speaking and Hearing the Authoritative Word. In the worship, the reading of the Scripture and the preaching of the Word are ways to understand this new authority of Jesus. Preaching was thought of by Martin Luther to be the very words of God. The authority of the Pastor is to shaped the shared congregational mind and not to command the individual will.
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Community: Authority in Strength and Weakness. There is a need for authority in a community. Authority is necessary to both educate and to direct and organize. In the church, authority should direct attention away from the leader towards Jesus.
World: Engaging Edges. The church can speak with authority to the outside world. Desmond Tutu is a great example. The church should also listen to authoritative voices from outside its own sphere. God is certainly capable of speaking the truth through "unauthorized" sources.