Invitation and Response

If at any point in our lives we begin to interpret the pages of our own memory and experience; and if reflecting upon those pages presents the opportunity for us to make changes in ourselves (or to hope for change or even to open ourselves up to new possibilities in life); then our responses in such moments are worth anticipating, thinking about, and preparing ourselves for.

But what, exactly, are we responding to in such moments as these? Well, most of us already have our own ideas about that. We may be part of a tradition that provides us with an answer to that question, or perhaps we are reasonably certain that there is no source other than our own intuitions. Although we may differ widely concerning the source of the invitation, we each have the basic opportunity to respond to our own lives, to respond to each other, to respond to our own given set of circumstances in this great, mysterious, and sometimes seemingly indifferent universe.

Anticipating these moments of invitation and response, being aware of the possibilities they hold for character development... This is the process of spiritual formation.

Spirituality means different things to different people, of course, but we can all agree that the kind of development described above is something that is important for each of us, whether we interpret the source of the invitation as human intuition or divine being. Either way it involves something that we may call spirit.

The dictionary here at my elbow defines spirit eight ways:

1. the inspiring principle or dominant influence
2. soul
3. the nature of a person; disposition; attitude
4. (pl.) vivacity; optimism
5. (cap.) in the Trinity, the Holy Spirit
6. the essence or real meaning
7. a supernatural being; an angel; a fairy; a ghost
8. a chemical distillation; (pl.) strong distilled alcoholic liquor

If what we are about in Alternative is spiritual formation, then any of these definitions could enlighten the intentions of our group, even the eighth (when used in moderation).

When we disagree on significant things, it won't matter so much as long as we remember that we come together for a more immediately significant purpose: to learn to listen for life's invitations and to train ourselves to respond to them in authenticity, creativity, and faithfulness.

This takes practice. It requires skills that must themselves be developed over time, and it often requires the encouragement and support of other people. So, intentionally training ourselves to listen is the first step in learning to live well. Subsequent efforts involve many different kinds of practices which, hopefully, we will discover and employ as we continually come together as a group.

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Post Script: For some, this may prompt an important question: Alternative claims to be a Christian group; doesn't such a broad definition of spiritual formation preclude its Christian identity?

Not necessarily. As Christians seeking to be faithful to that identity, we are claiming a broad solidarity with people of various perspectives. This is not based on a simple relativism but on the example of Jesus himself, who associated with those outside of the religious establishment of his day. Jesus' message has traditionally been intended for such people, for the Jew and the Gentile alike (Romans, chapter ii). Jesus invited unlikely people into a new kind of community together, a new way of life. In that tradition, living into this new community is what we are to be about as followers of Jesus. This will potentially shape the identity of everyone involved, whether Jew or Gentile, Christian or not.

Although our perspectives may differ widely within Alternative, at least we will be articulating them in a civilized and congenial context, with the common goal of responding to the invitation of life. By this we might just be changed, all of us, as we encounter others whose perspectives may challenge our narrow assumptions and possibly even expand our horizons of meaning.