Sarx

HE FOLLOWING Paragraph is copied from Is Reconstructionist Judaism For You?, written by the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation. How does it speak to Christians who seek to find a way to fellowship despite our doctrinal differences (big and small)?

“For Reconstructionists, Judaism is more than Jewish religion; Judaism is the entire cultural legacy of the Jewish people. Religion is central; Jewish spiritual insights and religious teachings give meaning and purpose to our lives. Yet our creativity as expressed through art, music and drama, languages and literature, and our relationship with the land of Israel itself are also integral parts of Jewish culture. Each of these aspects provides a gateway into the Jewish experience that can enrich and inspire us.”

Is there an “entire cultural legacy” of Christians or is Christianity so imbedded in so many different cultures as to make that line meaningless? Does the idea mean incarnating the church in many cultures or does such a topic risk drawing us into phyletism?

When I think of Holy Images, I can limit myself to the gold-leafed versions of Mediterranean funerary paintings that are found in ER churches, or, alternatively, I can expand my sense and meaning to include western art, paintings and carvings in the styles of cultures from around the world. When I think of Christian texts, I can include everything from the Shepherd of Hermas right to the Inklings and Harry Potter. Christian Music runs the gamut from Byzantine Chant to something (religious or not) composed yesterday. Liturgical art stretches from Roman peasant clothing to African dashikis and hippie tye-dyes and victorian flocked wall paper and heavy wools woven in Aztec patterns.

Is there a “cultural legacy” that we can speak of? Is there a coherence that makes sense, that we can celebrate at our big table in ways that will include parties that, normally, don’t get to feast together? And – assuming a positive answer – can we begin to see that cultural legacy, as varied and growing as it is, as part of our human response to God’s work in our lives? Perhaps we can see it as the larger part when compared to our doctrinal differences.

And so, within that cultural legacy there seems to be a wide space for us to begin our Rabbinic-style conversations.