Nestor O. Miguez

Yesterday, I went to a lecture by Nestor Miguez called, Doing Theology in a non revolutionary situation. Miguez from what I gleaned from Dr. Couture's introduction is the son of theologian, José Míguez Bonino, who wrote a book called Doing Theology in a Revolutionary Situation. To be honest, I had never heard of that book before, nor had I heard of either theologian. I went to the lecture because I didn't want to miss out on seeing someone who is a great thinker; and this lecture did not disappoint.

Dr. Miguez helped me to rethink things in our culture and reclaim some things that I used to think about quite a lot. Being a Liberation Theologian from Argentina, he spoke a lot about the struggles and the injustices that are going on in the world. Most of these struggles have less to do with government, although that can still be a problem, but more to do with the Market.

I realize that the market is kind of an easy target these days, and that everyone is struggling because of the market situation. Most of what is going on I don't really understand. I don't know economics that well, but I do realize that our entire economy is based on faith. Therefore, we must trust the dollar's worth and then it will be worth something. There is very little product to back our economy. I guess with this in mind it is little wonder that our economy is struggling right now.

Part of what Dr. Miguez did was to try to rethink our corrupt human nature that has turned greed into a virtue. Our system does not have grace in it at all. What would it look like if we took the call to be united with Christ seriously? Would we try to build a new economic system that doesn't have the corruption of greed? How could we be grace-filled in today's world, and how can we truly live out our call to the least and lost?

Our economic system has caused us to think about relationships in terms of usefulness. We are only friends with someone if we can get something out of it. I do realize that this is vastly overstated and that not everyone does this, but what does friendship mean in Christian terms? Relationality has to be rethought according to aspects of grace and I think the Trinity could help in this as well. God is fully God in the mystery of the Holy Trinity. God is three and one in a cosmic union of distinct persons. The relationship makes God "one in diversity" (Karkkainen, An Introduction to Ecclesiology). Humanity being made in the image of God then must reflect that community. Thus, humans are only fully human or are made whole by and through true communion. We must carry others within us, realizing the ontological link between us, and making meaning only in relation to the other. We must carry the diversity of peoples in our hearts while at the same time becoming one with others through communion. It is through the Eucharistic life that we can become truly one with God and one with each other. A way to help you live a Eucharist life comes from Philippians 2:3-4:

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Live in humility, holding other's needs in your heart, and becoming one the other in Christ, through the Holy Spirit.

Writing and Reading

I know that most of seminary life is writing and reading (not necessarily in that order), but I feel that I need to do a lot more of both of these things. I do read quite a lot and I think I'm way better at that than I am writing. But I need to start reading differently. This doesn't me reading faster or anything like that. I need to start reading and taking notes. I should keep a record of what I have read, and what the main ideas and points of these things are. This means that I have to get way more organized and I have to get way more serious about my reading. So with this being said, I would love for you all to suggest some sources for me, although it might take awhile for me to get to it. I would love suggestion of novels, philosophy, theology, or anything else that is particularly striking.

Now to the writing. I know how to make my letters and I most of the time I can figure out how to spell. This is not what I mean by writing. Instead, I need to spend more time writing down my thoughts. I might start keeping a journal, but I'm not sure that is the kind of writing I want to do. I want to take the thoughts in my head and formulate them into words on paper. I would like people to be able to read what I write and understand it. I want my readers to feel the urgency and passion, or to feel the overall tone of the work. I don't just mean that I want to write theological treatise, but I also want to write poetry and fiction. I want to communicate struggles and joys in life through various genre of writing. So with that being said, one of the things that will help me is to just write more. Thus, I'm hoping to write more often here. I know I say that all the time and it might not happen, but it is my goal.

I want to be able to read and write well because my goal and calling that has been reaffirmed over and over again lately is to teach. I feel called to be a professor. I'm very comfortable with the idea of teaching. I'm not as comfortable about doing the research and writing involved in obtaining my goal. Therefore, I would love it if you, my friends, helped to encourage and challenge me in this endeavor. Ask me to explain things and encourage me to take notes when I read. Maybe even ask to see something that I have written lately, although I'm not a big fan of showing people what I write. I'm sure this comes from a lack of confidence, so doing it more may help. I also need critiques and corrections, both in terms of content and syntax. Thanks.

Peace,
mark