Jesus’ expectation was that his followers would actually do the things he did and taught—John 14:23 – 24. Really, no joke. He meant for us to do things like actively love our enemies, quickly and regularly forgive people who hurt us, live a rich relationship with God, deal with money, sex and power in radically countercultural ways.
One of the reasons this doesn’t always happen is that our methods of formation have been significantly shaped by modernity; we instruct, pass on information, indoctrinate. These ways of formation assume that humans are primarily thinking beings. We’re convinced that if we teach the right information, we’ll think right thoughts, and then live right lives. The uncomfortable reality, however, is that churches can shape people who are orthodox in creed yet sadly lack a resemblance to Jesus in their lives, disconcertingly indistinct from the surrounding culture.
Our faith finds its foundation and life in the truth of Jesus Christ. Living as a disciple of Jesus is nothing less than a whole new way of thinking and believing, and yet it is so much more. Christian beliefs open up a new reality, the Kingdom of God. If faith is our way into God’s kingdom, how then do we inhabit this kingdom, learning its rhythms and adopting its ways?
Philosopher James K.A. Smith, in his book Desiring the Kingdom, notes that humans, biblically considered, are heart – centred, desiring beings. We follow our hearts, doing what we love. When we fail to act consistently with the way of Jesus and in step with the Spirit, our problem is usually not a lack of information but of desire. As Puritan pastor William Law starkly notes, we never intended to live that way.
We are directed and formed by what we set our hearts upon, and our hearts are shaped by the habit – forming practices we participate in. It is the practices of our lives, what Smith calls liturgies, which primarily shape us. Whether we are Christian or not, we are liturgically shaped.
Lex orandi, lex credendi was the way the ancient church put it. The way we pray, the form or the liturgy we live by, shapes the creed we believe. It was the simple observation that faith formation is more than a cognitive process but rather a dynamic, mutually reinforcing relationship between our beliefs and how those convictions are embodied. Put yet another way, we require a habitus, a Jesus way of living that helps to socialize us into the reality of God’s kingdom. Such a habitus, or way, is composed of regular habits and practices that give lived expression to the core convictions we hold as truth.
We are such creatures of habit. Knowingly, perhaps mostly instinctively, we crave and create meaningful patterns to our living that give embodied shape to our deepest needs and convictions. It’s so mundane we miss it—three religiously observed square meals, meticulous hygiene rhythms, the morning ritual of making and savoring the first cup of coffee, a kiss to loved ones as you head out the door, habitual email checks, the exercise regimen or daily walk, watching the evening news or catching up online. All are pieces to the daily puzzle of ordering our days, and we notice when one is missing.
Like the God who created us, we seek to nail down the disorder of our day into a framework of meaning. We simply can’t enjoy the fullness of life without a form, some skeletal structure on which to hang the flesh of our days. This dynamic operates not only in everyday living but also as we walk out our faith in Jesus Christ. And in the absence of intentional Christian practices, we will be formed by other ones.
Christian practices are the ways that our hearts learn to desire the good life of God’s kingdom, to find it’s a life more compelling and coherent than all the other offers on display. Our practices keep us attentive to what we believe matters most, helping those beliefs to become part of our dispositions and daily activities. They shape a Jesus way of life, a spirituality that is more formative than our best ideas.
Next month I’ll launch us into some of the core practices that shape faith. But before we do that, take time to inventory and reflect on the practices that now shape your life. What are the actual regular rhythms and habituated practices that are currently making up your day (e.g. practices regarding media consumption, work, relationships, rest, prayer, family life, etc.)? What and how are they forming in you?
About Phil Reinders
Rev. Phil Reinders is minister at Knox Spadina, Toronto, and the author of Seeking God's Face: Praying with the Bible Through the Year.