Friendship

In preparation for our Lenten Book study, I have been re-reading Resident Aliens. I think I read it the first time back in 1996. Though it had a certain shock value on that first read, now I take for granted much of the perspective of Hauerwas and Willimon.

Resident Aliens is largely about the cultural shifts of the last 40 years. The Church is no longer protected or promoted by western culture. The Church no longer “owns” Sunday. Sabbath is a concept that has been largely lost. Physical plants built for settled neighborhoods are populated by a communities of transients. How does the Church, built for a day gone by, adapt to remain faithful in the present? Maybe the compromised role of the Church in society was not a good thing anyway? Did we build an institution to the detriment of forming followers of Jesus? These are important questions.

There is one image from the preface that strikes me of being of supreme importance. It is the follower of Jesus as a lonely alien, living in a world consumed by concerns that conflict with covenant faithfulness. Isolation and loneliness devolve into self-righteousness or self-hate. Christians live in supportive relationships, marked by countless reminders that we are not alone. God is with us. Friendship is not, therefore, accidental to the Christian life. (pg 13)

If we are to answer our several callings, if we are to practice faithfulness, if we are to be the people of God in this world, it will be together in community.