by Eugene Peterson
In today's world, spiritual and theology are not words that are too often combined. There is no shortage of books on spirituality in some form or another, and neither is there any lack of books on theology, either biblical or systematic. But too often books on spirituality lack grounding in the person of Christ, and equally as often, books on theology get no further than doctrines or systems of thought. Eugene Peterson, in Christ Plays in Ten-thousand Places, elegantly combines these two streams into a tightly-knit pattern. He describes this synthesis as the conjoining of the two streams that have occupied his professional life, those of professor and pastor.
There can be little doubt that Peterson has a keen eye for just the right turn of phrase and metaphor. He opens the book with the poem from which its title comes, and uses these perceptive words from the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins to provide the occasion for, and in fact give life to, his exercise in spiritual theology. The vision of Christ "playing" in ten thousand places, "Lovely in limbs" and "eyes not his." We were made for a life in Christ, made to be in relationship to this Triune God, made for his presence to live in and through us.
Peterson unfolds a four-fold vision for his spiritual theology, a vision he then unpacks in three cycles throughout the book, echoing the Triunity of God as a vision for creation, history, and community. His vision entails a spiritual theology, and in fact a spiritual life, oriented around four terms, "spirituality," "Jesus," "soul," and "fear-of-the-Lord." "Spirituality" means a spiritual life that is truly alive, a life that is both in touch with the transcendent yet "vaguely intermingled with intimacy" (27). This is a life that is genuine, vibrant, experienced. "Jesus" points to a life that is concrete. In opposition to so much spirituality that focuses on vague impressions and abstraction, Jesus truly anchors our faith and life in the concreteness of history, the revelation of God to humanity in intelligible and meaningful form. "Soul" intimates the relational character of this spiritual life. God is a Triune God, a being-in-relationship, and we have been created in God's likeness and have been called into relationship with this Triune God. For Peterson, "soul" is set over against "self" as we realize the fullness that is found not by being curved in on ourselves but in opening the totality of our being (the "soul") up to relationship with the other, and ultimately with the Triune God who invites us in our entirety into relationship with him. Finally, "fear-of-the-Lord" speaks of the God-focused nature of this life. In cultivating a life lived this way, we live "responsively and appropriately before who God is, who he is as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" (40). These four terms form the core of Peterson's vision, and point to the vibrant life-in-relationship to which he invites us, a spirituality that is truly informed, or better, formed, by Christ and lived in him.
Peterson then moves through this four-fold vision in three cycles, in response to the Triunity of this God who forms our spiritual theology. Through each cycle, he perceptively illuminates the world in which we live, with a very adeptly and subtly applied theological vision that at once informs the entire work without taking it over. He also speaks of pitfalls and obstacles that often result from distortions of the vision he is seeking. The core section of each chapter is its grounding in scripture, with extended reflections on two texts for each of the three cycles to give shape and anchor to his reflections. He then concludes with a reflection on the lived dimension of the truths he has been exploring, giving flesh to his visions of the Christian life through explication of symbols and acts such as Sabbath, Eucharist, and Baptism.
"The end of all Christian belief and obedience, witness and teaching, marriage and family, leisure and work life, preaching and pastoral work is the living of everything we know about God . . ."(1). Peterson shares, through these pages, his blueprint for a life so lived, a life lived to the glory of God. This means living a life of congruence "between what a thing is and what it does" (334). We find this congruence, through Christ's example, when we realize we were created to live in Christ, and seek to live out that design. In our world where spirituality is so often self-focused, where we are told to look inside, told to seek self-fulfillment, Peterson shares with us a contrasting vision, the vision of a live oriented toward God. This means that we are called to participate and to live out this life, but it is a life of "prepositional participation" (335) as we are called to act "with," "in," and "for." We stand not at the center, but are always oriented outside of ourselves, oriented with the fear-of-the-Lord toward God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, the God of creation, history, and community.
Peterson's book is one that I hope many will find time to read. His deep theological insight lends a profound depth to his reflections and truly models the type of "spiritual theology" he commends. The book also demonstrates the devotional and God-oriented focus he prescribes, as his pages so eloquently reflect a prayed theology. In the end, this is really a book about orientation, and it is just the prescription our wandering world needs to hear, myself clearly included. Many can get focused on self, others on theology, others on inclusion, at the expense of God. Peterson helps us shift our focus to the author of life, the worthy God, the end for which we were created, and points us toward a life where Christ plays. It is a jubilant vision of God-focused life, and an expression of what theology, when rightly done, may be.
James Korsmo
Bloesch, Donald G. God the Almighty
Boyd, Greg and Paul Eddy Across the Spectrum
Grenz, Stanley Renewing the Center
Kaufman, Gordon In the beginning . . . Creativity
Kierkegaard, Soren For Self-Examination
Kierkegaard, Soren Practice in Christianity
Mannermaa, Tuomo Christ Present in Faith
McGrath, Alister Scientific Theology, vol. 1, Nature
McGrath, Alister Scientific Theology, vol. 2, Reality
McGrath, Alister Scientific Theology, vol. 3, Theory
Padgett, Alan Science and the Study of God
Pinnock, Clark Most Moved Mover & The Openness of God
Vanhoozer, Kevin First Theology
Wright, N.T. Jesus and the Victory of God
Science & Theology
Soren Kierkegaard