The Psalms and the Life of Faith by Walter Brueggemann

Author:Walter Brueggemann [Walter Brueggemann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2008-09-06T14:09:00+00:00

These two partners do not dance always to the same tune or in the same spot; they are all over the dance floor, with many modes of both faithfulness and freedom. Obviously, such a metaphor will be difficult for anyone working from a presumption of immutability, for such a presumption is exactly what the dance metaphor rejects. What we experience in such a covenantal relationship is not immutability but fidelity-fidelity with enormous freedom.

Prayer is a way of participating in the covenantal dance. There are no preconceived rules, though in various circumstances there are conventions and stylizations. These conventions, as well as improvisations, are judged by and in the service of the relationship. The main thing is not the prayer but the covenant it serves and articulates. The relation between God and faithful prayer is like sexuality: it can be good in the covenantal relationship if it is honest and genuine, if each partner takes the other seriously and does not demean the other, and if the intimacy serves the fidelity of the relationship (which is not the same as politeness). I do not refer to erotic notions of prayer as are present in some mystical traditions, because in the examples considered below, any erotic dimension is scarcely present.

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