Lent Study

Posted by on Oct 21, 2020 in News | 0 comments

I think there is power and energy in us studying, meditating, praying on a single focused thing as a parish. This year we will watch Alexander John Shaia talk about the Four Gospel Journey of Transformation. Have you ever wondered why there are 4 gospels?

The study is based upon his book Heart and mind:

The Four-Gospel Journey for Radical Transformation, Second edition. You can buy it if you want but I’m mindful that it’s expensive and only works for those who connect with books. You can connect with the website too: https://www.quadratos.com/

“In ‘Heart and Mind, ‘ Dr. Shaia gives us back our central sacred text – the four gospels – not as conflicted and faulty historical records, but as a vibrant, luminous path of transformation. He reveals “The Four-Gospel Journey” as a living guide (for Christians and seekers alike), re-centering human life on wisdom, compassion and service, rooted in a mystical relationship with Christ. And the potential for this living guide is already becoming manifest, as individuals, groups and entire communities are using it all over the world, and the word is spreading.” +Marc Handley Andrus, Episcopal Bishop, Diocese of California:

“This is a stunning book. You won’t read the gospels the same way ever again. You won’t think about your life the same way again. Anthropology, psychology, the heroes journey, the Bible, fear, struggle, hope, bravery, anticipation, euphoria, return – its all here in this masterful work, by one of my favorite teachers-guides-gurus-leader-village elder – Alexander John Shaia.” Rob Bell, author of “What We Talk About When We Talk About God” and ” What is the Bible?”

In this fresh lens, each gospel account is more than a telling of Jesus’ life and words. Each is the story of a practice in response to a core life question:

  • Gospel of Matthew: How do we face change?
  • Gospel of Mark: How do we move through trials and suffering?
  • Gospel of John: How do we receive joy and know union?
  • Gospel of Luke-Acts: How do we mature in service?

And these four gospels are more than the sum of their parts. The four in the sequence of their fourth-century reading cycle are one of the world’s great maps of the universal journey- one of growth, transformation, and love. As Alexander’s describes, The Four-Gospel Journey is the pattern of the living, here and now Christ – a pattern within the Cosmos, in everything and across all time. To make this universal journey with another or a small community.

 

Father Greg