The Wesleyan Quadrilateral

      Welcome to the blog! I hope that you are enjoying A Disciple’s Path and will comment on the parts of this week’s reading that have especially intrigued you.

      In the reading this week, I noted Rev. Harnish’s comment about United Methodist doctrine affirming the Wesleyan Quadrilateral.(Workbook p. 12) That caused me to go back to my class notes from a class at Asbury taught by Dr. Steve Harper in a lesson entitled “Wesley’s Hermeneutic: The Quadrilateral”. A hermeneutic is a method or theory of interpretation.

      The four parts of the quadrilateral are scripture, tradition, reason and experience. I had incorrectly thought of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral as an equilateral shape. Dr. Harper said that the most important part of the quadrilateral is scripture. He shared with us an analogy by Dr. Paul Chilcote of a wind chime with scripture as the major post, and with reason, tradition and experience striking the post at different times and for different reasons.

     Dr. Harper said that in considering a theology, the Wesleyan Quadrilateral is used as a tool. Today we tend to forget about tradition and over emphasize experience. He said that without tradition, we miss the great cloud of witnesses from history. Without tradition, if we move toward scripture/reason it creates intellectualism; if we move toward scripture/experience it creates subjectivism.

     Dr. Harper explained that scripture prevents theology from being humanistic, with man as the measure of all things. Tradition prevents theology from being all about us now (thinking we have the truth and we cannot have fellowship with you). Reason prevents theology from being superficial and unexamined and detached from the rest of life. Experience prevents theology from being impersonal, distant and unreal.

     As Rev. Harnish says, "(t)he convergence of these elements guides United Methodists in discussing important matters of biblical, doctrinal, and social concern." Workbook p. 12.

WATCH THIS SPACE!! Coming Soon... Kathy Burns will begin posting for online discussion about our church-wide study, "A Disciple's Path."

Scripture Reading

I did not get the reading posted yesterday - but here it is for those who would still like to get a head's up on Sunday's scripture passage. It is a long one this week... Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well

John, Chapter 4, verses 5-42:
So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. 7A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8(His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) 9The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) 10Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” 13Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” 15The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” 16Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” 17The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” 19The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 20Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. 24God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” 26Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”
27Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” 28Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, 29“Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” 30They left the city and were on their way to him. 31Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” 34Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. 35Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. 36The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” 39Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” 40So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. 41And many more believed because of his word. 42They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”


I would love to hear your thoughts and comments as we move toward Sunday.

Blessings-
Rev. Beth

Lenten Reading Plan: John 6:1-21

S=Scripture
Read John 6:1-21
(I am reading in The Message interpretation)

O=Observation
Wow, Jesus "performs" two amazing miracles in this reading: he feeds five thousand people with one sack lunch, and then walks on water in the midst of stormy seas.

It says Jesus asks Philip about buying bread for the crowd "to stretch his faith."

A=Application
That makes me wonder how Jesus stretches my faith in the crowded places in my life... What was crowded today? Hmmm, my calendar is crowded. Jesus asks me how I am going to feed my soul... grow my soul... with this crowded calendar? Where will I find those lush, grassy places to stretch out my soul in the presence of Jesus.

If I am not careful, I will find myself afraid and tossed about in other peoples' storms.


P=Prayer
Jesus, walk across the storm that is my calendar and the moments and times of my days. Help me to create grassy hillsides where I can be in your presence... where you can calm the churning and remind me that you are there.

I will be afraid no more! Thanks be to God!


I SOAP-ed! Did you?

Lenten Reading Plan: John 4:43-54

S=Scripture
Read John 4:43-54
(I am reading in The Message interpretation)

O=Observation

Jesus sounds frustrated... back in his hometown, and feeling pushed again into "performing" a miracle. I thought the line: "Unless you people are dazzled by a miracle, you refuse to believe" was very telling.

Then it says the man believed "the bare words" of Jesus. He believed and headed home to his son.

A=Application

I think Jesus still gets frustrated with folks - yes, even me - pushing for what we want, when we want it... wanting signs - proof - that Jesus is still alive and active among us.

In the face of some urgent need or the illness of a loved one I do plead urgently, asking for help or healing. I hear Jesus asking me to listen for him in those situations - listen for... rest in... the "bare words" of his response. Return to a peace-filled place in the midst of worry.

P=Prayer
Thank you Jesus, that indeed you do hear our every prayer and longing. In the midst of anxious times - worries about loved ones, hurting and broken neighbors, warring countries, and so many needs in our world, help me to trust that you are still the Savior of the world - and I don't have to be. Amen.


I SOAP-ed! Did you?

Lenten Reading Plan

With my mom's hospital stay and some other urgencies cropping up I didn't SOAP every day last week. I'm feeling bad about that but I am putting it behind me and beginning anew this week. Thanks for your patience with me doing this in the blogosphere!

Lenten Reading Plan: John 2:1-25

S=Scripture
Read John 2:1-25
(I am reading in The Message interpretation)

O=Observation
I am struck by the contrast of these two scenes from Jesus' life: a wedding miracle next to the angry temple scene. We go from "the first glimpse of his glory" to the first glimpse of his righteous anger.

A=Application
I have days like that... seasons like that... times when I have to shift gears or change hats so fast my head spins. Life brings encounters of joy and celebration and miracles, and it brings times of conflict, disruption, and anger. And yes, sometimes the shift happens in what seems like a split second.

P=Prayer
Loving God, I am grateful for Jesus "who knows our grief, who died our death, who rose for our sake." Thanks you that The One who is Lord of my life has experienced the fullness of life and can be trusted with all of my life. Amen.


I SOAP-ed! Did you?

P.S. Sorry this post is so late... had to take mom to the ER today... her potassium is low and she is anemic... please keep her in your prayers. Thanks!