When I was in graduate school studying theology et al, one of my professors gave us a bit of good counsel that I have never forgotten. He said find as your teacher, guide, and companion someone who is wise enough and has written enough that you can go back to his or her works again and again throughout your life and still be challenged, nourished, and enlightened by. I have about five “go-tos”. One of them is the late English Anglican theologian and priest Kenneth Leech. This week I will be featuring his words in the hope that—along with me—they might challenge, nourish, and/or enlighten you.

Christian spirituality is about a process of formation, a process in which we are formed by, and in, Christ: Christ who, sharing the form of God, assumed the form of a servant (Phil. 2:6). In this process, we are transformed so that we come more and more to share the Christ nature. Spiritual formation, then, is not a process of self-cultivation by which we are helped to adjust, to conform to the values of the dominant social order. Spiritual formation is not about adjustment. It is a process of ‘Christ-ening’, of being clothed with Christ, and in the process we are transformed. It is a process which involves confrontation, exploration and struggle, and its goal is maturity in Christ.

REFLECTION: Baptism is once for all time. Christ-ening is a summons we wake to every day.

QUESTION: Who is you favorite Go-To teacher, guide, and ongoing companion who continues to challenge, nourish, and enlighten you?

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