Each of Kim's three interpretations of community correspond to ways of understanding the term 'Body of Christ'.
- 'Body of Christ' is most commonly understood as a boundary condition for the Christian community. The Christian community is defined as the 'Body of Christ'. Those who do not conform to the community's interpretation of truth are not a part of the 'Body of Christ' and so, not heard.
- Alternatively, the boundary can be drawn to be all-inclusive. The whole of humanity is the 'Body of Christ'. Whilst this addresses some of the issues raised by the first, it is not an adequate response to hegemonic power. Ultimately, the decision to draw the boundary as all-inclusive is without the consent of everyone included in it. This effectively marginalises the powerless.
- The first two focus upon the articulate, powerful individual. Kim's third option is to identify with the marginalised.
Kim calls his last interpretation of community 'apocalyptic' because it is, from a Christian perspective, an identification with the person of Jesus Christ in the cross. This leads to the path of humility; identification with those who have opted out of ideological interpretations of the world.
Kim writes on page 36:
Instead, Paul identifies himself with the most foolish people: "[W]hen slandered, we speak kindly. We have become like the rubbish of the world, the dregs of all things, to this very day" (1 Cor 4:13). Paul's sarcasm represents a rhetoric of protest against the dominant oppressive systems of the world; systems that suffocate the powerless and make them hungry.
To make this identification with the marginalised is to cease to compete with the powerful for power. It is to be engaged with the world as it is, to choose to live on the knife edge.
To live in the power of Christ, is not just mystical. It is more than a state of mind. It is ultimately a matter of 'where your feet are'. Revd John Vincent, founder of the Urban Theology Unit, coined this phrase during the 1970s. Christian discipleship, lived out in a community of fellow believers, is not in the last analysis a matter of belief but of place. Feet trump head every time because wherever the feet are, so is the head. It is this engaged commitment to listening to people in a place that enables community to form. This is as true for neighbourhoods as it is for churches. The point is it is often the role of the churches to demonstrate this approach.
I will explore this further in my next post.
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