Obedient God: Reflection Questions, Ch. 3

Reflection Questions for our reading of Chapter 3 of Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life.


Obedient God, p.32-43

1. According to the authors, how is Jesus' obedience to God distinct from how we commonly understand the word "obedience"?
2. How does this understanding influence the way we approach our mission work or ministry?
3. Recall the words of the Christian brother who was imprisoned in Argentina: "It's not easy to find yourself back in the normal Christian world. It all seems so shabby, formal, less intense, and less calm. For us in prison the gospel was our strength, our weapon against evil, against hate, against oppression" (42-43). Most of us do not live daily lives as tortured inmates in a physical prison. Reflect upon some of the more tangible "evils" that we strive against and resist. Are there intangible evils that we must be vigilant and on guard about? What are they?
4. Keeping in mind our particular contexts (of people living in SF Bay Area, California, U.S.A., in 2009), how would you define "normal Christian world"? Have there been instances in which you felt like you had "stepped outside" the "normal Christian world"? How do you think Christ would have defined a "normal" Christian world? Is there such a thing as "normal"?