Meditation as practical theological instrument in connecting Christian spirituality with social justice in the space of service delivery

Abstract

Should the praxis of meditation necessarily lead to avoidance of the world or could it be seen as an activity that can open a vision and level of engagement that will enable the contemplative person to be connected more faithfully and compassio-nately with this world? With this question as point of departure the researcher explores the possible function of Christian meditation as a means of interacting faithfully and integrally with the space of service delivery in its local manifestation, as well as in its distinctive fluidity in South-African society. Reflecting on the dynamics of a responsible theological entry into this social space, two perspectives from the Reformation regarding the function of meditation in the Christian life are re-visited: Martin Luther’s deployment of the interactive sequence ‘oratio, meditatio, tentatio’, as well as John Calvin’s use of the phrase ‘meditatio vitae futurae’. By bearing the implications of these two perspectives in mind, an attempt is made to draw normative theoretical lines for a Word-anchored meditative praxis that can become instrumental in opening up a vision for continuity between the present alienated situations in service delivery and their re-created future; an energizing vision that will enable contemplative people to minister the first fruits of a kind of service that entails much more than we could have imagined