Owning a transforming initiative

I've written previously about the Sermon on the Mount and how the major section of it can be read as a set of transforming initiatives (thanks the Glen Stassen for the academic work behind this concept). This week at Solace, the staff sat down and worked through the Sermon on the Mount together, asking questions and seeking understanding together. We all liked the transforming initiatives, but some of the cultural gulf between us and the original readers prevented us from becoming fluent in the idea of transforming initiatives. We each attempted to write our own three-part teaching, to develop a better sense of what the Sermon on the Mount is about. Here's what I wrote.

You have heard it said that you should focus on your prosperity. But I say to you that only the control of all the world's resources and people can be considered truly prosperous. For true prosperity shall be measured by the removal of all threats to you and your families lives and lifestyles. So go, lose focus and be distracted by the scary and disaffected; waste your time on insoluble social ills, so that at least you can be part of the solution, rather than a cause, of the problem.

I must admit, I was quite pleased with my first effort! I tried to use the same sort of phrasing as I saw in the Sermon on the Mount and the result was a similarly confusing piece of writing. I picked a 'traditional righteousness' which is both common in our culture, but one that's actually pretty easy pick holes in (to give myself something easy to work with). I then explained how I thought seeking absolute prosperity can lead us down a vicious cycle of domination and greed and my transforming initiative is to relax about focusing on prosperity. I don't think my result is anywhere near as insightful as Jesus teachings! But it helped me understand how the teachings are communicated.

It's getting close to Christmas now, so this blog will start writing on that theme. We're hoping to take the theme of a transforming initiative into the season of Christmas. How could your experience of Christmas be made more joyful by sowing the seeds of the Kingdom?