Ratzinger/Benedict interest me for (1) his use of the Ressourcement theologians (DeLubac, von Balthasar) to point the church in mission into the future -- the way to the future comes from a authentic repetition of the church's past within our contemporary setting; (2) the common themes that Ratzinger seemed to have in common with Radical Orthodoxy thinkers, but with a more concrete, Christian language from addressing the church rather than the North American/British academy; and (3) the combination of technical theological thought concerning God with earnest pastoral concern for the shaping of the future mission of the church.

I probably will try to blog on different features of the book. Yet what clearly comes through is, like Radical Orthodoxy, Benedict takes very seriously the thought of Augustine, and the difference between the City of God and the City of Humanity. This seems to offend many persons who want the church to be the chaplain of the liberal democratic nation-state or a Marxist state -- in other words, those who see the church as subordinate to politics of the state. He arrives at a reading of Augustine's doctrine of the church similar to what John Milbank 'borrows' from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.

I don't think Augustine was very creative in using the motives of "the two cities", but merely and obviously lifted the image from the Revelation of St. John (a very different reading of Revelation from Hal Lindsey and "The Left Behind" series -- who have no doctrine of the church at all except as an apostate institution that individuals must be saved from). For Augustine, the city of God is from above in that it's foundation lies in God. The fact that it is from above is "its sense of strangeness here, its unwillingness to tarry, its hope for something beyond . . . The Church and the City of God are not, pace some Protestant readings of Augustine, two wholly distinct quantities. Rather, that City has its 'pilgrim colony on earth': the community which, by its self-offering in outward signs in the communio caritatis, comes before God in the sacrament of Christ's body" (p. 49).

Several things here: (1) any congregation is not equivalent to the city of God, but participates as a sign of this heavenly city now until it comes in its fullness -- it thus is a pilgrim people, a group of 'resident aliens' to wax Hauerwasian; (2) the difference between a congregation and the world is visible now: it is seen in the outworking of the different loves of those in Christ from those in the world; and (3) nonetheless, a congregation itself is composed of pilgrims, way-farers, 'strangers in a strange land': it is those in the colony awaiting to live in the fulness of their citizenship in heaven while they now live amidst a the city of man, characterized by its violence and disordered loves.

Coming back from the wedding of Joshua and Alison tonight, I saw a bunch of 'strange people' -- the strangeness of the event was seen in its beauty, not just of Alison and Josh's exchange of vows, but in their surrounding by a congregation of friends, including those newly married. It was seen in the missions table, that had information from Ashby's drive to start her children's home in southern Kenya with other concerns. It was seen in sharing with Matt and Brenda as they get ready to "take Manhattan" and inviting some adolescents to come visit them (a dangerous thing to do!) while Matt studies at Columbia Medical School and Brenda works in the city. It was obviously evident in Alison's friend from college noting the differences in Alison's life -- a difference that we can name, if she couldn't, as Jesus Christ. It will be seen when Josh and Alison come to participate in worship tomorrow morning, being made part of the body and blood of Christ and in their handing out sleeping bags to friends on the streets tomorrow afternoon.

The fullness of the city of God? No. God forgive us. As Eric notes in the Acts blog from earlier this week, sometimes it seems we are far away, personally and as a congregation, from continuing the story begun in Acts. Yet something was visibly different this afternoon, something that Ratzinger noted that Augustine had noted -- something that John the Elder recognized as well. For this, we can just give thanks to God, who pulls us into the adventure of God's kingdom as we participate in the life and love which is God.