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{"id":7293,"date":"2014-08-04T07:00:57","date_gmt":"2014-08-04T11:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/?p=7293"},"modified":"2014-08-03T07:14:34","modified_gmt":"2014-08-03T11:14:34","slug":"a-spring-and-summer-theology-a-grace-awakening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2014\/08\/a-spring-and-summer-theology-a-grace-awakening\/","title":{"rendered":"A “Spring and Summer” Theology – A Grace Awakening"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I would describe the theological transformation in my life,\u00a0just as Bonhoeffer did when he\u00a0described the change that took place in his theology during his year in Barcelona. Charles Marsh gives us this gem in his biography on Bonhoeffer. Marsh\u00a0reports Bonhoeffer saying \u201che felt as if \u2018a theology of . . . spring and summer\u2019 were replacing \u2018the Berlin winter theology'\u201d.<\/p>\n

I feel exactly the same\u00a0way. For my adult life I\u2019ve had a \u201cwinter theology\u201d, be that\u00a0Berlin or Chicago or Siberia. The theology whose virtues are perseverance, toughness, strength, reserve and escape. It\u2019s the\u00a0\u201clet\u2019s just get through this\u201d theology of winter. The theology of the grey teflon sky.<\/p>\n

$\"Procida-island-Italy\"$ <\/a>This theology is being replaced by a Caribbean, or better, Mediterranean warmth. The bright sky and fresh warm breeze of summer. The theology of salty, citrusy air. The theology of \u00a0the cool air of the\u00a0high altitudes of the Jamaican Blue Mountains where some of the world\u2019s best coffee is grown. The theology of sweet fruity drinks with umbrellas while feeling sand between your toes. A theology of a cappuccino sipped in a cafe on\u00a0a piazza or of drinking a Pilsner in a beer Garten in Munich or Prague. The theology of the pastel colors of the little Italian island of Procida off the coast of Naples \u2013 Karla and I visited Procida in 2002.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a theology of joy, pleasure and life. The virtues of the spring and summer theology are\u00a0delight, rest, freedom, and presence. It\u2019s a theology of the unbuttoned and free.<\/p>\n

This transformation is happening to me because I\u2019m beginning, only<\/em> beginning,\u00a0to understand what God\u2019s grace and kindness mean.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"