We will continue to base the devotions on “God for a Secular Culture” by Jurgen Moltmann.
Like strives to like in order to be united with it. It is the force of Eros which leads to the knowing of like by like, Eros being the power which creates the universe and holds it together. Likeness of essence between the macrocosm and the microcosm makes it possible for human beings to know the world, and this knowing in its turn leads them to community with the world through the correspondence of within and without.
… “All that is separated finds itself again” … “Everything is eternally related within”
It is very apparent that these comments are quite true to the way life seems to go among us. And yet notice - especially in the quote “All that is separated finds itself again” - we are left within a world in which I am the center of what is around me. When I must find myself in others, it makes my uniting with others quite limited. That leaves out of my life much more than I can imagine if I am simply seeking to be united with that which is like me. Jesus’ powerful life was one in which those who were quite out of the norm…out of the way things were, became the ones with whom Jesus entered into relationship. In fact, the bridging of the gap between that which is different or offensive or considered beyond the bounds of acceptability was the very breath of Jesus’ daily life. It is no wonder that the “powers” of the day, who only embrace the “like” and the “similar” found his activity to be dangerous to the status quo.
Connection: Our daily prayers to our God seen in Christ, Jesus, continue to pull us beyond that which is already “in our pocket.” We would do well to consider the beauty in those whose lives would not usually connect for us.
By the power of your Holy Spirit, take us to the Promised Land in which you gather all your people without exception. And there, within your loving Reign, O God, make us a community shaped by the inclusive cross of your beloved, Jesus. Amen.
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