The focus of these devotions is switching to Walter Wink’s book “The Human Being.”
Here’s a little piece on how Wink encounters scripture.
I listen intently to the Book. But I on not acquiesce in it. I rail at it. I make accusations. I censure it for endorsing patriarchalism, violence, anti-Judaism, homophobia, and slavery. It rails back at me, accusing me of greed, presumption, narcissism, and cowardice. We wrestle. We roll on the ground, neither of us capitulating, until it wounds my thigh with “new-ancient” words. And the Holy Spirit is there the whole time, strengthening us both.
What a marvelous picture of faithfulness in an encounter. To stand toe to toe with another - in this case the stories of scripture – and dig in and at one another. No intention to destroy the other…but to wrestle with what is present and what is to be and how it is that our lives will be engaged and how we will engage our God as faithful people to our God who sends us whirling into our lives as beloved ones. This is a journey that takes us back in time and simultaneously pushes our faces into the future of promise so that we can be as present within the liveliness of today as God would call us to be.
Connection: I need help with wrestling…do you? Wrestling…like testing things out…risking a word or a move or a gesture. It would be good if we all would help each other wrestle with how we see our God and how we in seeing our God see one another…and still remain in love…forever. That should fill this day.
You remain with us, O God, even when we attempt to run away or find another way or simply want to slip away into darkness. You remain with us and you coax us into your loving presence and we again and again are refreshed by what you have to offer us. Thanks to you for your faithfulness and you never ending love! Amen.
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