Wednesday, 12 May, 2004

The focus of these devotions is switching to Walter Wink’s book “The Human Being.”



Jesus proclaimed the Reign of God (or “God’s Domination-Free Order), not only as coming in the future, but as having already dawned in his healing and exorcisms and his preaching of good news to the poor. He created a new family, based not on bloodlines, but on doing the will of God. He espoused nonviolence as a means for breaking the spiral of violence without creating new forms of violence. He called people to repent of their collusion in the Domination System and sought to heal them from the various ways the system had dehumanized them.



Wink lists a number of forms of domination condemned by Jesus. It appears to be a list of ways we keep the powers of our day in power and those out of power out of power. As is usually the case, we do not see the ways that we are part of that system of domination. In fact, we often do not see how we may be victims of it. If the order of the day insists on and has been groomed on patriarchy, for example, who will say or see that it is not a system that treats all people equal – or with deep respect and honor? In the “already,” the Reign of God invites us into the way of Jesus that is also called the way of the cross because the way of Jesus was and will be contrary to what Wink calls the Domination System.



Connection: It might be good today to take some time to see how many parts of this day carry the mark of what you might call the Domination System. Or…listen to what others may be seeing. Sometimes we see things differently and we can always learn from one another.



Teach us your ways of living within the hopefulness of your Blessed Reign, O God. As we tend to the tasks of this day, open our hearts to the love you have for us so that we may in turn let go of the many ways we try to dominate and control our world and let your love flow from us to others. Amen.