Thursday, 3 June, 2004

The focus of these devotions is Walter Wink’s book “The Human Being” and a section dealing with the vision of the Son of the Man in Ezekiel.



I do not know what the word “divine” signifies. But I do have an inkling of what the word “human” might entail, because we are made in the image of God, the Human One, and there have been exemplary human beings, in our tradition and that of others. What the disciples wondered was not what kind of divine being Jesus was, but “but what sort of human being is this?” (Matthew 8:27). In William Stringfellow’s superb epitome, “What it means to be a Christian is, wonderfully, just synonymous with what it means to be no more and no less than a human being."



I’m sure that when we all came into a room we would differ quite a bit when we contemplated what it is to be human. And yet, in our differing we would be dealing with a vision of what humanity is. Yes, there would be the dark sides that we do not want to call human. Unfortunately, the dark stuff that goes on in the world is only perpetrated by humans. On the other hand, we would lift our eyes to how creative and nurturing and grace-filled humanity is. Jesus made those disciples step into the realm of wonder. “What sort of human being is this?” He interacts with others in ways we do not…and yet he makes it happen and peace reigns….wow! His life is one in which the welfare of others is vital to his living…wow! His loving does not stop at the doorway or the border or any other place that is used to designate a boundary between us and them…he keeps loving….wow! In the lives of the saints around us we are invited to see another aspect of being human that we may not have considered for ourselves. That lifts us all up into a new way to honor one another.



Connection: When we say Christ, Jesus is present with us…even now…it is here within the way we – as humans – partake in the life we have been given…life that remembers our place as God’s beloved ones – humanity.



Take us by the hand, O God, and let us touch the flesh of your creation. Remind us of the expansiveness of life given to us within the simplicity of our daily lives. Amen.