14 February 2006

Today begins some time of reflection on segments from the book "The Covenanted Self" by Walter Brueggemann. We begin with what he calls "othering"

I take the liberty of using the word "othering" as a verb, for I mean to suggest that "other" is not simply a counter-object, but it is the risky, demanding, dynamic process of relating to one who is not us, one to whom we are accountable, who commands us, and from whom we receive our very life... The "other" is endlessly inscrutable mystery and endlessly problematic to us, for we can neither escape from that other, nor are we able to seduce, capture, or possess that other who always stands free from and over against us.

I see this as quite a community building word. When we become a part of a community like the church, we are invited to reach out and engage others. This happens in many ways within a congregation. In fact, it must happen for a congregation to be vital and alive as a local expression of the body of Christ. As we reach out to engage or let ourselves be engaged by people around us, we are also pulled into a sort of dialogue with that which is beyond us. Usually we label this our "God" but that can sound so fixed and separate that there may not be a sense of an exchange or engagement. This term "othering" offers us a dynamic way to look at the experiences of our lives in which we touch and our touched by the realm of our God, other people, and even the "other" within our own selves. It is so important to remember that the other is not something we come to control. Rather, it is like a journey with a stranger who become a friend. Within the "give and take" of the journey and the adventures therein, new life takes shape...and if we stay within this dialogical relationship, new life will always be ready to be open to us.

Connection: It is so easy to turn and walk away from anyone who reminds us of the "other" that is not us. And yet, it will be within the exchange that can take place with those around us - some more distant than others - that we quite literally are pulled into new life on many levels. Remember that this doesn't mean we "buy" what this other is offering. It simply means that we engage the other and look to see what surprising life will begin to open up for us.

Lord God, your grace abound whenever we are invited to experience the depths and the width of your Reign. Even when we cannot see outside of the worlds in which we live and try to stay, your Spirit tickles us with the lives of others so that we may look up and see what is around us and with us. Praise to you, O God. Amen.