Through Jesus and the Holy Spirit - new possibilities for living become ours - again, Michael Battle.
Through Jesus, the Holy Spirit makes possible the constant redefinition of human identity, but such identity must be willing to die in order for a new identity to live (John 14:15-21; Romans 6:1-11). For the Christian, baptism is this act of dying to the old identity to be born again in Christ. It is from such a Christology that Tutu makes sense of epistemological ruptures between African philosophy and Christian theological discourse.
Through baptism, the who am I becomes who are we...who are we in this time of life after being put to death and now alive again - anew. I am no longer alone. I am no longer living behind walls to keep myself safe from others and I am no longer living behind walls to keep others out. Now, as a follower of Jesus, the walls do not contain us or define us anymore. We gain this identity that is recognizable to all - even those who do not like this new identity. For them the body of Christ is an alien bunch of folk. We must remember that we are not the ones who guarantee the welfare of the systems of this world - for those systems, those powers, cannot serve all people and will not let go of a thing in order to rescue brothers and sisters who are not on the side of the powers. Sometimes it is so easy to see our journey as followers of Jesus as a "spiritual" journey that is of another plain. And yet...the journey is spiritual as it is fully one that participates in the redemption of all the powers and the daily bits and pieces of life that make us whole.
Connection: Do not be afraid to step beyond the walls we so often find throughout the door. There is usually a great gift awaiting us.
Spirit of the Living God, send us again back into this day as your beloved who are drawn to do one thing - love others so that your presence may be known - in fact. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment