We continue with another section of Walter Wink’s “The Human Being.”
Well not exactly. Yesterday’s quote by Bonhoeffer reminded me of this piece sent to me awhile ago.
“Life shouldn’t be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather, to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly shouting… ‘Wow! What a ride! Thank You Lord!!!’”
In the mix of our humanity being thrown through the storms of the day and standing up to all the winds that may blow, we are given the blessed opportunity to go for it…allowing ourselves to be vulnerable with some gusto to it so that as people look at us they are reminded of how full life can be. But notice that the ‘skidding in broadside” has nothing to do with being successful. It has more of the picture of that all out run or dive or jump beyond where we are into or through or over something we have yet to experience. Wow. The journey of truthfulness will take us on just such a ride…so does mercy…loving kindness….justice…peacemaking…compassion…
Connection: How will you be thoroughly used up today…a candle that has been burning up to the fullness of its capabilities?
Thank you, Gracious Lord, for this day that calls us to be authentically human so that we may not only experience the internal fullness of your Reign but may interact with others and see how the beauty and vitality of your Reign increases as we take part in this day. Amen.
Tuesday, June 8, 2004
Monday, June 7, 2004
Tuesday, 8 June, 2004
We continue with another section of Walter Wink’s “The Human Being.”
According to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, God is not God at the price of emptying me of my humanity; humanity does not consist in letting oneself be sucked dry by a divine vampire! God does not exploit my weakness, but is present precisely in weakness, and gives us strength in our weakness. Authentic Christianity should leave people stronger, not dehumanized.
In our humanity God takes delight and God continues to pull us into our humanity so that we may more completely know what it is to be human…to be made in the image of God…to recognize the depth and width of the human experience that is so far beyond what I may want to call “all of it.” I think I would like to add the point that “authentic Christianity” will leave not just me a stronger person; it will leave the whole community of people stronger. The Holy Spirit makes sure that from the “whole” we receive the gifts of our being that stretches us beyond our own images of humanity. In those images is always included the weaknesses with the strengths as that makes up the whole being of the Christian and the Christian community.
Connection: Imagine yourself becoming stronger through the day as you allow yourself to be more fully human…as in blessed by God.
Creating God, leave us with your Spirit of Power and Gentleness so that we may be at peace with ourselves and be willing to encounter those around us as though we all are taking part in a grand adventure that will continue to shape all of us into your image. Amen.
According to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, God is not God at the price of emptying me of my humanity; humanity does not consist in letting oneself be sucked dry by a divine vampire! God does not exploit my weakness, but is present precisely in weakness, and gives us strength in our weakness. Authentic Christianity should leave people stronger, not dehumanized.
In our humanity God takes delight and God continues to pull us into our humanity so that we may more completely know what it is to be human…to be made in the image of God…to recognize the depth and width of the human experience that is so far beyond what I may want to call “all of it.” I think I would like to add the point that “authentic Christianity” will leave not just me a stronger person; it will leave the whole community of people stronger. The Holy Spirit makes sure that from the “whole” we receive the gifts of our being that stretches us beyond our own images of humanity. In those images is always included the weaknesses with the strengths as that makes up the whole being of the Christian and the Christian community.
Connection: Imagine yourself becoming stronger through the day as you allow yourself to be more fully human…as in blessed by God.
Creating God, leave us with your Spirit of Power and Gentleness so that we may be at peace with ourselves and be willing to encounter those around us as though we all are taking part in a grand adventure that will continue to shape all of us into your image. Amen.
Monday, 7 June, 2004
We continue with another section of Walter Wink’s “The Human Being.”
In light of Ezekiel’s vision, humanity cannot be the measure of all things, much less of God, because we are not yet human. We do not even know what humanness is. God alone can reveal to us the mystery of our being.
I would think it odd that any of us have so mastered our humanity that we can claim to know God let alone know ourselves. In fact there is something frightening about even the consideration of that thought. Within the journey of being made in the image of God and becoming human, is the power of God’s Spirit that pulls and shapes us and bring us to see what is beyond our own capacity to see. Therefore, the fullness of our humanness is always just beyond the place in which we stand. There will be no super race or person who is the ultimate one. In fact, that is why we continue to turn to the story of Jesus…for there is for us one who gives us a view of our God by being utterly human.
Connection: What are you becoming today and how is God breaking in to reveal to you another aspect of your humanity that you could not find on your own?
Lead us and show us the many ways our lives are gifted by your presence, O God, so that the adventure of this day may be entered with a sense of expectation and hopefulness. Amen.
In light of Ezekiel’s vision, humanity cannot be the measure of all things, much less of God, because we are not yet human. We do not even know what humanness is. God alone can reveal to us the mystery of our being.
I would think it odd that any of us have so mastered our humanity that we can claim to know God let alone know ourselves. In fact there is something frightening about even the consideration of that thought. Within the journey of being made in the image of God and becoming human, is the power of God’s Spirit that pulls and shapes us and bring us to see what is beyond our own capacity to see. Therefore, the fullness of our humanness is always just beyond the place in which we stand. There will be no super race or person who is the ultimate one. In fact, that is why we continue to turn to the story of Jesus…for there is for us one who gives us a view of our God by being utterly human.
Connection: What are you becoming today and how is God breaking in to reveal to you another aspect of your humanity that you could not find on your own?
Lead us and show us the many ways our lives are gifted by your presence, O God, so that the adventure of this day may be entered with a sense of expectation and hopefulness. Amen.
Friday, June 4, 2004
Friday, 4 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.
Central to the Eastern Orthodox tradition is a statement by the church father Athanasius that Christ became as we are that we might become as he is. This has usually been interpreted to mean that Christ became human that we might become divine… I would prefer to say, Jesus incarnated God in his own person in order to show all of us how to incarnate God. And to incarnate God is what it means to be fully human.
In Jesus we may indeed find a view of the God who loves us. And yet, it is not only in “me” that God is incarnate. God is incarnate within the community of God’s people…the “we” of the Nicene Creed…the gathering of the saints for worship…the movement of the community of believers into the world as agents of mercy, justice, peace, and love as revealed in Jesus. Yes, I am a part of that incarnation…that following of Jesus, but I am brought to a higher expression of humanity as I am united with others who follow Jesus side by side.
Connection: Look to the Jesus of the Gospel stories to find a bit of light for the living of this day and then walk with others who are doing the same and in that dialogical journey, we may see a better picture of the brilliance of our humanity that is a gift from our God.
Surround us by the uniting Spirit of Creation, O God, that throughout this day we may find ourselves connecting to others and also seeing you face come to light among us and through us. Amen.
Central to the Eastern Orthodox tradition is a statement by the church father Athanasius that Christ became as we are that we might become as he is. This has usually been interpreted to mean that Christ became human that we might become divine… I would prefer to say, Jesus incarnated God in his own person in order to show all of us how to incarnate God. And to incarnate God is what it means to be fully human.
In Jesus we may indeed find a view of the God who loves us. And yet, it is not only in “me” that God is incarnate. God is incarnate within the community of God’s people…the “we” of the Nicene Creed…the gathering of the saints for worship…the movement of the community of believers into the world as agents of mercy, justice, peace, and love as revealed in Jesus. Yes, I am a part of that incarnation…that following of Jesus, but I am brought to a higher expression of humanity as I am united with others who follow Jesus side by side.
Connection: Look to the Jesus of the Gospel stories to find a bit of light for the living of this day and then walk with others who are doing the same and in that dialogical journey, we may see a better picture of the brilliance of our humanity that is a gift from our God.
Surround us by the uniting Spirit of Creation, O God, that throughout this day we may find ourselves connecting to others and also seeing you face come to light among us and through us. Amen.
Wednesday, June 2, 2004
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.
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.
Tuesday, June 1, 2004
Wednesday, 2 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.
Are not the deepest reaches of our humanity born of our wounds, even our sins (though one hesitates to say it, for fear the ego will use it as justification for continuing in destructive behavior)? In this vision (in Ezekiel), then, the ‘one in human form’ represents the archetypal image, “as it were,” of fully human being, reaching out to Ezekiel with a seemingly impossible task: that of becoming human.
What is the task in becoming human? When we try to build everything from bodies to corporations to churches that are “bigger than life” and more in control and as close to being managed as flawlessly as possible, what does it mean to enter the journey of becoming human? Some of you know I started having seizures several years ago. It is an uncontrollable feeling – though medication has eased that stress a bit. Well, within the last hour of this writing, I have been on the edge of what I experience as a seizure…it is an odd experience…a strange sense of wonder and awe and visions. Just a few minutes ago I decided that I better clue someone in on what may be happening. So, I walked up to the young person working at Cup-O-Joe and handed her my business card with my wife’s phone number, told her what was going on and said if something happens to me while I’m working, call this woman. Being human is to be within a realm that is simultaneously fragile and demands courage to be just that. After I told the young worker what was going on, I realized that this will be another way I will be known to the workers. Being human may mean that we do not live with so many secrets that we are unknown to one another or known only “so deep.”
Connection: I’m not sure, but maybe that is where we begin being human today…letting ourselves be unsure of ourselves in front of others for no other purpose than to be who we are. Maybe then a wound can be a part of our healing together.
Lord God, out of the depths of life and those times that are beyond our understanding you touch us and call us to remember the complexities of our humanity and the power to be the people you shaped out of dust. Amen.
Are not the deepest reaches of our humanity born of our wounds, even our sins (though one hesitates to say it, for fear the ego will use it as justification for continuing in destructive behavior)? In this vision (in Ezekiel), then, the ‘one in human form’ represents the archetypal image, “as it were,” of fully human being, reaching out to Ezekiel with a seemingly impossible task: that of becoming human.
What is the task in becoming human? When we try to build everything from bodies to corporations to churches that are “bigger than life” and more in control and as close to being managed as flawlessly as possible, what does it mean to enter the journey of becoming human? Some of you know I started having seizures several years ago. It is an uncontrollable feeling – though medication has eased that stress a bit. Well, within the last hour of this writing, I have been on the edge of what I experience as a seizure…it is an odd experience…a strange sense of wonder and awe and visions. Just a few minutes ago I decided that I better clue someone in on what may be happening. So, I walked up to the young person working at Cup-O-Joe and handed her my business card with my wife’s phone number, told her what was going on and said if something happens to me while I’m working, call this woman. Being human is to be within a realm that is simultaneously fragile and demands courage to be just that. After I told the young worker what was going on, I realized that this will be another way I will be known to the workers. Being human may mean that we do not live with so many secrets that we are unknown to one another or known only “so deep.”
Connection: I’m not sure, but maybe that is where we begin being human today…letting ourselves be unsure of ourselves in front of others for no other purpose than to be who we are. Maybe then a wound can be a part of our healing together.
Lord God, out of the depths of life and those times that are beyond our understanding you touch us and call us to remember the complexities of our humanity and the power to be the people you shaped out of dust. Amen.
Tuesday, 1 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.
If God is in some sense true humanness, then divinity inverts itself. Divinity is not a qualitatively different reality; quite the reverse, divinity is fully realized humanity. Only God is, as it were, Human. The goal of life, then, is not to become something we are not – divine – but to become what we truly are – human. We are not required to become divine: flawless, perfect, without blemish. We are invited simply to become human, which means growing through our sins and mistakes, learning by trial and error, being redeemed over and over from compulsive behavior – becoming ourselves, scars and all. It means embracing and transforming those elements in us that we find unacceptable. It means giving up pretending to be good and, instead, becoming real.
This almost sounds like a summary of the Velveteen Rabbit. We re invited to become real…really human as in…in the image of God…not gods. Wick is so very wise in reminding us of the difference between being human and striving to be something else that is beyond the reach of our humanity. Today we face too many religious voices that talk about flawlessness and being perfect or voices that are simply critical of everyone who does not fit into a boiler plate of what we are “supposed” to be. When we face the reality of our calling – to be human – as God created us to be…not as we have changed it to be what we want it to be or what we say it should be…then we may be less willing to do battle with others and try to destroy them when they do not fit into our vision of how we are to live. But first, it may do us well to learn what humanity is all about in it fullness not simply in the way we have come to see it through our own lenses.
Connection: There is a profound beauty in being fully human. Just think of the many ways we can be available to people in ways that bring comfort, rest, peace, love, aid, and a self-sacrificing presence into this day. It can be quite amazing.
Come, Holy Spirit, enrich us with your bountiful grace and empower us to take the risk to living within this day not as if we have something we could lose, but as we have something to give as a gift to the world through our lives. Amen.
If God is in some sense true humanness, then divinity inverts itself. Divinity is not a qualitatively different reality; quite the reverse, divinity is fully realized humanity. Only God is, as it were, Human. The goal of life, then, is not to become something we are not – divine – but to become what we truly are – human. We are not required to become divine: flawless, perfect, without blemish. We are invited simply to become human, which means growing through our sins and mistakes, learning by trial and error, being redeemed over and over from compulsive behavior – becoming ourselves, scars and all. It means embracing and transforming those elements in us that we find unacceptable. It means giving up pretending to be good and, instead, becoming real.
This almost sounds like a summary of the Velveteen Rabbit. We re invited to become real…really human as in…in the image of God…not gods. Wick is so very wise in reminding us of the difference between being human and striving to be something else that is beyond the reach of our humanity. Today we face too many religious voices that talk about flawlessness and being perfect or voices that are simply critical of everyone who does not fit into a boiler plate of what we are “supposed” to be. When we face the reality of our calling – to be human – as God created us to be…not as we have changed it to be what we want it to be or what we say it should be…then we may be less willing to do battle with others and try to destroy them when they do not fit into our vision of how we are to live. But first, it may do us well to learn what humanity is all about in it fullness not simply in the way we have come to see it through our own lenses.
Connection: There is a profound beauty in being fully human. Just think of the many ways we can be available to people in ways that bring comfort, rest, peace, love, aid, and a self-sacrificing presence into this day. It can be quite amazing.
Come, Holy Spirit, enrich us with your bountiful grace and empower us to take the risk to living within this day not as if we have something we could lose, but as we have something to give as a gift to the world through our lives. Amen.
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