Today we draw on another use of the "son of man" as we look at how it can be interpreted and how the way we see it informs us of our faith life that is before us. Again from Walter Wink.
Wink uses this passage as a starting point.
"And everyone who speaks a word against the son of man will be forgiven; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. (Lk.12:10; Matt.12:31-32; Thomas 44)
Jesus' refusal to deny their charge (Jesus is having Beelzebul -working on his side) outright is astonishing. Does it mean that he is willing to acknowledge that he might have a malevolent element at work in him? If so, one might conclude that he saw the same sinister element at work in everyone...this vivid sense of the universality of sin could be the presupposition of his teaching about loving enemies. He is clear that, in the name of the Human Being, he can make wrong decisions. Decisions are fallible. Therefore one may speak against the Human Being, precisely because it is not identical with the Holy Spirit.
In reading this, I was reminded of the difference of being on the way and being the end. Along the way, the Human Being is "becoming." So, whether the Human Being is Jesus or all people, we are on the way. There will be times when what we do and how we do what we do will not be the way that was really intended or the way that brings the best situation to life. Therefore, we will stumble. Our brokenness will show - that is not all bad...it is just real. In the middle of such brokenness, we probably all need to be called out and face what we are doing and how what we are doing is the result of "wrong decisions." In our everyday adventures, we will be called upon to speak up and even speak against the Human Being as it comes alive around us. it is necessary because, again, we are on the way - in the journey and attempting to be who we are invited to be. I like the way Wink ties in Jesus' teaching on enemies. We do not condemn and do evil to our enemies - they are, like us, people who stumble and put forth the wrong goals and walk ways that our not in sync with the vision of God's Reign. We are a people who understand that we make space for the power of forgiveness to shape us more than the divisions that attempt to shape us. I will touch on the part of the Holy Spirit tomorrow.
Connection: It is vital to our growth as saints of the Most High to allow ourselves to be critical of what we are seeing. Even when things are covered with a veneer of "holiness." Today, the veneer might be fine...but in the long run, we need to be connected to more depth than that in all of us.
Lord of Transitions and New Journeys, as we move and trip, as we stumble and yet are able to get up and leap, we turn to you to be the power for life that takes enables us to have a wide vision and a critical view of all that we try to be. Continue, as always, to nurture our growth. Amen.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Monday, November 5, 2007
Wednesday 7 November 2007
More from Walter Wink as he continues to comment about the need of the Human Being to live from an interior center in the middle of a chaotic and violent world.
Whatever else it signifies, the Human Being represents the urge to actualize the self, inner and outer. The Powers are what prevent our becoming. The Human Being is the lure toward our becoming. The Reign of God - God's domination-free order - is the goal of our becoming. Becoming means fidelity to the uniqueness of our own selves. As Jung put it, "Personality is the supreme realization of the innate idiosyncrasy of a living being."
"To develop one's own personality is indeed an unpopular undertaking, a deviation that is highly uncongenial to the herd...To the (person) in the street it has always seemed miraculous that anyone should turn aside from the beaten track with it known destinations, and strike out on the steep and narrow path leading into the unknown. Hence it was always believed that such a (person), if not actually crazy, was possessed by a daemon or a god."
Were such persons crazy? Or were they merely stubborn seekers following the impulse of the Human Being, who has no place to lay its head.
We are each gifted with our lives. Sometimes it may look and feel like a curse, and yet, it is who we are. Now, how do we actualize ourselves when there can be so many other Powers attempting to turn us into something else...even with our consent?!? The goal of our becoming is that Reign of God...that new order...that coming to terms with whose we are and who we will become no matter what might be the cost or the impact as our lives, beloved by God, unfold. This is all so easy to say. Then...comes reality. Then...comes being me in the face of not being...of being rejected...of being left behind...of being forgotten...of being brutalized for not following the path being taking by most others. I don't like using the word "crazy" to describe the saints of God who are emerging as this Human Being because I think it is a more of a blessed sanity that always remembers the place we have in life before anyone tries to put us in a place that is not us.
Connection: Take a deep breath...and see how everything looks before we let everything rule us throughout the day.
What a gift you have given to us, O God. The gift is a simple one - our lives. When we forget that we are the gift of life you have placed into the world to be a gift to others, we need your Spirit to tickle us...remind us...make us bold and full of compassion. Amen.
Whatever else it signifies, the Human Being represents the urge to actualize the self, inner and outer. The Powers are what prevent our becoming. The Human Being is the lure toward our becoming. The Reign of God - God's domination-free order - is the goal of our becoming. Becoming means fidelity to the uniqueness of our own selves. As Jung put it, "Personality is the supreme realization of the innate idiosyncrasy of a living being."
"To develop one's own personality is indeed an unpopular undertaking, a deviation that is highly uncongenial to the herd...To the (person) in the street it has always seemed miraculous that anyone should turn aside from the beaten track with it known destinations, and strike out on the steep and narrow path leading into the unknown. Hence it was always believed that such a (person), if not actually crazy, was possessed by a daemon or a god."
Were such persons crazy? Or were they merely stubborn seekers following the impulse of the Human Being, who has no place to lay its head.
We are each gifted with our lives. Sometimes it may look and feel like a curse, and yet, it is who we are. Now, how do we actualize ourselves when there can be so many other Powers attempting to turn us into something else...even with our consent?!? The goal of our becoming is that Reign of God...that new order...that coming to terms with whose we are and who we will become no matter what might be the cost or the impact as our lives, beloved by God, unfold. This is all so easy to say. Then...comes reality. Then...comes being me in the face of not being...of being rejected...of being left behind...of being forgotten...of being brutalized for not following the path being taking by most others. I don't like using the word "crazy" to describe the saints of God who are emerging as this Human Being because I think it is a more of a blessed sanity that always remembers the place we have in life before anyone tries to put us in a place that is not us.
Connection: Take a deep breath...and see how everything looks before we let everything rule us throughout the day.
What a gift you have given to us, O God. The gift is a simple one - our lives. When we forget that we are the gift of life you have placed into the world to be a gift to others, we need your Spirit to tickle us...remind us...make us bold and full of compassion. Amen.
Tuesday 6 November 2007
Today we're moving into another parable verse in Luke, Matthew, and the gospel of Thomas that uses the image of the son of Man. I'm jumping over a bunch of wonderful images about the way Cynics lived in Jesus day (because some like to draw a connection between Jesus and Cynics of the day) and pressing on to some of Walter Wink's thoughts.
"And Jesus said to him, Foxes have dens, and the birds of the sky have nests; but the son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."
Here again we see indications that the Human Being could denote Jesus and , at the same time, have a collective meaning that took in those following Jesus' way. He does not say, "I have no place to lay my head," nor "I the son of the man have no place to lay my head." Insofar as Jesus, and others, live the existential uncertainty of the Human Being, they have incarnated it. Such incarnation can be the realization that we can live out of an interior center, secure yet flexible, capable of enduring tension, with a tolerance for abiguity, anxiety, and conflict, traveling like turtles with our homes on our backs. Dogmatic religion exists to protect people from this anxious, insecure openness to the possibilities of the moment.
Whatever I heard about this passage, these ending thoughts really have grabbed me. It helps explain how Jesus is said to have noted that his "kingdom is not from this world" (John). It doesn't mean that the kingdom has nothing to do with this world. Rather it can mean that the power of this interior center is not at all involved in the games and positioning and powers that are best known in our world. The Human Being is capable of life that is not ruled by the prevailing winds of the culture and society. Wink draws a picture of a people who are able to live with abiquity, anxiety, conflict - wow, don't we need that kind of a sense of a center in the church today. It is no wonder why issues like homosexuality can dismantle the peace within the church - we do not know how to remain and live from that interior center. We do not know how to be a part of life of the Human Being with the gracious Reign of our God. We want answers, limits, "yes or no." We want a place to lay our heads so that we can cuddle up in our own lives and ignore the world in which the Human Being is to come fully alive. This brief note by Wink may make it into one of my "memorable" quotes. For someone who cannot quote very well, that means this is quite a important gift of wisdom from the author.
Connection: We can walk in the middle of anxious moments and we can embrace something more of our Humanity than we thought we could.
Lord of Open Spaces and New Life, there are many times when we tremble and are afraid. In those times, it is easy to turn from you and secure ourselves as best as we know. In these times, we need your Spirit of All Hopefulness to walk with us and remain at peace and begin to see things in a new and creative way. Thanks be to you, O God. Amen.
"And Jesus said to him, Foxes have dens, and the birds of the sky have nests; but the son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."
Here again we see indications that the Human Being could denote Jesus and , at the same time, have a collective meaning that took in those following Jesus' way. He does not say, "I have no place to lay my head," nor "I the son of the man have no place to lay my head." Insofar as Jesus, and others, live the existential uncertainty of the Human Being, they have incarnated it. Such incarnation can be the realization that we can live out of an interior center, secure yet flexible, capable of enduring tension, with a tolerance for abiguity, anxiety, and conflict, traveling like turtles with our homes on our backs. Dogmatic religion exists to protect people from this anxious, insecure openness to the possibilities of the moment.
Whatever I heard about this passage, these ending thoughts really have grabbed me. It helps explain how Jesus is said to have noted that his "kingdom is not from this world" (John). It doesn't mean that the kingdom has nothing to do with this world. Rather it can mean that the power of this interior center is not at all involved in the games and positioning and powers that are best known in our world. The Human Being is capable of life that is not ruled by the prevailing winds of the culture and society. Wink draws a picture of a people who are able to live with abiquity, anxiety, conflict - wow, don't we need that kind of a sense of a center in the church today. It is no wonder why issues like homosexuality can dismantle the peace within the church - we do not know how to remain and live from that interior center. We do not know how to be a part of life of the Human Being with the gracious Reign of our God. We want answers, limits, "yes or no." We want a place to lay our heads so that we can cuddle up in our own lives and ignore the world in which the Human Being is to come fully alive. This brief note by Wink may make it into one of my "memorable" quotes. For someone who cannot quote very well, that means this is quite a important gift of wisdom from the author.
Connection: We can walk in the middle of anxious moments and we can embrace something more of our Humanity than we thought we could.
Lord of Open Spaces and New Life, there are many times when we tremble and are afraid. In those times, it is easy to turn from you and secure ourselves as best as we know. In these times, we need your Spirit of All Hopefulness to walk with us and remain at peace and begin to see things in a new and creative way. Thanks be to you, O God. Amen.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Monday 5 November 2007
Let's begin the week with one more comment by Walter Wink on the story of the healing of the paralytic and forgiveness of sins as it refers to the son of Man - the Human Being.
When the church ceased to read the reference to the Human Being here as universal empowerment to forgive sins, and took it instead as a christological title more or less equivalent to Christ and Son of God, the authority to declare people reconciled to God ceased to be the common property of the New Humanity established by Jesus. Instead, it became the sole perogative of Jesus and, through ordination, of those who continued to represent him as the official leaders of the chruch. With ordination, the rank-and-file members were stripped of the authority to declare others forgiven on behalf of God. The "laity" became passive recipients of grace and thus emptied themselves once again into transcendence.
It is so important for us to be able to forgive others. It is the beginning of the healing of all of us. This is not something that can be held off for someone else to do for us. When that it the case, some often go without hearing the word of forgiveness or speaking the word of forgiveness. The whole community suffers form that unwillingness to share in what I would consider the high-calling of our humanity. We have let go of this power for life. It has thus become something like a magical experience...only done at certain times, under certain situations, and by certain people. When Jesus heal and forgives that paralytic, is it a word to us to not shut up - but rather, speak the words and begin to experience what may come when our Humanity lives within the realm of forgiveness that is our inheritance. I think forgiveness is such a strange and wonder-filled act that we cannot even imagine what new life can come from our experience of being forgiven or offering forgiveness. I suppose the best way to enter into that part of our Humanity is to risk being a part of this power for new life.
Connection: There's something about forgiveness that calls us to let go. Letting go can be a challenge. So...today, begin to let go.
Forgiving Lord, lead us along the path that brings us into the land of forgiveness in which we are active parts of your Reign where new life is created and old wounds are healed. In that land where you pitch you tent, may we be there with you celebrating life that is within our reach as you bless us all. Amen.
When the church ceased to read the reference to the Human Being here as universal empowerment to forgive sins, and took it instead as a christological title more or less equivalent to Christ and Son of God, the authority to declare people reconciled to God ceased to be the common property of the New Humanity established by Jesus. Instead, it became the sole perogative of Jesus and, through ordination, of those who continued to represent him as the official leaders of the chruch. With ordination, the rank-and-file members were stripped of the authority to declare others forgiven on behalf of God. The "laity" became passive recipients of grace and thus emptied themselves once again into transcendence.
It is so important for us to be able to forgive others. It is the beginning of the healing of all of us. This is not something that can be held off for someone else to do for us. When that it the case, some often go without hearing the word of forgiveness or speaking the word of forgiveness. The whole community suffers form that unwillingness to share in what I would consider the high-calling of our humanity. We have let go of this power for life. It has thus become something like a magical experience...only done at certain times, under certain situations, and by certain people. When Jesus heal and forgives that paralytic, is it a word to us to not shut up - but rather, speak the words and begin to experience what may come when our Humanity lives within the realm of forgiveness that is our inheritance. I think forgiveness is such a strange and wonder-filled act that we cannot even imagine what new life can come from our experience of being forgiven or offering forgiveness. I suppose the best way to enter into that part of our Humanity is to risk being a part of this power for new life.
Connection: There's something about forgiveness that calls us to let go. Letting go can be a challenge. So...today, begin to let go.
Forgiving Lord, lead us along the path that brings us into the land of forgiveness in which we are active parts of your Reign where new life is created and old wounds are healed. In that land where you pitch you tent, may we be there with you celebrating life that is within our reach as you bless us all. Amen.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Friday 2 November 2007
Today is more on the Human Being forgiving...just going ahead and forgiving...and then look what happens.
Why then does Jesus say that the Human Being forgives, instead of God forgiving (as his entire tradition would lead us to expect)? Apparently the Human Being is authorized to act on God's behalf. Jesus does not contemplate a God outside the universe intervening to heal the paralytic, but as a power that can be evoked in suffering human beings themselves. That power is put into action by faith-acts: take up your bed and walk! What Jesus says arouses the Human Being in the other. Jesus knows that the Human Being has its locus in himself, but it also has its locus in the paralytic. The Human Being seems to function as the mediator of God's intent for our becoming whole.
The power for healing is already present. Interesting. Wink is not claiming that it is a power outside of God. Rather, it is the way the power of God, that makes the creation whole, enters into the everyday events that transpire around us. The healer is not all there is. Those who are healed make up the whole event. In, with, and under the healer and the paralytic is the power of God that comes to life in their lives - held together for the welfare of each. Both Jesus and the paralytic enter the power of the healing Lord, God, and it becomes what is. We may not see this kind of healing in our own lives, but we may. Then again, we are invited to see healing through us and with others. There will be many ways that this can happen. It is not the focus of our life as followers of Jesus and yet, along the way, we inspired to trust that healing will take place...wholeness will come to be and we may not know what that means unless we let ourselves be the "mediator of God intent for our becoming whole."
Connection: Being a part of the world being made whole...quite a day is at hand.
Healer of our Lives, in many and various ways, you use us to be the power of healing and too often, we do not trust that such power is given to us. Be the encouragement that we need to be a gift of healing and wholeness in this day. Amen.
Why then does Jesus say that the Human Being forgives, instead of God forgiving (as his entire tradition would lead us to expect)? Apparently the Human Being is authorized to act on God's behalf. Jesus does not contemplate a God outside the universe intervening to heal the paralytic, but as a power that can be evoked in suffering human beings themselves. That power is put into action by faith-acts: take up your bed and walk! What Jesus says arouses the Human Being in the other. Jesus knows that the Human Being has its locus in himself, but it also has its locus in the paralytic. The Human Being seems to function as the mediator of God's intent for our becoming whole.
The power for healing is already present. Interesting. Wink is not claiming that it is a power outside of God. Rather, it is the way the power of God, that makes the creation whole, enters into the everyday events that transpire around us. The healer is not all there is. Those who are healed make up the whole event. In, with, and under the healer and the paralytic is the power of God that comes to life in their lives - held together for the welfare of each. Both Jesus and the paralytic enter the power of the healing Lord, God, and it becomes what is. We may not see this kind of healing in our own lives, but we may. Then again, we are invited to see healing through us and with others. There will be many ways that this can happen. It is not the focus of our life as followers of Jesus and yet, along the way, we inspired to trust that healing will take place...wholeness will come to be and we may not know what that means unless we let ourselves be the "mediator of God intent for our becoming whole."
Connection: Being a part of the world being made whole...quite a day is at hand.
Healer of our Lives, in many and various ways, you use us to be the power of healing and too often, we do not trust that such power is given to us. Be the encouragement that we need to be a gift of healing and wholeness in this day. Amen.
Thursday 1 November 2007
Today we go back to the story of the healing of the paralytic and what Jesus does during that act and the conversation with the religious leaders. Again from "the Human Being" by Walter Wink.
The story of the paralytic furthers the sense of sovereign authority that we found in the account of plucking the grain on the sabbath. Surprisingly, in contrast to Ezekiel, Jesus never appeals to God's authority to authenticate his mission. He never says, "Thus says the Lord." In Mark 11:27-33, a conflict narrative of highest authenticity, Jesus is depicted as refusing to claim divine authority for his mission. This attitude is counter to the trend of the developing church. He clearly implies that his authority is "from heaven," but will not say so, indicating only that it has the same source as John's.... There was no reason for such reticence by Jesus; the long history of prophets in Israel had more than adequately prepared Jews to take seriously a person who claimed to speak on behalf of God, saying "thus says the Lord." That Jesus never appealed to God's authority for anything he said or did is as remarkable as the divine authority that clearly shines through his words and deeds... He refused to stake the truth of his ministry on external authority, even God's. He spoke, as Mark reports people saying, with authority, and not as the scribes (1:22). The scribes worked from texts, exegetically - like Christians! They appealed to Scripture to buttress their arguments - like Christians!... But Jesus simply spoke with authority. And he taught his disciples to do the same.
I know it was a long excerpt. I wanted to simply tumble down to the last sentence, "he taught his disciples to do the same" but felt we needed the whole context. The "same" is to be authentic and act with the authority that comes from being the followers of Jesus - the Human Being. In many ways, this emphasizes our place in the midst of God's Reign with Jesus as Lord. This is a living and vital Reign that brings us into its power for life that is a power to heal and forgive and suffer for the welfare of others. Our living is not done by fighting over words and what they mean. It is about coming alive as the ones we have been called to be and with the power of the Spirit that makes us what we noted a few days ago "saints of the Most High." How many times today do hear people back up and support and legitimate what they do by "calling up" the name of God or a particular piece of scripture in order to authenticate our actions. Are we too anxious about simply making available the rich life of the Reign of God....therefore, we do nothing or fall for less of a life?
Connection: When we go through the day unafraid to live as though we really are empowered to be the body of the Christ...to be the Human Being, and all that life means for all people, this could really be the beginning of a transforming life...and yes, that can be frightening.
Lord God, remain with us in and through this day. As we walk forward within your Reign, continue to inspire our hearts so we will begin to see how your grace becomes the source of the authority out of which we act with and on behalf of others. Amen.
The story of the paralytic furthers the sense of sovereign authority that we found in the account of plucking the grain on the sabbath. Surprisingly, in contrast to Ezekiel, Jesus never appeals to God's authority to authenticate his mission. He never says, "Thus says the Lord." In Mark 11:27-33, a conflict narrative of highest authenticity, Jesus is depicted as refusing to claim divine authority for his mission. This attitude is counter to the trend of the developing church. He clearly implies that his authority is "from heaven," but will not say so, indicating only that it has the same source as John's.... There was no reason for such reticence by Jesus; the long history of prophets in Israel had more than adequately prepared Jews to take seriously a person who claimed to speak on behalf of God, saying "thus says the Lord." That Jesus never appealed to God's authority for anything he said or did is as remarkable as the divine authority that clearly shines through his words and deeds... He refused to stake the truth of his ministry on external authority, even God's. He spoke, as Mark reports people saying, with authority, and not as the scribes (1:22). The scribes worked from texts, exegetically - like Christians! They appealed to Scripture to buttress their arguments - like Christians!... But Jesus simply spoke with authority. And he taught his disciples to do the same.
I know it was a long excerpt. I wanted to simply tumble down to the last sentence, "he taught his disciples to do the same" but felt we needed the whole context. The "same" is to be authentic and act with the authority that comes from being the followers of Jesus - the Human Being. In many ways, this emphasizes our place in the midst of God's Reign with Jesus as Lord. This is a living and vital Reign that brings us into its power for life that is a power to heal and forgive and suffer for the welfare of others. Our living is not done by fighting over words and what they mean. It is about coming alive as the ones we have been called to be and with the power of the Spirit that makes us what we noted a few days ago "saints of the Most High." How many times today do hear people back up and support and legitimate what they do by "calling up" the name of God or a particular piece of scripture in order to authenticate our actions. Are we too anxious about simply making available the rich life of the Reign of God....therefore, we do nothing or fall for less of a life?
Connection: When we go through the day unafraid to live as though we really are empowered to be the body of the Christ...to be the Human Being, and all that life means for all people, this could really be the beginning of a transforming life...and yes, that can be frightening.
Lord God, remain with us in and through this day. As we walk forward within your Reign, continue to inspire our hearts so we will begin to see how your grace becomes the source of the authority out of which we act with and on behalf of others. Amen.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Wednesday 31 October 2007
Again, more from Walter Wink and the "son of Man" or the "Human Being." Wink again draws on T.W. Manson.
When Jesus speaks of the suffering of the Human Being...he means something in which he and his followers would share (Mark 8:34-35). "By dying Jesus has brought the Son of Man into existence, given to that dream-figure a body, a local habitation, and a name. It is the Church, his own body, of which he is the head."
This is quite like the material on "indwelling" that was used several weeks ago. There is a real close bond - a sharing - a life so together...it is one life. So the community becomes the body that leads us into the day. The Human Being and the suffering of that one is not isolated to Jesus. Jesus is for us the ground of the image and the life but it now becomes us...all of us. There is to be nothing other-worldly about this image. Rather, because we know of this life and suffering in the shape of the one we call Lord, Jesus, we come to see and understand how this Human Being takes shape among us. I would say that we are pulled into Jesus' presence and the Holy Spirit begins to make us into such a Humankind. In the meantime, we retell the stories of Jesus in order to see again the life we are handed in his name. Church is not a building - as the song goes - it is the people who are alive in the shape of the one who is alive and down to earth in all those stories of healing and compassion and, yes, suffering.
Connection: Stepping into the life of the Human Being is always an adventure because it is always unfolding in new ways within the contexts of our lives. We are able to look back at how Jesus was this Human Being in his day...in his way. We, on the other hand, are still within the story of our lives and today is part of that journey.
Come again, O God, and help us to remember the gift we have been given and the gift of life we bring to the world as we are empowered by your Spirit. For now, we await the ongoing transformation that is a part of your eternal renewal. Amen.
When Jesus speaks of the suffering of the Human Being...he means something in which he and his followers would share (Mark 8:34-35). "By dying Jesus has brought the Son of Man into existence, given to that dream-figure a body, a local habitation, and a name. It is the Church, his own body, of which he is the head."
This is quite like the material on "indwelling" that was used several weeks ago. There is a real close bond - a sharing - a life so together...it is one life. So the community becomes the body that leads us into the day. The Human Being and the suffering of that one is not isolated to Jesus. Jesus is for us the ground of the image and the life but it now becomes us...all of us. There is to be nothing other-worldly about this image. Rather, because we know of this life and suffering in the shape of the one we call Lord, Jesus, we come to see and understand how this Human Being takes shape among us. I would say that we are pulled into Jesus' presence and the Holy Spirit begins to make us into such a Humankind. In the meantime, we retell the stories of Jesus in order to see again the life we are handed in his name. Church is not a building - as the song goes - it is the people who are alive in the shape of the one who is alive and down to earth in all those stories of healing and compassion and, yes, suffering.
Connection: Stepping into the life of the Human Being is always an adventure because it is always unfolding in new ways within the contexts of our lives. We are able to look back at how Jesus was this Human Being in his day...in his way. We, on the other hand, are still within the story of our lives and today is part of that journey.
Come again, O God, and help us to remember the gift we have been given and the gift of life we bring to the world as we are empowered by your Spirit. For now, we await the ongoing transformation that is a part of your eternal renewal. Amen.
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