There is a heaviness within me as I approach this paper that is difficult to fully express. The current cultural landscape is loud. Many groups that have been systemically marginalized are crying out for allies and rallying for long awaited justice.[1] Power struggles between opposing groups are rampant amidst an outburst of pain that is being expressed in truth. I must confess that I often feel lost and like I don’t know what to do. It is an interesting moment in history to study self-emptying power and the humility of God. There was a time in my life when, as a “Christian,” I would have turned away from much of the pain and chaos in the world when it began to overwhelm me. In part, this was the outcome of a theology I was given that had taught me that this world was not my home. I could use this to detach myself from this place and I did.[2] In recent years I have come to understand how misguided this doctrine is.[3] This World is my home and I believe that it is God’s home too.
God making God’s home on earth is one of the central messages of my faith tradition. In the Bible, both the Old and New Testament begin with a message about the closeness of God in this World. Genesis tells a story in which the very hands of God mold and form humanity and the mouth of God kisses the mouth of man, breathing life into being.[4] The creation poem reveals an outflow of generosity that reflects the nature of the Divine Spirit as a God who gives. I like to think of creation as Goodness overflowing, lovingly creating the substance for all that is; land, sky, sea and every living creature within it. And it was all called good.[5]
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[1] I.e. Indigenous rights/sovereignty, refugees, immigrants, violence against women/#metoo, Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ+ and all minorities systemically oppressed by power.
[2] E.g. denial of pain/reality, self-numbing, not facing the truth.
[3] Escapist eschatology is often taught in the evangelical church as “The Rapture.” N.T. Wright says this, “In fact, don’t believe most of what you read about the Rapture. Many Christians, particularly in North America, have been taught for the last century and a half that when Jesus returns he will come down from “heaven” and that his faithful people (i.e., Christians) will then fly upward into the sky to meet him and be taken to heaven with him forever. Books, movies, a million radio and TV shows, and tens of millions of sermons have drilled this picture into the popular imagination. Indeed, for some people today the Rapture is more or less the center of their faith. But it’s a complete misunderstanding. It’s based on a misreading of what Paul says about the return of Jesus in 1 Thessalonians 4:14–17, just four verses, with the idea of a “rapture” in only one, as the basis for a complete theory of everything:” N.T. Wright, Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why It Matters (HarperCollins, 2011).
[4] Gen. 2:7, NASB.
[5] Gen. 1:31, NASB.
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