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February 17, 2005
on power
how do people come to power? how do people give others power? why does it seem so easy to lose sight of those "below" as soon as people have power at their fingers?
looking at power today, our government has been given authority and power in order to protect the citizen's inalienable right to pursue life, love, and have property (Locke). All are willing to sacrifice some of their power (taxes, submission) to give birth to and feed the great leviathan in order that it may guard those within from their neighbors (Hobbes). The role is primarily security, maintained through police and military. any other role is just a bonus.
power has certainly been an issue since the beginning. the mislocation of power is the root of evil. in eden it was taking choice into personal interest instead of trust in God.
later the hebrew people initiatially wanted a king "to be like other nations." why? with their chariot-driving neighbor philistines along the coastal plains, it's likely that they felt inferior and threatened and wanted their own leviathan to defend their shaky union of tribes and judges. so they gave up trust in God for some more earthy power.
in the past power was mantained mostly through might or religion. either someone could force someone to submit, or they convinced them that that was what God or gods wanted. but i'm not sure how much we are different today. might and religion are joined by knowledge, racial or social status, demographic balance/imbalance, and problem other points, but the issue remains essentially the same.
what has blown me away in the past few months and what causes me to ask these questions of power is that i have seen that power plays don't just happen on a big level, say governments or corporations, but even on the small scale: schools and churches. is there something we can learn from the big scale and the small scale issues to help understand why power is so quickly assumed and abused?
it seems to me that the assumption of power is a spiritual and social issue: people desire to be or be like gods. maybe we don't say it like that, but we take our own agenda before God's and others. because this power comes first in denying God's power, it is an extremely blinding thing and it is very difficult or even impossible to pay attention to God's will and concern for the individuals' and common good.
Posted by Derrick at 09:23 PM | Comments (0)
February 15, 2005
God's blessings shared
continuing with the thoughts of property, i was thinking today about blessings, with which i am once again overwhelmed. my thought was that sometimes i/we talk about blessings in a possessive or quantifiable way. "God has blessed me with this..." "i have that..." we sing "count your blessings." and that's a wonderful discipline.
today i'm thinking about blessings however, not as something i have, but in something that God has or is and that God has shared with me/us. it's not nearly as tangible or quick to describe, but it involves the blessings of life, relationships, experience of... grace, peace, joy... i'm thinking about the mystery of God present among us which is something wonderful, awe-some and blessed.
selah
Posted by Derrick at 03:07 PM | Comments (0)
February 07, 2005
the mystery of God
the kingdom of God is like...
why did Jesus speak with parables? why four perspectives/gospel stories to try to teach us who Jesus was? why the confused hebrew people/nation, disciples of misunderstanding and confusion, the church in argument, and the persisting questions of what it means to know and follow God?
in the university, we study, we desire to know. coming out of the modern world view, we feel like things must be explainable, and that there are existing answers. but did Jesus come to give us a set of answers, or rather reframe for us the mystery of God?
i don't mean the wonder of God in the sense of what science can't explain. God is Lord of what we think are answers, Lord of what we don't know, Lord of what we don't know we don't know. God is beyond our science and theology, beyond our language, beyond our imagination.
but in God's complexity and transcendence, He is still: like a father, a mother, a merciful master, a servant, a sower, a good shepherd, a banquet host, a king, a woman looking for her lost coin...
God is our friend, is holiness, is peace and righteousness,... is love. God beyond us and God among us: that is the glorious mystery.
Posted by Derrick at 12:37 AM | Comments (0)
February 06, 2005
old and new, new and old
how can something be something very new, and yet something very old?
a western story has a beginning and an end. our time follows in a chronological order. part of the wonder of God's story is that it doesn't follow our understanding of time. when Jesus was born among us, it was a new thing, a wonderful new experience of God and expression of his love for his creation. at the same time, it was a timelessly old thing, a steadfast love that had been there for his people since he made them.
God's work is full of surprise and newness. everyday the Christ-follower, if he or she is open to see it, will catch glimpses and at times what seems to be full murals of how Resurrection comes alive around us. and yet these newnesses in all their extraordinary quality are what God is all about-- God, in all His existence far beyond our chronology and attempts to catch time.
"behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert..." (isa 43.19) Yes, antiquity and before and still today and He's doing very new and old things among us!
Posted by Derrick at 07:48 PM | Comments (1)
February 04, 2005
translation and trix
i talked yesterday with a friend about to gradature with a sociology degree. the question was, what good is a degree and years of study if one can't find a way of applying that in some way beyond the university campus? what does it take to speak about and work with complicated ideas in everyday terms?
in a major like biblical studies, it seems that becomes as much as, if not even more critical of a question. as followers of Christ, who invited us, we hope for as many people as possible to understand as much as possible of God. what is a perfectly nuanced or carefully articulated theology if it can't make sense to a child or anyone who hasn't spent time thinking in these terms? when the gospel is left in these terms, it has lost the essence of the gospel, which is for the ordinary person. while children get it, the "wise" ones are the last to understand. (lk 10.21-24)
the challenge today (really it has always been) is to find ways of translation: passing from the biblical narrative to our context and our narrative in a way that is true to the lesson and in terms that we can take hold of. part of the amazing mystery of Jesus is that it is something that all can catch a hold of, kids and scholars, and we're all struck with joy and wonder. we all need to keep connected so we can understand and walk with Jesus rightly. and the children will lead us... (isa 11.6)
Posted by Derrick at 02:01 PM | Comments (0)
February 03, 2005
on property (for the weathervane)
Ah, yes. We live in a nasty, yet comfy consumer society. No one really hesitates to join in to complain of our materialistic society of instant gratification. And on a college campus where discovery of our world’s grim realities is routine, it’s easy to join in the critique.
However, when it comes to doing something about our society’s problems and recognizing the sacrifices that would be necessary to make changes, we are not nearly so eager to jump on board with ideas. But there are reasons that our world today needs more than just critique on what we have and use.
On the political level, we have the dilemma of our nation’s dual meaning of “freedom.” The inaugural speech was understood around the world as hypocrisy in terms of social justice freedom. On the other hand, many U.S. Americans heard an inspirational defense of another, privatized kind of freedom dealing with personal property. It seems our nation is more concerned with the promotion of capitalism than of democracy. We’ve been convinced that freedom is something to “own.”
What is most disappointing is that the church eats this up. We should be the first to understand freedom in a different and greater way. Freedom is not property, but participation in abundant living and right relationship between God and humans.
On the economic level, we live in a society that consumes resources at an unsustainable rate. It isn’t necessary to look far to see the negative influence of the our materialism. We fool ourselves and other nations into thinking this sort of lifestyle is possible for everyone. Again, the majority of the church has not been on the cutting edge as a model for what a sustainable economy, or a sort of shalom could look like.
Personally, I know I haven’t always done my best at working towards something better; I was one of those students who still went out for sundaes at McDonald’s after seeing “Supersize Me.” What does it take to move beyond stale pessimism and into hopeful application and action? What are we willing to give up so that we can all live in a world of enough? How can the church be a better example of the spiritual, economic, and social harmony of the kingdom of God?
I’m not sure we’ve given enough thought to changes we could make.
How much more difficult would it be to have only one vehicle for a college apartment, or for a family? Since oil is a critical issue in our world and it is still dangerously inexpensive for us in the U.S., we ought to be much more intentional in carpooling or riding bike, even looking into trains, buses, and mass transportation options.
There are various everyday decisions we might reconsider. With food, we should question how much and what we are eating. Using seasonal fruits and vegetables and more grains than meats are good choices for our health and for economic reasons. And do we wear out clothes until they are really ready to be our rags? How can we limit washer and dryer use to conserve energy?
In many cases, cutting back comes with a price. It may be more expensive, time-consuming, and take more creativity and discipline. But in times like ours, it is our responsibility to our world and to God. I would love to hear your ideas.
Posted by Derrick at 06:22 PM | Comments (0)