Incarnation and Otherness

We live in such strange times. The political ideologies of our day rain down on us their own sort of eschatological hopes and dreams; they spin and twist their agenda to procure our vote by aligning with a grand narrative that draws us in, but then undermines everything we claim to know and love.

This blog has emerged out of this strange, disturbing situation. The church has failed to head her prophetic call. She no longer speaks to the gospel, about what Christ has, is, and will be doing in this world. We will live in a day when the church embraces the ideological eschatology of the polis. Something must be done.

I was walking through Walmart today, wondering about the nature of power. (Yes, I do this: I think about deep theological, philosophical, biblical, and psychological issues while doing mundane things. I get lost driving on an almost daily!) I pondered why so much violence, and why we don't, as followers of the "Prince of Peace," do anything about it. I came up with this line of reasoning, or, rather, unreasoning:

The only thing more powerful than a gun is a newspaper,
And the only thing more powerful than a newspaper is a hug. 

 The thing that struck me most about this presentation was that it ridiculed BOTH political paradigms of this country! I laughed to myself while walking through Walmart as I realized the implications!

The conservatives of this country believe that the use of force, specifically the military, can or will bring about real change in this world. This is the most unChristian of ideas. Jesus changed this world in the most significant way by denying himself and taking on the cross. We are to take up our cross not our gun.

The liberals in this country believe that talking will solve the worlds problems. They are not as far off as the conservatives, but they still miss the boat. It is not in talking that Jesus saves us, but the cross.

Finally, we have Jesus. Jesus, the second member of the trinity, stood other than his creation. There was no need for him to come to us from his abode in heaven. BUT HE CAME FROM HIS OTHERNESS AND MANIFESTED A TOGETHERNESS!

We, as the church, need to stop standing aloof to our neighbors here and abroad. We must move from a posture of otherness and towards a posture of togetherness.

If we want to create real "change we can believe in", then we are behooved to follow the example of Christ in both the incarnation and the crucifixion and not the false eschatologies of our politicians. Guns won't save us; words won't save us; only the cross can save us.