We cannot get away from the concept of powerless in the child of Christ. The reality of coming to earth in this way turns the world on its head. To begin to experience mission in a similar powerless way is to begin to understand what it means to be yoked to Christ.
The birth of Jesus was seismic shift in our encounter with God. The whole approach of Gods engagement with humanity shifted direction from distant to near, from global to local, from carrying to carried. Mission in recent years has gone through a similar shift but we still have a long way to go.
Freely given, God gave Christ to us in absolute trust. A gift offered without any preconditions or expectations. In todays culture young people are often surprised when someone explains they are a volunteer, and when we do not expect something in return. To give ourselves freely with expectation, to be a gift to those you serve, takes us to the heart of incarnational mission.
For Jesus to straddle divinity and humanity he became a 1st century ‘half-caste’. Today the term ‘half- caste’ ,is not politically correct and yet in some countries marrying out of your caste remains, risky, unusual and culturally frowned upon. Yet God impregnates a human and mixes the divine with humanity and Jesus become a third culture child of mixed race and it was a risky and crazy thing to do..
Today we refer to people from two races/ cultures as ‘Dual heritage. Jesus was born from heaven and from earth and in this birth, the old doctrine of dualism from the old Testament is replaced by the duality of the New testament. In this joining up, the mixing up of races, this baby Jesus deletes divisions, creates a new default template of being, and smashes dualism with this act of mixing divinity and humanity.
This act is done not with words but with his body – the word becomes flesh and is full of grace and truth. The concept has become embodied.
On this advent let us get into our body and move…
From a God up there to a God down here
From a God out there to a God in here
From thinking to feeling
From dualism to duality
From division to mixing
From disintegration to integration
From separateness to togetherness
From disconnectedness to connectedness
Being neither dependant, nor independent but interdependence
Being neither your God, nor my God but our God
Mixing you, me and we
Being Alone and together
Being fully human
Coming as a child to learn and grow, in weakness, without knowledge, where every moment is a fresh encounter. To approach our missional lives in a similar way enables us see each situation in a new light to learn from it, helping us see the creator within each encounter, and be led by God to a new place.
Gods presence became hyper-real it invaded time and space, it broke the boundaries of dualism as Christ was entrusted to humanity. Gods presence is no less real in the world today the kingdom has come and pervades all we are and do, our mission is part of this kingdom we are not bringing God to a dark, but God has already been birthed in our community.
Advent reminds us of the risk God took by entrusting Jesus to a people group, a place and a time. A time of upheaveal, of mixed group of people some of whom believed and some of whom didn’t but trusting that by Christ they might touch God. Our mission is also one of similar risks and that as WE go to be with people that we may learn, even through the upheaveal in our souls that going can cause, we can learn and the possibility to experience what it is to touch God.
As the wise men saw the star, it was their preparations and awareness that enabled them to see. In the mix of the stars the one they followed was brightest. Mission is the brightest star that lights up and enable worship and service, following the path of mission leads US to the Christ child.
Previously on this site I have suggested that the doctrine of dualism is the core original sin. So what is dualism , a ‘googled’ definition calls it ‘the doctrine that reality consists of two basic opposing elements, often taken to be mind and matter (or mind and body, or good and evil.’
Dualism is one of the main reasons that prevents people from connecting to God, themselves, creation and each other. The doctrine of dualism seeks to separate and to divide, to split creating a them/us, in/out/ right/wrong, win/lose, secular/sacred way of thinking and behaving. Dualism creates polarities, opposition and ultimately competition with someone always having to be the loser. Psychologically this doctrine hinders growth and produces internal splits which cause lasting emotional damage. Physically, many people are out of touch and out of tune with their bodies and with matter and often with what ‘really matters.’
So here goes my simplistic armchair theology…
1st testament – God the parent –
I think much of the language and the stories written in the Old Testament are dualistic in nature… there is a God who you can’t see, you can’t touch, a vengeful God, a patriarchal distant fearful figure who lives on a mountain. There were clear ways of approaching God, clear structures of worshipping him and clear rules to know if you were in or out. In essence this was a story of a strict parent dealing with the naughty child. God needed to set clear boundaries and regulations; he took full responsibility for their behaviour.
2nd testament – human becomes the parent
In the 2nd chapter / testament things are different, the whole thing is turned upside down and all rules are off. Instead of God being the parent, humans become the parent. God had sex (somehow) with a human women and we are introduced to a God who is born within a women, who becomes part of the human race, a god who is small and who can be held, touched, fed and who needs us. God has become one of us, all divisions are broken, all disconnections off… no secular/ sacred divide, God is here, with us. God has now given us the responsibility look after ourselves, others and creation and even God. With this responsibility there is no easy in/out or black/white divide, with God dwelling and residing is us we must learn to cooperate, and allow God to find us in our body, in our mind, in our feelings, in our world, in our humanity.
What excites me about advent and the story of the incarnation is that Jesus contradicts this dualistic doctrine with his birth and with his body. The advent of a new way of being has begun !!
A few years ago the children decided to hang stars in advent as a constant reminder of the direction we were heading in. Missional consistency isn’t just about regular contact or maintaining the relationship, it is about a consistency of movement and reflection. Stillness in the being and Stillness in the doing, so we can consistently try to keep step with what our father in heaven is doing, being open to see the Christ child whereever they may be in the stable or in the skatepark.