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Wednesday,聽December 22

Micah 4:1鈥�5; Ephesians 2:11鈥�22

It feels good to win, even if the win comes vicariously through our favorite sports team, political party, or faith-tradition. Wins feel especially great when we鈥檝e been waiting a long time for one. Nothing compares to the thrill of knowing that you鈥檙e aligned with winners, those who are the strongest, the smartest, or have God on their side. It鈥檚 only natural we feel this way. Our entire history as humans is one of competing for territory and resources. It鈥檚 a primitive drive, one that pervades every facet of our lives in one way or another, for better or worse. Perhaps it goes from better to worse as our competitive drive moves from games of sport to politics to religion. There may be no more intoxicating wins than the ones we believe God has given us. If the creator of the universe recognizes our worth and blesses it, it becomes the ultimate 鈥渢old-you-so鈥� moment. And who doesn鈥檛 like those? If God be for us, then who can be against us? The power that comes from being on God鈥檚 side, as great as it feels, is problematic. If one is on God鈥檚 side, that means someone else is not: typically the losers. One undeniable reality of human history is that our faith often becomes the breeding ground for feelings of supremacy, most notably acted out across racial and ethnic differences.

The stories of the Israelites and the early church are rich in instances of this dynamic playing out. Sometimes as winners, sometimes as losers, the people who claimed to be the people of God seem preoccupied with the desire to see God vindicate them. Whether by war or by wealth, we want God to set the record straight in front of our enemies. 鈥淰engeance and victory!鈥� we cry. Somehow, though, we seem to disregard another way of being human found in the pages of our story as God鈥檚 people. Rather than clamoring to the top of the winner鈥檚 podium for ourselves, God has been calling us to a way that transcends our human systems of hierarchies of dominance. We shall not sit at the top as winners over our enemies, but God, who is Love, will. God鈥檚 victory looks like us laying down our weapons, tearing down our defenses, and relying on God鈥檚 supremacy rather than imagining it for ourselves. 鈥淔or he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility鈥� (Eph 2:14 NIV). While the matrix of our evolving world might force us to compete in order to survive and thrive, let us not be drunk on our own pursuits. Instead, let us see our higher calling as God鈥檚 children: to testify of another matrix, another kingdom, one in which there is no 鈥渦s and them.鈥� One in which Love wins. One in which we all win. May that be our enduring prayer and way of life as we await the fullness of God鈥檚 peace on earth.

Daniel Rushing
School of Divinity Graduate