12-22-2010 Theological Post #2: Kenosis & Intervention

“The only man we have any respect for is he who uses all the endowment he has – and uses it until he bleeds…”

(Martin H. Fischer)

“The naïve follow their hearts.  The wise lead with their hearts…”

(Unknown)

“What we do flows from who we are…”

(Paul Vitale)

“When i look for my existence, i do not look for it in myself…”

(Antonio Porchia, Voces, 1943, translated from Spanish by W.S. Merwin)

One of my very favorite Scriptures: “Let Your attitude toward one another be governed by Your being in union with the Messiah, Y’shua.  Though Y’shua was in the form of God, He did not regard equality with God something to be possessed by force.  On the contrary, He emptied himself in that He took the form of a slave by becoming like human beings, and – when He appeared as a human being – He humbled Himself still more by becoming obedient even to death, death on a stake as a criminal!  Therefore, God raised Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name above every name that – in honor of the Name given Y’shua – every knee will bow in heaven, on earth, and under the earth and every tongue will acknowledge that Y’shua the Messiah is ADONAI to the glory of God the Father.”

(Philippians 2:5-11, Complete Jewish Bible with minor revisions by me)

Thank God that He did not leave us alone or to ourselves or to our enemy.  Thank God.  It’s Christmas (which i don’t celebrate as a holy day, by the way, but i don't mind that You do...), so take the opportunity to remember that He came for us....

Recently, there was movie (which is showing on HBO this month, in case You would like to watch it in Light of this post) called Taken starring Liam Neeson.  The plot is that his daughter is taken to be sold into sex slavery while in Europe, and he – as her father – has to go find and rescue her.  In the end, (spoiler alert here), she looks at him crying and says, “Daddy!?!  You came for me!?!”  He replies, while embracing her, “i told You i would….”

In not leaving us or abandoning us or deserting us or forsaking us, it meant He came for us.  Therein lies maybe the most central tenet of a healthy belief in a father: he comes for his children.

In the Garden of Eden, He came for us…calling out to us…looking for us.  And so it has been ever since…

“As for Your birth, on the day You were born, Your navel cord was not cut, nor were You washed with water for cleansing.  You were not rubbed with salt or even wrapped in cloths.  No eye looked with pity on You to do any of these things for You – to have compassion on You.  Rather, You were thrown out into the open field, for You were abhorred on the day You were born.  When I passed by You and saw You squirming in Your blood, I said to You – while You were in Your blood (as an infant) – ‘Live!’  Yes, I said to You while You were in Your blood, ‘Live!’ ”

(Ezekiel 16:4-6)

Playing football in high school, i was once sandwiched in a collision in which an all-state linebacker (~ 6’2” and about 225 pounds) ran as fast as he could and then hit me and drove me into the cornerback who was following about a step behind me.  The quarterback threw a perfect pass to me, and i caught it.  Then, i turned to look upfield and…WHAM!  i broke my arm and had a minor concussion, but i didn’t know any of that until several hours later, because – at the time – i couldn’t breathe.  The breath had literally been knocked out of me.  As i laid there thinking i was going to die (and – if You’ve ever had the wind knocked out of You – You can attest that You can’t think about anything else), my coach came for me.  He simply said, “Shane, You’re going to be OK – just breathe….”

As a small child (~ 5 years old), my family was walking in freezing temperatures in Pennsylvania beside a creek.  The muddy ground gave underneath me, and i was swept into the freezing water and carried away.  Grasping at limbs from the worn-away root systems of trees on the edge of the water, i managed several hundred yards downstream to hold on until my dad came and gave me a limb and pulled me to safety….

A jail cell for Wyatt Earp.  A hospital for countless millions.  A party with no sober drivers left.  A folded flag in a military cemetery.  An orphanage with too many.  The Truth is fathers come.  They come for their kids….

As He converses with the woman at Jacob’s well, Y’shua tells her, “But an hour is coming – and now is – when the True worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and Truth, for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers….”

(John 4:23)

“Kenosis” is a term derived from Philippians 2:6: “[Y’shua] – Who being in the form of God – thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but instead He emptied [ekenosen] Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in habit found as man.”  The word “kenosis” means to empty one’s self, and it is used as a description of what Y’shua did when He came for us.  He let nothing – especially the privileges of being Divine – get in His way of coming.  Fathers aren't proud - they are relentless....

The Kingdom of God is mostly about koinonia, but – inherent in what the koinonia involves – is intervention.  We are not alone.  Thank God.  And we are not left taken off by an enemy - we are rescued.  To the extent that we become like our Father, we come for others - because He came for us.…

This week, i watched The Last Of The Mohicans again (my first time since seeing it when it initially came out).  The central pivot of the movie is when the man says to his Love, "No matter what happens - i will come for You...i will find You!"

One of Y’shua’s Names in the prophecies of the Old Testament is “Everlasting Father.”  He came to fellowship in the fire with Shadrach, Meshach, & Abed-Nego.  He came to comfort Mary & Martha and then to resurrect Lazarus.  He came to free the demon-possessed man who hid in the hills.  He came to heal Jairus’ daughter and Peter’s mother-in-law and the lame man and blind man and so many others.  He came to call Paul.  He came to preach to the spirits in prison.  He came to reassure the scared disciples in a locked upper room.  He came to protect the fisherman fighting the storm.  And – and don’t forget this – He came to You.  He came for You.

After all, He said He would….