There is an ever-present danger when living an incarnational life. The vulnerability of this space posses the ability to instill humility in leadership through the rigors of life. The closeness that is fashioned in such intimate containers unmasked all pretentiousness and facilitates true authenticity. The pressure of incarnation produces “fresh” ministry that addresses problems but will definitely redirect those locked in the process to reshape their preconceived narratives.
The realness of incarnation centers on the fact that at all times you are actively present in life. It is this perichoretic moment as Jurgen Moltmann would say where “we are ‘habitable’, for one another, giving one another open life-space for mutual indwelling. Each person is indwelling and room-giving at the same time.” This becomes reality for many as they journey through the process of incarnation. Incarnation invites others to either join or destroy. The easy work of incarnation is mythical at best but painfully articulated within the body like the ink of tattoos-simply works of art. It takes a tremendous level of humility to navigate through streams of unfamiliarity sometimes just to encounter a dislike.
One who embodies the methodology of incarnation intuitively or mystically unearths evil aspects of racism (really prejudice) through vulnerability. This unveiling of self as Eboni Marshall Turman denotes in her work Toward a Womanist Ethic of Incarnation, becomes counter-intuitive to “the negative and positive poles of a dichotomous racial hierarchy.” In other words, the more that I am authentically locked in the imago dei (image of God), in my human flesh, following the guidance of God, the greater the potential for others to become uncomfortable around me -especially those who make it their reality to dislike me based upon human flesh only. Their adjustment is to use “identification as the power play.” So no longer is the imago dei the primary issue but racial hierarchy now guides the perspective.
More to come…
Syncopated Hustle 