DAYWATCH Friday November 14th 2008
It IS time for change, not by the exercise of sovereign power or dominion, but by the
In the four biblical excerpts below we have the apostolic doctrine of the nature of Christ’s rule clearly stated. Four phrases stand out: “love your enemies”, “lay down his life”, “Christ died for us”, “humbled himself to the point of death”. There are a number of ways to personalise the thought behind each of these phrases, such as enemy-lovers, life-prostrators, for-sinners-slain, and self-humblers. But perhaps no word sums it up quite so well as ‘kenotics.’ This comes from the Greek word keno, ‘to empty’ which is applied by Paul to Jesus in Philippians 2:7 in the phrase “emptied himself”. By means of this act of enemy-loving self-humbling prostration of his life, Christ died for sinners. As a result God raised him from the dead and “has given him the name which is above every name.”
As Tom Wright has put it so simply, the resurrection is THE political act which proves forever that the way of life embodied in these phrases that sum up Jesus’ authority really works. He is the Lord right now and the first fruits of the way of life of the new heaven and earth that we are preparing. The change the world needs to see and experience is an authority that operates kenotically. So without awkwardness the overall thrust of this daywatch initiative will be exploring what it means to be kenotics in whatever new position we find ourselves and in every sphere and avenue of society. For some, perhaps for all, this will take us well beyond our comfort zones. Not everyone will be willing to embrace it yet. But let’s respond, dialogue, interact and long for a truly kenotic people to appear in our continent at this time.
Please give time to meditate prayerfully on the passages below, applying them to the desire of the Spirit of Jesus to intervene through us into the world wherever we are. Please be sure to give time to the really difficult questions such as what this means in the situation in the
"You have heard that it was said, 'you shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Mat 5:43-44)
"But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. (Lk6:27-35)
"This is my commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this that one lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in my name he may give to you.” (Jn15:12-16)
“For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:7-8)
“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted him, and bestowed on him the name which is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil 2:6-11)
We look forward to being together with you on this adventure!
With love
ROGER AND THE DAYWATCH TEAM