WORLD TWO: WARRIOR TO CO-CREATOR
This quest moves us from Conflict to Vindication. Folks in this World are often on the front lines of justice issues because they long for a level playing field: justice for all. Working toward the Kin-dom of God on earth provides strong motivation. God is in the future pulling us toward that Kin-dom. Christ is the Liberator who frees us to fight for the freedom of others.
Conundrum: Victory to be won
Sin: Impotence Gospel Truth: Human society needs to be transformed in the Kin-dom of God |
Resolution: Actual change
Christology: Christ is the liberator who break my chains and with whom I join the fight Gospel Celebraiton: God opposes death and decay in human society and so should we |
Scripture: Dangerous book that encodes God's ongoing project to fashion a society of shalom
God: Incarnate Presence irrevocably wedded to history and comes back for those left in history's wake Salvation: Transformed society/Kin-dom come Movement: From warrior to covenant partner/co-creator |
Conundrum
Conundrum is born amidst the nameless faces forgotten and used in the apparently purposeless struggle we call history. It is a narrative of chaos and violence within a meaningless repetition of evil in a directionless rise and fall of things. History’s plot is as constant as it is tragic. Only the players change.
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Notice how this soliloquy from the play Hamlet draws us into battle with the injustice to be found in society.
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The "Saint Crispian's Day Speech" from Henry V raises up many themes faced by those who reside in World Two. Among them the fellowship of those battered by injustice, the intimacy of those also involved in the good fight, and the envy of those who shied away from engagement.
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Resolution
Hope for Word Two citizens take the shape of a significantly different future. For the world is not taken up into God, but rather transfigured for the restoration of the earth. The good news is that God does participate in history. Our rage is with God’s rage for God takes sides and casts judgment upon the shenanigans of human history.
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The finale to Les Miserables speaks many themes exprienced by World Two citizens.
The "aha" resolution to fighting injustice is the realization that "to love another person is to see the face of God." Here the reward is knowing we fight on the "right side" which is the side of the marginalized: "For the wretched of the earth there is a flame that never dies; / even the darkest nights will end and the sun will rise." History moves in a linear fashion to the coming Kin-dom of God: "Do you hear the people sing? / Say, do you hear the distant drums? / It is the future that they bring when tomorrow comes!" |
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The simple thought of Sing Our Own Song by UB40 captures well the ethos of World Two:
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Spiritual Quest
The quest is to take up the call to fall in love with humanity as God has fallen in love with humanity, and to act decisively in society by taking sides against all the foes of human good. To answer this call to combat it is necessary to disrupt the forces of evil with passionate commitment, meeting foes of human good with the battle song of triumph.
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This true life story reflects how World Two motivations resolve injustice and make our earth a better place to live.
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On The Turning Away by Pink Floyd succently sums up the quest for World Two:
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This cover of the Judds' Love Can Build a Bridge by Chrissie Hynde, Neneh Cherry, and Cher captures what provides resolution to all the World's obsessios - love.
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The quest of "doing for others."
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World Two's failure to heed the cries of hurting creation can lead to anger that builds up and is either internalized or expressed in destructive ways. World Two citizens also need to be wary of becoming wrapped in self-righteousness.