December 24 – Enflesh

 

“Abolition is really about rethinking the kind of future we want,
the social future, the economic future, the political future.
It’s about revolution and repair, a revolution of love, I would argue.” – Angela Davis

Creator enters creation. The Holy One’s journey through the womb is as powerful, transformative, and scandalous a movement as the journey through the tomb. Systems of oppression utilize the tools of division and subjugation to create barriers, hierarchies, and inequities. Incarnation counters and overwhelms those efforts, attitudes, and ways of being through the extravagant, expansive, and persistent love of God enfleshed. In this, the Word becomes Creation; the Word becomes Liberation; the Word becomes Abolition.

Efforts to reduce abolitionist movements into pithy sayings and catchy slogans fail to acknowledge the complexity of human relationships and the repair necessary to make them whole. Abolition is more than suspending specific behavior, policies, and cultural norms. Abolition imagines the kindom of God and believes its realization is possible and ultimately inevitable if we enter into the brokenness and bring new life.

God our Abolitionist lifts the humiliated, restores the broken, releases the prisoner, honors the earth, secures the immigrant, adopts all the pronouns, affirms our body autonomy, and declares our black, brown, red, yellow, and white hues beautiful, beloved, and blessed. Abolition restores, redeems, heals, and recreates. Abolition is Love born of the will of God, made flesh among us. May it be so. Ashe. Amen.

Prayer

Inhale: In love, the Word becomes flesh.

Exhale: Through me, the Word becomes abolition.

Artwork: “Enflesh” by Yohana Junker (discover more at: https://www.yohanajunker.com/)