The devotional Draw the Circle on Day 29 has the title “A New Prayer.” As we
discussed that day in our small group, I put up some words I found interesting
because we do not use them very often. He said we have a “heuristic” bias. It comes
from the Greek language. People started using it in the 1800s in English. It
increased greatly in use after the war. It means that we tend to develop rules
or patterns of thought and practice. As the devotional also suggests, we might
call it ritual, habituation, or routinization. I put all of these words on the
board. I shared that my wife gave me an opportunity to use the word that day.
“Heuristic” is a good example of
the flexibility of the English language. I have a little experience with
foreign languages. I took courses in New Testament Greek and biblical Hebrew.
One of the issues that emerge is the principle one chooses to use. One can take
a wooden, word-for-word approach. Yet, the problem with this is that words are
not that static. They carry different meanings when considered in the light of
a sentence, a paragraph, or even other writings of the author. In that sense,
no word is translatable from one language to another. Yet, we still do it.
Languages still have the basic sentence structure most of us learned early in
life and have since forgotten. Amour in French still means love in English.
Yet, translators insist that we lose something precious in making the
translation. Some words, of course, seem translatable only by a few words. They
do not have exact equivalents in English. They at least hint at the possibility
that another culture has experienced something for which it found a word to
describe while those in English-speaking cultures lack a similar experience. It
reminds us of the power of words. Words allow us to represent the natural,
social, and private world we experience to others. They allow us to engage
others and learn. The value of English at this point is that it can adopt words
from another language. We call them loan words. The language becomes richer and
increases its complexity. Heuristic is a word usually primarily in philosophy,
psychology, and theology. Other good examples from the fields of religion and
philosophy would be Nirvana and Tao. We may not precisely know what they mean,
but we have a set of words in our minds that helps most of us make sense of a
sentence that uses them. In Christian worship, the Hebrew word Hallelujah or
even Shalom evoke certain images and experiences for us. Our language of
worship has expanded because of this ability to absorb loan words.
In Scientific American, Tim Lomas
writes about the magic of untranslatable words. He started by listing 216 of
these words, but found that the list kept growing. It now stands at 601. He has
discovered that exploring these foreign terms can make our own lives richer.[1]
One weighty word for Christians is
the Greek word Kenosis. We find the word in Philippians 2:5-11
5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ
Jesus,
6 who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
7 but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
8 he humbled
himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
We find the word in Philippians
2:7, but the context in verses 5-11 is vital. Working with untranslatable
words, says Lomas, is like diving into "a deep and mystifying ocean."
So let us take the plunge!
Kenosis means
"emptiness," but has deeper significance in that it communicates the
self-emptying that Christ voluntarily offered on the cross. It begins with the
Son, in living and eternal relationship with the Father and Spirit, who set
aside his divinity in order to become human. Kenosis at this level reveals the distinction
of the Son from the Father and subordination of the Son to the Father. The
divine Son completely identifies with sinful humanity. This act of divine
self-emptying was the path for the divine to enter into the world of humanity
without becoming unlike the divine. In fact, to say it philosophically, the
self-emptying of the Son becomes the path for the self-actualizing of the deity
of the Trinitarian God in relation to the world. To say it personally and
devotionally, the Trinitarian God shows humanity what God is like by showing up
in the one who lived his life as a servant, Jesus of Nazareth. The Son sets
aside the equality of divine life with Father and Spirit, but through his
obedience in the course of his earthly life remains the Son. The fullness and
completeness of his obedience reveals Jesus as the pre-existent Son. Yet, we
also see the course of the earthly life of the Son as one of self-emptying as
he lives in obedience to God. The human life of Jesus is in contrast to Adam,
who disobeyed God and hid from God. He forfeited his fellowship with God, while
Jesus in the course of his life remained in fellowship with the Father and the
Spirit. Adam wanted to be like God by turning from God and choosing a path for
himself. Jesus emptied himself in his obedience and thus remained in the
likeness of God as the Son. The course of the life of Jesus is one of
self-emptying and humbling that led to the cross. Thus, the hymn embraces both
the path of the pre-existent Son and the path of the earthly life of Jesus. The
result is that such self-emptying, such kenosis, is a genuine expression of
divinity. If you want to see what God is like, look here, at the kenotic life
of the Son. Kenosis becomes the free expression of the will to love. It reveals
the core of divine reality, that God is love. The form of a servant concealed
divine glory. Kenosis fulfills Isaiah 52-53 as the servant willingly undergoes
suffering and humiliation for the sake of others. The divine essence offers
itself freely for the reconciliation and redemption of the world. His death
“for us” is in solidarity with the Father and in solidarity with humanity. We
can see divine majesty in the cross. Jesus was Lord most meaningfully in the
depth of his life as a servant of the Lord and in serving others.
I do not pretend that kenosis will
become a loan word from the Greek in our ordinary speech. Today, however, I hope
such reflections raise a number of important questions for us as we enter Holy
Week. Holy Week forces us to confront kenosis, a word that is difficult,
captivating and full of significance for anyone who is trying to follow Jesus
Christ. The point Paul is making is not
just a statement about who God is. Rather, his point is that if God is like
that, then you are to be of the same mind and attitude in your life. If the Son
had this kind of kenotic love, then we are to be of the same mind and have the
same love, namely, a kenotic mind and love. That is the discipleship challenge
Paul offers us. What might such a life look like? It will invite us to look at
life differently.
To receive blessing, be a blessing to others.
+ To receive love, give love.
+ To receive honor, first be humble.
+ To live truly, die to yourself.+ To gain the unseen, let go of the seen.
+ To receive, first give.
+ To save your life, lose it.
+ To lead, be a servant.
+ To be first, be last.
[1] Lomas, Tim. "The magic of 'untranslatable'
words." Scientific American, July 12, 2016, scientificamerican.com.
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