For several years now, it has been a tradition here at Sojourners to feature in our December issue some person or group of people who has given flesh to the way of Christ in this world and whose lives speak to us of the hope of Christmas. The main idea behind what we've come to call our "incarnation" issues is that the incarnation of God in human history is both something that happened uniquely and decisively that long-ago night in Bethlehem and a process that continues in the ordinary history of our day. The role of the Christian community in our understanding is quite literally to be the body of Christ, continuing together the new life inaugurated in this world by Jesus.
We chose A.J. Muste for this year's Christmas issue partly because the 100th anniversary of his birth comes up next month on January 8, 1985. Also, Muste had long been a major movement hero for some of us here on the staff. He was at the forefront of every good fight for peace and justice from World War I to Vietnam.
In almost 60 years of activism, he never stopped experimenting with new tactics and ideas. If anything Muste became more radical and open to change as he grew into old age. As David McReynolds writes in this issue, Muste constantly searched for ways to drive the stake of moral principle into the hard ground of political reality. That is certainly one way of describing the incarnational task.
Read the Full Article
