What would it mean for us if we happen to live during the decline of the old humanity,

when a new humanity is in the painful, fragile process of being born?

What if some of us are in the process of trying to resuscitate the old, while others of us are

conceiving, gestating, and giving birth to the new?

What if the growth of the new movement, the new humanity, the new social creation or

construction depends on the old one losing its hegemony. As I write those words,

I can't help it feel a flood of resonances with the Hebrew scriptures. I feel echoes of Isaiah,

speaking of God doing a new thing, something fresh springing forth, so that there will

be good news for the poor, recovery of sight for the blind, freedom for the incarcerated

and oppressed. Oppression of the poor is one of the hallmarks of the old humanity. I hear the

prophet imagining a promised time when weapons are recycled

into farm equipment because nobody studies war anymore. War is one of the hallmarks of the old humanity.

I hear Ezekiel's oracle about a new heart, a heart of flesh that replaces the heart of stone.

The hardening of hearts in the name of self-interest and in-group interest is a hallmark of the old

humanity. I hear Amos envisioning a time when a river of justice rolls down from the heights, filling the lowest

places first.

A concentration of power and wealth at the top is a hallmark of the old humanity.

I hear Micah relativizing everything in his religion except doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly

before God. Hoarding power, loving money, and walking in racial, religious, or national pride

are hallmarks of the old humanity. In the Christian scriptures, I hear Mary envisioning a time

when the rich are sent away to feel the hunger of the poor they have exploited and avoided, a time when the poor are filled with the good things previously enjoyed only by the rich.

I hear Jesus speaking parables of a new kingdom, of death and resurrection, of God loving the world and wanting

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