A self-emptying of privilege

Millennial pastor Brandan Robertson aims in this book to help Christians “to begin a conversation about our own privilege and how we might utilize it as a tool to lead us into a more faithful obedience to the way of Jesus by working for the common good of our neighbors.” He grounds this conversation in scripture, interpreting privilege through the kenosis hymn quoted in Philippians 2:5–11. Kenosis refers to self-emptying, and the hymn describes how Jesus first “emptied himself, taking on the role of the slave, born in human form,” and then “humbled himself by becoming obedient as far as death” (Robertson’s translation). The crucifixion, Robertson writes, is “the pinnacle of Jesus’ self-emptying. . . . At the moment of his death, Jesus has fully and finally emptied himself in order to demonstrate the delusion of the pursuit of power and privilege.”

The concept of Jesus having some privilege until the moment of his death may be hard for some Christians to take in. I’ll admit that my initial reaction was dismissive: But he wasn’t White! And he was impoverished! It’s not uncommon to struggle with the concept of privilege in this way, but Robertson uses his own experiences to show that marginality and advantage are not all-or-nothing. A gay post-evangelical Christian who grew up in a trailer park with a father who struggled with addiction, he writes about how his identity as a White male still offers him advantages not available to others. For example, his grades were mediocre, which “likely posed less of a threat to my ability to get into college than they would have for a person of color.”

Robertson’s words may pry open the hearts of those who have been closed to this conversation because they don’t see themselves as privileged. He makes it clear that privilege is morally neutral, not negative. It’s what we do with our privilege that matters, and the kenosis hymn provides a model for how Christians can grapple with and act on our privilege. We are called to “identify exactly what the dominant biases in our culture are, become aware of them in our own actions and thinking, and then actively work against them.” To help readers do this, Robertson delves into scripture with solid exegesis, weaves in stories from his own life, and cites snippets of wisdom from writers such as Richard Rohr and Brené Brown.