The God who Sees

The very first recorded appearance of an angel to a human is to an abused slave. 

Hagar learned that God watches over the oppressed and poor.

Grant us Shalom

"Lead us to the place where you'll restore our souls
And all our earthly strivings come to cease."
-Tim Hughes

Columbus Day Redux

It's so nice to see kids out celebrating Columbus Day!

National holiday, today-- Columbus Day.  My kids don't get off school, so it just means that the banks are closed, which is an inconvenience more than anything.  Really, it's pretty pathetic for a holiday.  Kind of like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree.  Makes you want to take it home and cuddle it.

But when something is pathetic, many people just want to beat it into the ground.  Like kids who beat up winos.  Gotta hit them when they're down.  Even so, poor Columbus Day is really getting it every year.

And I guess Columbus might deserve it.  After all, he came to a new land and enslaved the people, searching for gold. He was, like, the worst guest ever.  And to celebrate Columbus is, to a degree, to affirm the policy of land theft and slavery.  Kinda uncomfy position to take, to say the least.

But it seems to me that complaining about the holiday is pretty useless.  Columbus died in the early 16th century.  I don't think he's going to change his ways because he doesn't have any ways.  We can say that we shouldn't celebrate an oppressor, and that would make sense.  After all, we don't go around saying, "Happy Stalin Day!" or "Let's have a party to celebrate the onset of slavery!"  Of course, we don't do much at all for Columbus, either.  We close the banks.  And tell me, is that really a bad thing?  Isn't that just another way of saying, "Hey, maybe we ought to shut down the oppressors for one day."

It seems to me that if we were serious about celebrating an alternative Columbus Day, we ought to be reflective of how we us our power to oppress people and to figure out ways to stop it.  Maybe we can Google our use of Apple or Nike products and how we are perpetuating horrible labor practices.  Maybe we can have a rally in opposition to modern slavery.  Maybe we can think about how we treat our children, our employees, and our pets better, without yelling or violence, but serving them to support their needs.  Maybe we should think about how to better treat immigrants, illegal or otherwise, because our nation celebrates one of the worst illegal immigrants in history.

Or maybe we can consider how, like Columbus, our intentions may be right and honorable, that we want to glorify God and to do the right thing, but we still screw it up in the end for the people that really matter-- the poor, the weak.  Maybe we can think about who we think of or treat as less than human and realize that they are just as human, and just as important, as we are.  Maybe we can learn to love our enemies just a little bit more.

Maybe we can actually learn from the mistakes of others, and not just complain about them.

On the other hand, I have a deposit that I should really make today.  Dang that Columbus!

The Poor of Jesus

On Facebook the question was asked: "Are the beatitudes really talking about the economically 'poor'? And if they are, is it all the poor? Does every poor person obtain the kingdom of God?"

"Poor" in the beatitudes should certainly be taken literally. This is why it is combined with words like "mourning" and "hungry" and "hungry and thirsty for justice" and "meek". And it is in opposition to the "rich". Even "poor in spirit" means those who has an attitude like the poor. (see Proverbs 16:19)

However, we must be clear that the context doesn't allow us to say that it is about ALL poor people, regardless of action. In Luke 6 Jesus is speaking to his disciples when he says "Blessed are YOU that are poor; Woe to YOU that are rich"-- He is distinguishing among his own disciples those who surrender their possessions and those who keep them for their own personal use (Luke 14:33; Luke 12:33). In Matt. 5, the poor, the mourning and the meek are blessed, but so are the merciful, the peacemakers, the pure in heart. In other words, Jesus is narrowing the field even more. Those who own the kingdom are not only those who have suffered as the outcast in this life, but those who, in the midst of that suffering, acted like Jesus in His mercy for others.

In general, God isn't interested in helping people who don't need it, or don't THINK they need the help.  God is offering salvation.  What is that salvation?

A kingdom for the poor
Comfort for the weeping from oppression
Land for the meek
Justice for those desiring justice
God's presence for those whose purity isn't seen
Mercy for those who show mercy
Leadership for those who create peace
Deliverance for the persecuted

For those who don't desperately seek the salvation of God won't get it.  Those who desperately need it and seek it and demand it, will.

This means God's kingdom is for the poor and needy and outcast more than anyone else.

Bad Day

"There's just too much confusion, I can't get no relief." -Bob Dylan

You Must Choose A Side...

The whole "liberal"/"conservative" name calling, bashing, narrow-mindedly-assuming-their-opinion posing is a load of BS. I just saw a blog my friend posted and it basically said that anyone who stood with Chic-fil-a is of Satan. That's insane.

Often I am labeled as "liberal" because I'm anti-war and I give my life to serve the homeless. Other people consider me conservative because I think the bible teaches that homosexuality is a sin and abortion is the killing of an innocent human being.

 I'm not though. I am trying my best to stand with Jesus. And standing with Jesus means that at times you will stand against the conservative position and sometimes against the liberal position.

 It doesn't have anything to do with using other people's money, because both political positions do that-- they just disagree about what to do with the money, what the purpose of government is. 

I don't care what the government does with its billions of dollars. I care about what God's people do with their billions of dollars.

It is a crime for any church to spend money on themselves and not on the poor, the helpless and the oppressed, whether it is war victims, the homeless, the unborn, or homosexual victims of hate crime.

So many people point at the Catholic church as hypocrites in this regard. They are only the biggest offenders because they they've been around longer than any of us. But any church that has a building that has a room empty five days a week and does not use that space for the poor and oppressed at least some of that time is doing the same thing.

Not every church is disobedient to Jesus, but almost. If Jesus were here, he would shut down almost all churches and use the buildings to house the homeless, feed the hungry, educate the ignorant and provide a house of love to all who are unloved.

We have no right to point at Chic-fil-a, or liberals, or another denomination or our neighbors or our internet friends. If we are not spending our time helping the needy, whichever needy we are called to help, using our resources to help them, then we need to look at ourselves and shut up about anyone else.

Is the Importance of Movies Unhealthy?

Joseph Piroutek asks: How do we all feel about the large role film plays in society?  I am fascinated by film, and the messages that are presented through it. I draw a great deal from movies, and maybe read too much into them. I'm not the only one, but is this unhealthy or normal?

My answer:
I think that film is a way of expanding our potential experience.  Most of us have never been in war, but the right war movie can give us a hint of it, like Saving Private Ryan or Full Metal Jacket.  Most of us have never been homeless, but a movie like Wendy and Lucy can give us a sense of what it might be like.  Thus, rightly done, film can increase our empathy.

Of course, it depends on why we watch film.  Film as escape is important and for some of us, necessary.  What's funny is that films such as Sullivan's Travels and Purple Rose of Cairo can cause us to reflect on what that escape really means and why it is important or not.

Film is just another means of communication, like novels.