Can Anything Good Come?

On Thursday afternoon, I had literally just finished a podcast recording about social justice (which will air tomorrow), relying heavily on the upcoming lectionary Scripture that includes the phrase, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” when I received a message directing me to the latest derogatory comment about immigrants, made by Donald Trump.

As a preview (and a jumping off point for further discussion), these are my opening words for the show:

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“‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ (John 1:45) 

These are words that were spoken about Jesus, himself, probably based in expectation and prejudice against a geographic location that just didn’t measure up or produce anyone noteworthy.   

In this narrative account, Philip invites Nathanael to ‘Come and see’ (v. 46), and Nathanael does, but it seems that we are often so grounded in and distracted by our own biases that we rarely reach this kind of charitable exploration and beautiful conclusion anymore.  Whole people groups are marginalized, and we miss out on the good that comes from the least likely places.”

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Of course, I am upset.  In fact, I am upset enough that I have posted and deleted and reworded and reposted to social media (and apparently I am not alone in this effort).  I am upset enough that I recognize I still do not have sufficient words two days later.  I am upset enough that I need to both say and do something, even if it’s small.

So I’m about to say something that will probably make some people angry.  What’s new?  Story of my life…

The potential good that I see coming from this deplorable, offensive, intolerable phrase about “s***hole” countries and their people is that maybe #45 has finally said something strong enough to unite the least likely allies. 

WHAT???

Stay with me… or don’t.  You may also take this moment to unfriend me, if that seems more efficient.

Y’all…  There have been numerous occasions on which I have thought… hoped… wished… maybe even prayed… that a phrase was enough to leave the vast majority of people without a motive to continue to defend this administration (remember, “Grab them by the p***y”?), but where other horrific words have failed; these seem to offend almost everyone in some way.  

It has often been the most conservative, right winged, fundamental evangelicals who have sustained the justification for this kind of leadership.  This is mind blowing to me, but I do recognize the ways in which one issue voting has effected this phenomenon (I don’t agree, but I cognitively understand).  However, many of these same people, groups, denominations, etc. are now forced to reevaluate, because the truth is that they are also people who have reached out in mission, love, and relationship, time and time again, to the wonderful people of Haiti and African nations.  Because of this, I would imagine that there is some internal tension and struggle.  It’s not cut-and-dried.  Let’s be real, it never was, but today this has become more obvious.

So I’m angry.  I am so incredibly angry that anyone in a position that has historically obligated us to show extraordinary respect and honor has severely diminished the Imago Dei in whole marginalized people groups and, consequently, devalued their lives.  And I totally ‘get it’ that this is nothing new.  But for some factions, this is only becoming very real and relatable right now.

I’m angry, but I want to use that to fuel unity and reconciliation.  I want to reach out to those who are just now realizing the vast extent of this dehumanization, not by saying, “I told you so,” but by saying, “What can we do together, now?”

Perhaps this is the remark that will finally allow us to band together and agree that enough is enough.

Also…  I don’t always know what to do to offer immediate, practical solutions, but today I’ve got something… which is better than nothing… 

A friend of mine runs a 501(c)(3) called “Compassion for Africa.”  Because I know him personally, I also know it is true that every penny received (100%, no overhead) goes directly to the projects for which funds are designated.  They are doing some great work in Ghana, particularly in the areas of medicine, clean water, and education and business programs for young girls.  I’m going to link that information here, in case you’d like to be a part of the solution for these people who matter deeply:

Compassion for Africa

May something good come.  May it begin with us.

L.

Wait… Why Am I Doing This?

Romans 12:9-21, “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.  Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.  Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.  Do not be conceited.  Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.  On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.  In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (NIV).

I feel as if every word of this passage struck deep chords in my heart, today, but the phrase that stood out most prominently was the first one,

“Love must be sincere…”

As a rule, I am adamant about being real and authentic, to the degree that sometimes things come out of my mouth that I probably would have been better off swallowing.  But I’m not going to lie—I’ve had some “Fake it ‘til You Make It,” moments here lately.

I’ve been frustrated.  If I’m honest, I am scared to death that the completion of my M.Div. and subsequent rejection letter from the only doctoral fellowship to which I applied for this fall, are going to cause me to go invisible in the academic world.  Don’t misunderstand this as my usual hyperbole.  I am terrified.

There have been a few moments when I have had to say to myself… out loud…  “It’s not a competition!”  

I am forcing myself to live by those wise words and fuzzy feelings that include everybody making it, because I am so afraid that I’m not going to ‘make it’…  It’s really awful…

Because…  Let’s just say I don’t. 

Let’s just say that after years of education and planning and hard work and preparation, I find myself in a place where I’m kind of impoverished (as only Americans can understand it) and my degrees get dusty and I sing and dance with babies and feed hungry people and masquerade as sort of Catholic, while I administer sacraments, incognito, to prostitutes and drug addicts and homosexuals and kids who haven’t been baptized yet, because I just remembered that I don’t technically have all the right papers hanging on my wall to wear the collared shirt I just ordered, last night, and no one remembers my name (which actually might serve me well, since I don’t go by my name, but everybody wants to use it anyway).

Let’s just say that happens…  Then what?

The answer was not what I wanted to ‘hear,’ but here it comes…

“You better mean it.”

And, of course, by “you,” I mean, “I,” because these are my people…

I better mean it…

“Love must be sincere…”

It’s incredibly easy to talk about love.  Doing love is harder.  Being love… well, it will crush you.  But the great news about that is, once you’re shattered into so many pieces you could never even hope to put them all back together, there is nothing to do but allow yourself to spill out all over the place, and all of that bleeding and oozing tends to find its way down into the cracks… you know the ones… where so many precious people have fallen.  I’ve never been convinced that ‘broken’ is a dirty word.

To be continued…

L.

I’m Not Trying to Proof-text, But…

I have to be honest.  I woke up, this morning, upset about immigration reform.  Before I had even made my cup of coffee (and this is a big deal, because I haven’t had coffee in weeks), I was already thinking about what could be done to bring some compassion, mercy, and reason to this process that seems to have imploded overnight.  I knew, when I sat down to read through the daily office, that I might project my feelings about this onto the Scriptures.  Maybe I’ve done just that.  If you think so, go ahead and call me out.

Last night I saw something that indicated that the vast majority of people (I think a study showed 92% or so) don’t actually care what clergy have to say about social justice.  This falls squarely on us.  This is a failure of clergy and the Church at large.  I apologize.

I read Psalm 55.  The whole Psalm is certainly worth your time, but here are a few verses that stood out to me:

“Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words, for I see violence and strife in the city.  Day and night they prowl about on its walls; malice and abuse are within it.  Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets” (v. 9-11, NIV).

Then, Mark 7:1-23.  Again, I would highly suggest reading all of it, but for the purposes of this post:

“‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules’” (v. 7, NIV).

“Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that” (v. 13, NIV).

“Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them?” (v. 18, NIV).

“He went on: ‘What comes out of a person is what defiles them.  For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder,  adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.  All these evils come from inside and defile a person’” (v. 20-23, NIV).   

May God help us, we seem to have forgotten that the problems we have are internal ones.  In Scripture, this is almost always the way it goes down.  Jesus confronts those who are on the inside—those who live in comfort and prosperity.  Far too often, the response is, “Oh, it’s not me.  It’s not us.  Look at all of those dirty outsiders.  Heck, Jesus.  It’s you.  You are the problem!  Leave us alone so we might build our walls of protection and exclusion in order to be safe!”

Safe from whom?

Quite frankly, I have experienced more backstabbing from within the walls than from outside of them.  This is always… always… where I get myself into trouble with people who identify as religious.  Many years ago, when our family started saying things like, “Everyone is welcome here,” we found out rather quickly that this was a sore spot for the religious elite.  Interestingly, we have suffered abuses at the hands of those who hold themselves in high esteem, but I know quite a few drug dealers, prostitutes, widows, orphans, inmates, and people riddled with disease who would give me the shirt off their backs if I needed it.  Something is wrong with this picture.  Really, really wrong.

Now, I want to be extremely clear that I am not comparing refugees to any of those listed in the categories above.  If there is any comparison to be made, it is simply that we have marginalized them as people.  That’s my point here.  We have decided that they are somehow worth less than we are, because they are unlike us.  Even though they are fleeing in fear for the sake of their lives and their families, we are the ones who are afraid of them.  But I can’t figure it out, because it’s backwards.   We should have no fear of what is outside of ‘the wall.’  The evil comes from within.

My heart is so broken, today.  As I have indicated before, one of the biggest dangers in this is that I will think I have done something to help just by being sad.  Please, let’s not fall into that trap.  I have a friend who is an immigration attorney, and I am anxiously awaiting her suggestion for how to move forward with some practical steps to make a difference.  In the meantime, I have an online friend (who is friends in real life with people I know personally) who offers great insight into what is happening with Syrian refuges in Hungary, where she lives.  Her blog can be found here.  It both touches and breaks my heart every time I read it.

I certainly don’t know everything about every organization that is reputable, but I know that if you donate to Nazarene Compassionate Ministries at this link, the funds actually go to help Syrian refugees, in Hungary, right now.

I hope to have word on an action plan that will make a difference locally, in the near future.  For me, it’s a both/and proposal.  Help now, where you can.  Keep helping as new opportunities arise.  And then, when you’ve done something practical, it’s OK to break down in tears for awhile over our brothers and sisters, over their babies, over the sad state of a world in which the people on the inside don’t understand that we are the problem.

 
L.