meet my bro. he's a talker. in a good way. although sometimes i can't handle all his yap, and need my space; or, i just tell him to shut it. ha. but, i really enjoyed the time with my bro over break. even if all his talking does annoy me at times. he's a super good brother. seriously. when chatting about mr. david, i usually say something to the effect of how different we are, which is very true. personality wise, among many other things. yet, we are pretty similar at the core.
we both have a heart for cities, and seeing the old and ruined parts rebuilt (aka "community development"). neither of us want to "rock the suburbs." we don't want to live someplace that is "comfortable," away from the "uncomfortable-ness" of the city - crime and brokenness literally at your doorstep. while at home this christmas, we drove from the jboro to west end. just to look at a part of town on the up-and-up (well, at least in david's opinion). just in case you didn't believe me...
and, both of us struggle what to do with that. where do we live? where do we work? what do we do in our spare time? how do we incorporate this gospel of jesus christ into our lives - growing up in and knowing these affluent suburbs, while seeing and being exposed to the hurt and sin outside our neighborhoods. also, we question and doubt. a lot. maybe he a bit more than me. and, i don't think either of us will ever find a church that we "love," one with the music, teaching, feel, and people that we want. anyways, i digress...
so, my break involved a lot of good chatting with the bro-sky. with a lot of other folks too. namely david, friends, family, and supporters (i think that covers everyone). in fact, the highlight of my break was probably playing soccer with caa friends. GOOOOO SOCCA!!! during those 2 hours, i thought and talked about NOTHING. it was refreshing to say the least. to play a game i love (something i have been unable to do these past few months) and physically exert my body. not thinking about anything, but enjoying the time with friends. so, yes, i talked a lot, with a lot of different folks. deep, joyful, uncomfortable, refreshing, difficult, thought-provoking, question-filled, and encouraging chats. and as i think back on them, and the rest of christmas break 2012, here's what i got:
i want to be well-read. yet, even as i type this, i wonder indeed if this is for the right reasons. is my pride wanting me to be well-versed and educated? so, i can have educated conversations and be thought well-of? is reading just enough, or is thinking about and processing the reading what i need to do? how do i be well-read and educated in this society, especially with my lack of graduate and post-graduate work.
christianity is complex. the more i grow older, the more i realize i don't know. and, christianity isn't easy to swallow. it is contrary to a lot of things of my culture. 1 corinthians 1:18-31. and, even contrary, in some respects, to the christianity in which i grew up. that is also hard to swallow - to, in some ways, relearn much of how i view the world and what i believe as truth.
for example, my old version of christianity was a lifeboat. or, at least my understanding of what i believed. the ship in which we are sailing is sinking. and, we must get into the life boat to save ourselves. and, we have to make sure to bring others into the life boat. but, the ship is going down, eventually. so, we just wait until the ship sinks, and then we will be needed. and, tell others the ship is sinking so they can jump in the life boat too. but, i believe that jesus is about more than just saving our souls. i do agree that is a huge portion of why he came. don't get me wrong. and, if by chance you disagree, i welcome any conversation from the opposing point of view. but, then why are we still left on earth if we are believers? what are we saved from? why is this world so broken? what is the church's responsibility to fix it? is it our responsibility to fix it, or just insulate ourselves from the world?
jesus came into a broken world. and, for that i am thankful (most of the times, at least), because he came into this world to fix it. to make it right. our ultimate salvation, yes. amen. there's more though. to bring his kingdom to us. and restore this broken world. how good of news is that? the cool thing is though god wants to use us to bring it about. martin luther king, jr. wrote that human progress (and i also argue the kingdom of god)
"...never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co-workers with God" (Letter from a Birmingham Jail). so, how do we become co-workers with god until exhaustion to bring about this kingdom to a broken world? how do i do this?
dr. king later wrote these words in that same letter:
"…[O]ver the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.”
wow. what am i NOT doing as a "white moderate"? for example, in regards to our current struggle against modern-day slavery? i don't want to turn a blind eye to injustices around me. whether that be in west birmingham or across the world. but, seriously. 27 million slaves in the world today. what am i doing to solve this? what am i NOT doing to let this injustice continue? it seems the white moderate of the 1960's did nothing to solve the problem of injustice then. and, all i can do, looking back 50 years later, is ask, "why did they not do anything to help?" hello? blatant injustices, civil rights violations, and breaking of the u.s. constitution. why did they not do anything to help? why were the black churches the only ones fighting for civil rights? where was the white church? my answer - they were just living their normal life in their communities. unaffected by these injustices. and they did nothing, because it was easier that way. the blacks and whites had completely separate cultures, churches, lawyers, doctors, areas of town, essentially separate lives; so why do anything? it wouldn't affect the whites. if anything, it would make their life worse. (for the record, visiting the birmingham civil rights museum can make you wonder things.) so, in regards to this slavery issue of today (among so many other issues), i don't want to be a part of the white moderate. i just struggle how NOT to be of the white moderate. currently, as a 24 year old, and probably for the rest of my life.
so, for now, i raise my voice. awareness really and truly is a major part of the fight. so, be aware. and, be encouraged of the good that the people of god are bringing. his kingdom, if you will. doing more than just saving souls. what jesus also and arguably equally came to do. check it out from passion 2013 (and see friend and studly caa counselor katie at 1:13).
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Luke 4:18-19.
