Notions of Poverty

So much of my consciousness remains unaffected and unmoved by the plight of the poor in my community and in the world. I think a lot of it comes from the fact that I have this *wrong* view that the poor are poor because they...deserve to be so. They don't work or study hard enough; they made poor/bad decisions with their finances; they are reaping the consequences of an unsustainable lifestyle.

But as I read Jeremiah I stumbled across a couple of verses that alter my particular landscape-view of poverty. God is speaking to King Josiah's son, Shallum. He essentially condemns Shallum for oppressing his countrymen and exploiting them in the pursuit of his own glory and fame. I think, 'Yeah, he should be condemned for his unjust tyranny,' and keep reading. God goes from rebuking Shallum to holding his father Josiah up as an example:

'Did not your father [Josiah] have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?' declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 22:15-16)

It does not matter if I avoid direct oppression and exploitation of the poor. God boils knowing Him down to this: defending the cause of the poor and needy. And guess what? He does not qualify "poor" or "needy." Poor through laziness? Needy because of past mistakes? Dwelling in squalor through ignorance and illiteracy? Not mentioned here. Just "poor." Just "needy."

Of course, there are other places in Scripture that caution us to be wise, discerning and even clever. These cautions will obviously temper indiscriminate, blind dealings for and with anyone. But the unqualified statement from God--that to defend the cause of the cause of the poor and needy without added notions of 'deservedness' (!) is what it means to know Him--at the very least directs me to err on the side of extravagant, nonsensical generosity and advocacy. Otherwise, knowing Him remains an illusive, distant and unattainable dream.

Advent Conspiracy vs. Black Friday

Could they be any different?

Advent Conspiracy:
share, give
time, resources
Scandalous embrace of
Christ's humanity

Black Friday:
consume, devour
time, resources
Generous rejection of
Christ's humility

Heaven's Silence

I have always been fascinated by the book Revelation.

Partly, perhaps, because it seems almost impenetrable to the modern consciousness at first (or second, or third) glance(s) and I love a good challenge.

Certainly because I have always been strongly attracted to the person of Jesus and here--He is crucified Triumph and Justice. Who can resist the "eyes of blazing fire," the "voice like the sound of rushing waters," the sword-speaking mouth and the "face like the sun shining in all its brilliance"? (cf. Revelation 1:15-16) His shocking beauty overwhelms and mystifies my very being.

And undoubtedly I find my way back to Revelation because here we are promised that He is making all things new.

Most recently, I continue to return to one small, almost unnoticeable verse:

When [the Lamb] opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. (8:1)

The 59 verses prior to this moment are stuffed with movement, noise, explanations, signs, wonders, devastations, songs, weeping and trumpets. Then, suddenly, silence. I have racked my brain and searched the text and I can find no definite answer for why the silence suddenly happens. The only viable explanation that I've come up with so far is that the silence serves as a foil to the sounding of the seven trumpets that follow it (which does not satisfy my intellectual curiosity).

How did all of heaven--all of the angels, creatures, and multitudes of worshippers-- know that exact moment demanded absolute silence? Why was it absolutely silent? What could have possibly motivated such an orchestrated, sudden and deafening silence?

Then, I remember the fact that they are silent together, every single one of them. Together, myriads and myriads of people, angels and creatures are silent when the Lamb opens a sealed scroll. In unison, every being recognizes instantly the demand of quiet watchfulness.

So it's okay that I don't know how or why. It is good enough to look forward even more to the day when the Lamb does not have to speak. I will just look at Him and I will know. And all of heaven will know with me.

Redemption: A Response

I recently joined the society of Twitter. I honestly didn't know what to expect, but I have to say--I am really enjoying it. It is a great tool that allows me to keep up with a wide variety of people, organizations, news topics and even special interest groups without spending hours and hours on the internet browsing websites ad nauseum.

One of the organizations I follow on Twitter is Sojourners. Yesterday, I saw a tweet from Sojo that intrigued me: "Harry Potter and Social Justice" by Julie Clawson. As a fan of Harry Potter I dutifully followed the link; here is what I found: Clawson's description of the Harry Potter Alliance (HPA), their desire to end injustice(s) in the world and her thoughts about the HPA's work. Her basic conclusion?

"Justice is justice, and good is good wherever it may be found. The more people that can use love to seek a better world the better. Call ourselves the DA (Dumbledore’s Army) or the citizens of the kingdom; we are working for the same goal."

On one level I agree with Ms. Clawson; justice is recognizable to just about everyone on our planet--injustice even more so (see my previous post, "Musings: Justice"). But I believe that she is mistaken in her conclusion that "we" (citizens of the kingdom and Dumbledore's Army) are "working for the same goal."

The HPA's mission is "...to empower our members to act like the heroes that they love by acting for a better world. By bringing together fans of blockbuster books, TV shows, movies, and YouTube celebrities we are harnessing the power of popular culture toward making our world a better place. Our goal is to make civic engagement exciting by channeling the entertainment-saturated facets of our culture toward mobilization for deep and lasting social change." (see http://thehpalliance.org/what-we-do/) I applaud the HPA in their efforts to use popular culture for significant social change; the idea really is brilliant.

But the HPA's mission is not the same as the kingdom mission. In the kingdom mission, God is the only One who knows all circumstances intimately and He is the only One who can be fully just. Human attempts at justice are great and all--but they remain imperfect apart from Him.

The kingdom mission recognizes that Christ's death on the cross and our redemption was the infinite, perfect satisfaction of God's justice. Thus the justice authored by Christ is eternal life and that is what citizens of the kingdom work towards; human efforts to accomplish justice in the world are necessarily temporal unless His redemption sculpts them.

"Deep and lasting social change" cannot be eternal; "Eternal life" cannot be contained.

Musings: Justice

A desire for justice--where does it come from? Is it one of those universal traits that is more alive in some people and more dead in others? People who know Yahweh (God) intimately often have a heightened awareness of justice and injustice; but even they question God's justice at times:

"You are always righteous, O LORD, when I bring a case before You. Yet I would speak with You about Your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?" (Jeremiah 12:1)

Those who know Yahweh aren't the only ones who are concerned with the issue(s) of (in)justice. Many who don't know Him speak very loudly about justice and do something about it.

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A few thoughts:

If the only rule of our planet is the 'survival of the fittest' then justice should not matter. Indeed, justice is outside of science because it makes value judgments about what is right and wrong--that wrongs should be righted and rights should be rewarded. So if the appeal to 'pure science' wins the day (as it often does), justice has no voice.

But many of our fellow humans both in the U.S. and in other parts of the world who do not have the luxury of sitting around and thinking things to death would rise up against such a suggestion. Refugees cry out for relief from disaster and oppression. Victims of abuse have personally experienced brutal injustices and raise their voices in protest. How do they know that they have not received justice?

My own thought, which I believe can be seen throughout the Bible and in everyday life, is that all people have at least some idea that the way we live is not quite right, that our lives here are somehow are supposed to be better. When that idea becomes strong enough, we begin to make noise and to demand for circumstances that are aligned with the way things are supposed to be.

As the followers of Him who created the "supposed to be," we have unique and unprecedented opportunities to be a part of the process of justice. The first step in that process is receiving the justice that cost Jesus everything so that we can live as we were supposed to--intimately with Him.

"All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)

In Christ, we are as we were supposed to be: reconciled. And we have the privilege of acting out that very justice so that others may become so, too.

To Create

So much of the biblical literature focuses on God as Creator.

The prophets, song-writers and wise ones of the Old Testament repeatedly come back to the acknowledgment and praise that the LORD is the creator and maker of everything in heaven and on earth. Then, in the New Testament, Paul makes the connection that Jesus is Lord and that the world was made by Him and for Him. John's apocalyptic vision confirms this as he sees Jesus seated on the throne of heaven with throngs of creatures praising Him as the Holy Maker:

"They lay their crowns before the throne and say: 'You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they were created and have their being.'" (Revelation 4:10-11)

Why is the Creator theme so predominant?

The 'usual' evangelical responses would include things like a) it ensures that humans know they are accountable to their Maker or b) that He has absolute authority over the creation because He made it.

While I think both of those conclusions are true, I can't help but wonder if there is something else at stake. To create, to fashion, to make, to sculpt--these are all words used of the LORD in describing His handiwork; these are also the words of beauty, creativity and art. The word "handiwork" itself indicates God's hands made all things; He was and is intimately involved in creating and sustaining beauty.

God did not manufacture the universe.

Even humanity's rebellion against Him did not get in the way of that persistent way He hand-crafts creation-art with loving eyes and generous brushstrokes of grace. And now we, His masterpieces, can reflect that by doing the beauty He's made us for:

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10)

What is Home?

Several months ago, a dear friend of mine asked me to describe my conception of 'home'--what I think of when I hear the word 'home,' how I would define it, how 'home' makes me feel.

Since I had a priceless, carefree childhood, I often associate 'home' with words like safe, comfort, love, roots and family. On the other hand, because I have moved around quite a bit already in my young life home is somewhat of an allusive concept because I never truly feel 'at home' anywhere anymore; therefore I tend to identify 'home' with the future consummation of God's renewal of all things.

But recently, I've come to terms with a description of Home that effortlessly embraces my memories of home, my longing for home, my inability to feel completely at home and the home of rest that God promises for His children.

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This morning was a wonderful demonstration of Home: there were many people of all shapes and sizes--old/young, wealthy/homeless, professional/grungy, loud/quiet--and they were all gathered in one place. Some people sang, some people fixed exquisite café beverages while other people consumed those beverages; some people prayed, one person painted, some played instruments, some people talked and some read poetry. But despite the endless diversity of backgrounds, families and stories, most (maybe even all!) of those people understood that they were part of something Bigger, that something Bigger was created by God, He calls it His kingdom and that living for Him and bringing others into His kingdom is all that matters.

His kingdom is priceless and safe; it is also dangerous and in constant movement. And in "that day," as the prophets speak of it, the King will display fully the beauty of Himself and His people when the Kingdom is finally revealed.


Home is:

"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."

-Matthew 6:33

A Star

I love Jesus.

He is the only Person who "searches hearts and minds" and promises rewards for faithfulness--not performance, fame, popularity or success.

Mostly, today, I love Him because he said--almost as an afterthought!--"I will also give [the one who overcomes] the morning star." (Revelation 2:28)

Who is He that gives stars to His beloved? The untameable, fiercely burning lights of the universe are hand-crafted presents from the Groom to His Bride.

And the Bride will give it back to Him because she knows that it is too good and that He is too Great.

His eyes burn brighter than the morning star, anyways.

Marie: A Sketch

Petite Marie.

Her small frame betrays her contagious strength.

She disarms guards and breaks down walls with shining hazel eyes and laughter that carries anyone who hears it one step closer to heaven.

Her auburn-red, wavy hair immediately gives away Irish heritage and unchained passion.

That passion? It comes from fire deep inside; she burns on unceasingly and lights everyone she touches on fire.

Even in the desert--especially in the desert--Marie shines. She is always looking for the Spring of Life. And He is always looking for her.


I miss you.