Friday, July 17, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
A preview of rants to come.
I pull into the parking spot; my heart leaps a bit. I recognize this car. Could it be theirs? I get out grab my laptop, all the while scanning the businesses and parking lot for those three little rascals. But alas, they are not there. It is not their car. I should know better by now; it’s never their car and they are never there.
(Royal Family Kids camp is a one-week residential summer camp for neglected and abused children ages 7 to 11. Most of the time a 6 or 12 year old sneaks in there but frankly we’d keep them forever if we could.)
I proceed to Starbucks and settle into my regular place. As I cozy up with my coffee I find myself fighting back tears. Anger wells up inside of me. I feel like a little kid throwing angry punches while my older sibling holds me away with the palm of his hand on my forehead.
(I tried really hard in writing this to write about all of the amazing things that took place this week at camp. There are those who did and if I can I would like to include them in this blog. However, each time I sat down to write about it, I couldn’t write about the warm positive feelings I experienced because they were overshadowed by a great deal of frustration)
I am angry at the Church for their ignorant indifference towards this ministry. I am wrong about a lot of things but this I know for certain: When it is easier for me to get my non Christian friends to donate their time, their money and their thoughts to this cause, we have a problem. The Church has dropped the ball. When I am on a trash walk and the pastor of the Church comes out to ask if we can make sure to get the street next to his church, devoid of gratitude, The Church has dropped the ball.
There is more to be said, and believe me it will be said but this is all I could write at this time. So I leave you with this: We may never become the majority or the standard but of this be certain, we will always be the thorn in your side.
“Hope has two beautiful daughters; their names are anger and courage. Anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain as they are.” St. Augustine
(Royal Family Kids camp is a one-week residential summer camp for neglected and abused children ages 7 to 11. Most of the time a 6 or 12 year old sneaks in there but frankly we’d keep them forever if we could.)
I proceed to Starbucks and settle into my regular place. As I cozy up with my coffee I find myself fighting back tears. Anger wells up inside of me. I feel like a little kid throwing angry punches while my older sibling holds me away with the palm of his hand on my forehead.
(I tried really hard in writing this to write about all of the amazing things that took place this week at camp. There are those who did and if I can I would like to include them in this blog. However, each time I sat down to write about it, I couldn’t write about the warm positive feelings I experienced because they were overshadowed by a great deal of frustration)
I am angry at the Church for their ignorant indifference towards this ministry. I am wrong about a lot of things but this I know for certain: When it is easier for me to get my non Christian friends to donate their time, their money and their thoughts to this cause, we have a problem. The Church has dropped the ball. When I am on a trash walk and the pastor of the Church comes out to ask if we can make sure to get the street next to his church, devoid of gratitude, The Church has dropped the ball.
There is more to be said, and believe me it will be said but this is all I could write at this time. So I leave you with this: We may never become the majority or the standard but of this be certain, we will always be the thorn in your side.
“Hope has two beautiful daughters; their names are anger and courage. Anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain as they are.” St. Augustine
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Fudddddgggeee, I'm 23
23 years ago I was born. It’s a bit odd, I really have no idea where the time went and I can’t even imagine what the next 23 years will be like. But the one thing that I can say for sure is that I am blessed. I’m blessed to be 23 years old, inexperienced and what some would patronizingly call naive. What my 23 years of “naivety” and lack of “real world experience” (whatever the heck that means) has afforded me is the ability to be audaciously idealistic.
Dear Self,
Happy Birthday.
I pray that you never lose hope. Hold fast to the belief that things can be better, that the world can be better. There are those who will tell you that these things simply cannot be done. They will try to package their pessimism as “realism” and claim wisdom. But be weary, their agedly wisdom is counterfeit and their capacity to hope boldy has been choked out by the fallacious “real world.” When someone tries to tell you that your efforts are foolish and unrealistic, I pray that you will respond with the same passionate defiance as the little boy with the starfish (http://www.starrbrite.com/starfish.html)
Stick close to those around you who, with their age, have not only grown wise but also increased their capacity for audacious idealism. Continue to believe fervently, as our good friend MLK did, that, “…people everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and justice for their spirits….that what self-centered [people] have torn down, other-centered [people] can build up.”
Stick it to the man. Dream big and act often. Love liberally and spontaneously. Reconciliation is possible, peace is possible, justice is possible, the elimination of poverty is possible. Those who say otherwise are heretics and to which faith they belong is uncertain. Our God is one of audacious and attainable idealism.
Keep it Real. Much Love,
Yours Truly.
Dear Self,
Happy Birthday.
I pray that you never lose hope. Hold fast to the belief that things can be better, that the world can be better. There are those who will tell you that these things simply cannot be done. They will try to package their pessimism as “realism” and claim wisdom. But be weary, their agedly wisdom is counterfeit and their capacity to hope boldy has been choked out by the fallacious “real world.” When someone tries to tell you that your efforts are foolish and unrealistic, I pray that you will respond with the same passionate defiance as the little boy with the starfish (http://www.starrbrite.com/starfish.html)
Stick close to those around you who, with their age, have not only grown wise but also increased their capacity for audacious idealism. Continue to believe fervently, as our good friend MLK did, that, “…people everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and justice for their spirits….that what self-centered [people] have torn down, other-centered [people] can build up.”
Stick it to the man. Dream big and act often. Love liberally and spontaneously. Reconciliation is possible, peace is possible, justice is possible, the elimination of poverty is possible. Those who say otherwise are heretics and to which faith they belong is uncertain. Our God is one of audacious and attainable idealism.
Keep it Real. Much Love,
Yours Truly.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
A Psalm for Today
This is my offer a desperate plea:
Our blessed exile we've failed to see.
Once a renegade few, first to speak out,
Turned pompous entitlement and lost clout.
For blinded by the comfort of our pews,
Our traditions have become a sweet ruse.
Pacified by songs of adoration,
While "improbable" trumps imitation,
We follow the dualist to our prison,
That false sacred and secular schism,
Where emulation has no room to stand
And deity is set apart from man.
When pious images we all but lack,
We fail to recognize our call to act.
Now galvanized by injustice, do right!
Lift the oppressive vail that curbs the light;
Remove animosity for the poor,
As they beg for your cash outside the store;
Seek out those marginalized and oppressed,
Plead the case of the widow and fatherless;
Dine with the "dirty", the "wicked", the "stained"
Those labeled and ostracized by the vain.
Do for these, that which for us has been done,
For it's in his likeness we've been made one.
"May God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we really can make a difference in this world, so that we are able, with God's grace, to do what others claim cannot be done."
Our blessed exile we've failed to see.
Once a renegade few, first to speak out,
Turned pompous entitlement and lost clout.
For blinded by the comfort of our pews,
Our traditions have become a sweet ruse.
Pacified by songs of adoration,
While "improbable" trumps imitation,
We follow the dualist to our prison,
That false sacred and secular schism,
Where emulation has no room to stand
And deity is set apart from man.
When pious images we all but lack,
We fail to recognize our call to act.
Now galvanized by injustice, do right!
Lift the oppressive vail that curbs the light;
Remove animosity for the poor,
As they beg for your cash outside the store;
Seek out those marginalized and oppressed,
Plead the case of the widow and fatherless;
Dine with the "dirty", the "wicked", the "stained"
Those labeled and ostracized by the vain.
Do for these, that which for us has been done,
For it's in his likeness we've been made one.
"May God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we really can make a difference in this world, so that we are able, with God's grace, to do what others claim cannot be done."
Thursday, May 28, 2009
The Good Neighbor
Recently I’ve been mulling over the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Which whether or not you are a Christ-Follower, this is a story that is essential to the fabric of humanity.
If you don’t know the parable, here is the short scoop. Basically this guy is like, “Hey Jesus what do I have to do to get eternal life?” Jesus says, “Well what do you think?” The guy responds, “Love God, and love my neighbor.” Jesus is like, “Word. You know what’s up.” So then the guy asks, “Who is my neighbor?” Now this is where it gets goooood. Jesus proceeds to tell a story about this guy who is on his way to Jericho and gets jumped by a bunch of hooligans. Now, the road from Jerusalem to Jericho was pretty sketchy, not somewhere one would like to be. Lots of corners for people to hide behind.
So, this guy is beat up pretty bad and three people walk by him on this road. The first is a Priest and the second a Levite, both of which walk by without even acknowledging the wounded man. But the third, a Samaritan (not very high up on the social chain), stopped and not only bandaged this guy up on the spot but took him to an inn, continued to care for him until he, the Samaritan, had to continue on his journey, and offered to pay for whatever remaining care was needed. After Jesus tells the story, he asks the guy, “So, who do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell at the hands of the robber?” The man replies, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Now, if you know me, then you’d know that MLK J.R. has been extremely impactful in shaping my ideologies and my general attitude towards people. I will be using a lot of his ideas because I think that they are still relevant and applicable to today. (Seriously people, read “Strength to Love.” It’s pretty legit)
This is what is so awesome about the Good Samaritan, while others would have asked themselves, “What will happened to me if I help this man?” (because like I said the road from Jerusalem to Jericho was nutty, people got robbed and junk there all the time. This guy could have been faking in order to rob the Samaritan). Rather the Samaritan asked himself, “What will happen to this man if I don’t stop to help him.” The Samaritan was frickin’ legit because as King puts it, “he made concern for others the first law of his life.” However, it was more than simply just that. The Samaritan did not pay attention to the external attributes of the man; he cared for him indiscriminately. King states it this way, “ The good neighbor looks beyond the external accidents and discerns those inner qualities that make all [people] human and, therefore, brothers.”
Let me restate what the good man MLK said,“ The good neighbor looks beyond the external accidents and discerns those inner qualities that make all [people] human and, therefore, brothers.” I like that King calls them “accidents.”
Why is it so essential to look beyond the “external accidents.” Simply put, it is essential to look beyond the external accidents that differentiate people because once those traits become the defining factor, people are clumped together and become “them.” That is the thing that is most frustrating, the rigid delineation of “us” and “them.” Once classified as “the other,” we strip people of their humanity, the same humanity that causes one to treat another humanely. It’s a tactic that has been used since the dawn of man. How do you think slavery subsisted for so long, the oppression of women, The Holocaust, The millions of people who’ve died because they were not apart of “us” etc. etc. etc.?
There are those who will continue to condemn and ostracize the homosexual population, marginalize illegal immigrants, the poor, the addicted, the minority. That is unfortunate. But for the rest of us (ha…I just made a delineation between us and them ☺) King states, “It is not enough to aid the wounded man on the Jericho Road; It is also important to change the conditions which make robbery possible.” Lastly we must never forget this: “Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary.” MLK Jr.
There are certain conditions in place that make the proliferation of discrimination, prejudice, and marginalization possible and even profitable.
I am not claiming to know the answers to these problems. I most certainly don’t know the answers; but, I know this: When I get to the end of my life and have to answer to God, I’d rather he judge me for being too liberal in my ideologies than for being too conservative in my love.
If you don’t know the parable, here is the short scoop. Basically this guy is like, “Hey Jesus what do I have to do to get eternal life?” Jesus says, “Well what do you think?” The guy responds, “Love God, and love my neighbor.” Jesus is like, “Word. You know what’s up.” So then the guy asks, “Who is my neighbor?” Now this is where it gets goooood. Jesus proceeds to tell a story about this guy who is on his way to Jericho and gets jumped by a bunch of hooligans. Now, the road from Jerusalem to Jericho was pretty sketchy, not somewhere one would like to be. Lots of corners for people to hide behind.
So, this guy is beat up pretty bad and three people walk by him on this road. The first is a Priest and the second a Levite, both of which walk by without even acknowledging the wounded man. But the third, a Samaritan (not very high up on the social chain), stopped and not only bandaged this guy up on the spot but took him to an inn, continued to care for him until he, the Samaritan, had to continue on his journey, and offered to pay for whatever remaining care was needed. After Jesus tells the story, he asks the guy, “So, who do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell at the hands of the robber?” The man replies, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Now, if you know me, then you’d know that MLK J.R. has been extremely impactful in shaping my ideologies and my general attitude towards people. I will be using a lot of his ideas because I think that they are still relevant and applicable to today. (Seriously people, read “Strength to Love.” It’s pretty legit)
This is what is so awesome about the Good Samaritan, while others would have asked themselves, “What will happened to me if I help this man?” (because like I said the road from Jerusalem to Jericho was nutty, people got robbed and junk there all the time. This guy could have been faking in order to rob the Samaritan). Rather the Samaritan asked himself, “What will happen to this man if I don’t stop to help him.” The Samaritan was frickin’ legit because as King puts it, “he made concern for others the first law of his life.” However, it was more than simply just that. The Samaritan did not pay attention to the external attributes of the man; he cared for him indiscriminately. King states it this way, “ The good neighbor looks beyond the external accidents and discerns those inner qualities that make all [people] human and, therefore, brothers.”
Let me restate what the good man MLK said,“ The good neighbor looks beyond the external accidents and discerns those inner qualities that make all [people] human and, therefore, brothers.” I like that King calls them “accidents.”
Why is it so essential to look beyond the “external accidents.” Simply put, it is essential to look beyond the external accidents that differentiate people because once those traits become the defining factor, people are clumped together and become “them.” That is the thing that is most frustrating, the rigid delineation of “us” and “them.” Once classified as “the other,” we strip people of their humanity, the same humanity that causes one to treat another humanely. It’s a tactic that has been used since the dawn of man. How do you think slavery subsisted for so long, the oppression of women, The Holocaust, The millions of people who’ve died because they were not apart of “us” etc. etc. etc.?
There are those who will continue to condemn and ostracize the homosexual population, marginalize illegal immigrants, the poor, the addicted, the minority. That is unfortunate. But for the rest of us (ha…I just made a delineation between us and them ☺) King states, “It is not enough to aid the wounded man on the Jericho Road; It is also important to change the conditions which make robbery possible.” Lastly we must never forget this: “Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary.” MLK Jr.
There are certain conditions in place that make the proliferation of discrimination, prejudice, and marginalization possible and even profitable.
I am not claiming to know the answers to these problems. I most certainly don’t know the answers; but, I know this: When I get to the end of my life and have to answer to God, I’d rather he judge me for being too liberal in my ideologies than for being too conservative in my love.
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