I am truly blessed.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Friday, February 15, 2013
Valentine's Day.
Valentine's Day is a unique and special day. Romantics run around full of joy and excitement, pink and red find their way onto every food, flower, and candy bar in the grocery store, and (together) friends mourn their singleness (often not realizing that while they may not have a "date," they are not alone).
Overall though, Valentine's Day brings people together. People begin to think about the things they love. And the people they love.
Love is great. It is important. It makes life worth it.
I loved hearing the stories of a couple exchanging sweet gifts; I loved receiving a cute Spider-man valentine with an awesome tattoo from a kindergartner; I loved wearing all black, eating ice cream and watching sad movies with my roommates. I loved being reminded to love the small things. I loved being reminded to appreciate the big things. I loved being reminded that there is SO much to love.
And as I am constantly reminded by a dear friend: God is love. And love is real.
Love well my friends. (Even when it is not Valentine's Day).
Overall though, Valentine's Day brings people together. People begin to think about the things they love. And the people they love.
Love is great. It is important. It makes life worth it.
"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends." (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a)This year I loved getting to witness those around me acknowledge the things and people they love.
I loved hearing the stories of a couple exchanging sweet gifts; I loved receiving a cute Spider-man valentine with an awesome tattoo from a kindergartner; I loved wearing all black, eating ice cream and watching sad movies with my roommates. I loved being reminded to love the small things. I loved being reminded to appreciate the big things. I loved being reminded that there is SO much to love.
And as I am constantly reminded by a dear friend: God is love. And love is real.
Love well my friends. (Even when it is not Valentine's Day).
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Confessions of a Contemporary Christian Colonialist –by: Josh Kaufman-Horner
Confessions of a Contemporary Christian Colonialist – By: Josh Kaufman-Horner
I've always wondered what Jesus said to Zacchaeus during their visit recorded in Luke 19. Whatever it was must have been good, because Zacchaeus got excited. “Look Lord,” he said, “half my possessions I give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything I will pay back four times as much.” Jesus’ response was simple and joyful. “Today salvation has come to this house.”
I bet Zacchaeus was even more excited after that.
But what if Zacchaeus had said "no" to Jesus? What if Zacchaeus kept on defrauding people until he died, and then left his wealth as an inheritance to his children? And then…what if Jesus had dropped in to visit Zacchaeus’ children after their father's funeral?
Would Jesus have said, “Look, your father accumulated some of his wealth through unjust means. I told him how he and his household could be saved from this sin, but he refused to repent. But don’t you worry about all that. By inheriting unjust wealth it is cleansed of the fraud by which it was acquired. Enjoy your good fortune.”
Or might Jesus have let the children know that his continuing invitation to salvation involved their use of some portion of the inheritance to set right Zacchaeus’ wrong doing? Might Jesus have told them that true reconciliation with their father's victims required they produce fruits in keeping with repentance?
I’m guessing the latter. I’m guessing Jesus would have invited Zacchaeus’ children to offer restitution to their father's victims. Moreover, I’m guessing that if the ill-gotten wealth was passed down to the next generation, Jesus would have offered the same invitation toZacchaeus’ grandchildren as well.
At no point do I imagine Jesus saying to a member of Zacchaeus’ family, “We both know some of your fortune comes as the result of fraud, but don’t let that trouble you. Your awareness of Zacchaeus’ misdeeds doesn’t make you responsible in any way. Live it up! Today salvation has come to this house.”
I can’t see it. When ill-gotten resources fall into the hands of an innocent person, that person does not become responsible for their benefactor’s fraud or injustice. However when a Christian becomes aware they are the beneficiaries of prior wrongdoing it certainly becomes their responsibility to do what they can to set things right. Neither Jesus, nor common sense, could allow them to ignore their legacy or offer them cheap grace.
Moreover, instead of grudging personal reparations that only do justice, Jesus calls his followers to the irrational-without-resurrection joy of generosity that surpasses justice. Jesus, as the embodiment of God's justice-surpassing generosity (a.k.a. grace), incites Zacchaeus to go beyond justice and joyfully give half of his possessions to the poor!
Of course, as a white American, Jesus' invitation is both an opportunity for joy and a big headache for me. After all, it requires little education in United States history to realize white Americans are generally the beneficiaries of at least two monumental injustices. First, this land I live on was often taken from the Native Americans by means of broken promises and military force. Second, African men, women, and children were brutally enslaved in order to provide cheap labor for many of the new landholders. Unsurprisingly our secular government has never offered a formal apology for these abuses. But, as a Christian, I live with an awareness of needing to seek to make right the reality that some inestimable, but not insignificant, portion of my resources are the legacy of these injustices. I'm hereby not overlooking the significant part of my resources that are the result of generations of hard work and thrift, nor am I seeking to grovel in disabling white guilt, instead I'm trusting that amidst the struggle with these truths Jesus will set me free. Like he did Zacchaeus.
So I've taken to recognizing myself as “The Child of an Unrepentant Zacchaeus.”
This is the third phase of my adult scriptural self-identity. For years I sought to follow Jesus while only giving out of my abundance (Luke 21:1-4). Then growing awareness of Jesus' message about caring for the least of these led briefly to my heroic identity as a good Samaritan intervening to save the day (Luke 10:25-37). Now Zacchaeus has helped me recognize that part of why I get to play Good Samaritan is because my forbearers were such efficient robbers. It has been humbling to embrace this more honest identity and struggle with what it means for me.
Like an unrepentant Zacchaeus, white Americans – our parents and grandparents, and their parents and grandparents – generally turned away from the complex costs of doing justice with our unjust wealth. They, and I suspect we as well, often feared Jesus' invitation to conversation. As much as we want to hear Jesus say, “Salvation has come to this house”, we resist wrestling with the origins of some portion of our resources.
This legacy of resisting Jesus now falls to this generation. Will we pass it to another? Will we ignore what we know to be true? Will we act as if this is all the government's responsibility, rather than wrestling with personal repentance and restitution? Will we continue to build upon these foundational injustices by enjoying new luxuries provided largely by the corporate exploitation of people and resources under authoritarian governments?
Still I look around our home and find I am unrepentant. Like those who came before me, I daily choose to treat the privileges and resources I have inherited as though they were entirely untainted by my nation’s original sins. I carelessly enjoy the endless array of cheap consumer goods produced by the victims of oppressive governments to whom we've outsourced slavery. I overlook unfair labor practices if they make my retirement portfolio rise. I prefer discussing racial reconciliation and poverty exclusively in the legitimate terms of personal responsibility while setting aside the consequences of these legacies.
I want to walk with Jesus today while holding on to unjust privileges the past affords me.
But then I remember. I remember Zacchaeus did repent, and I remember he celebrated his salvation with Jesus.
I want that too.
Jesus, please show me the way.
-----
- Jesus sat down opposite the treasury and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on. - Mark 12:41-44, NRSV
- Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.
But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers? He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” - Luke 10:25-37, NRSV
- Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to
grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and save the lost.” - Luke 19:1-10, NRSV
I've always wondered what Jesus said to Zacchaeus during their visit recorded in Luke 19. Whatever it was must have been good, because Zacchaeus got excited. “Look Lord,” he said, “half my possessions I give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything I will pay back four times as much.” Jesus’ response was simple and joyful. “Today salvation has come to this house.”
I bet Zacchaeus was even more excited after that.
But what if Zacchaeus had said "no" to Jesus? What if Zacchaeus kept on defrauding people until he died, and then left his wealth as an inheritance to his children? And then…what if Jesus had dropped in to visit Zacchaeus’ children after their father's funeral?
Would Jesus have said, “Look, your father accumulated some of his wealth through unjust means. I told him how he and his household could be saved from this sin, but he refused to repent. But don’t you worry about all that. By inheriting unjust wealth it is cleansed of the fraud by which it was acquired. Enjoy your good fortune.”
Or might Jesus have let the children know that his continuing invitation to salvation involved their use of some portion of the inheritance to set right Zacchaeus’ wrong doing? Might Jesus have told them that true reconciliation with their father's victims required they produce fruits in keeping with repentance?
I’m guessing the latter. I’m guessing Jesus would have invited Zacchaeus’ children to offer restitution to their father's victims. Moreover, I’m guessing that if the ill-gotten wealth was passed down to the next generation, Jesus would have offered the same invitation toZacchaeus’ grandchildren as well.
At no point do I imagine Jesus saying to a member of Zacchaeus’ family, “We both know some of your fortune comes as the result of fraud, but don’t let that trouble you. Your awareness of Zacchaeus’ misdeeds doesn’t make you responsible in any way. Live it up! Today salvation has come to this house.”
I can’t see it. When ill-gotten resources fall into the hands of an innocent person, that person does not become responsible for their benefactor’s fraud or injustice. However when a Christian becomes aware they are the beneficiaries of prior wrongdoing it certainly becomes their responsibility to do what they can to set things right. Neither Jesus, nor common sense, could allow them to ignore their legacy or offer them cheap grace.
Moreover, instead of grudging personal reparations that only do justice, Jesus calls his followers to the irrational-without-resurrection joy of generosity that surpasses justice. Jesus, as the embodiment of God's justice-surpassing generosity (a.k.a. grace), incites Zacchaeus to go beyond justice and joyfully give half of his possessions to the poor!
Of course, as a white American, Jesus' invitation is both an opportunity for joy and a big headache for me. After all, it requires little education in United States history to realize white Americans are generally the beneficiaries of at least two monumental injustices. First, this land I live on was often taken from the Native Americans by means of broken promises and military force. Second, African men, women, and children were brutally enslaved in order to provide cheap labor for many of the new landholders. Unsurprisingly our secular government has never offered a formal apology for these abuses. But, as a Christian, I live with an awareness of needing to seek to make right the reality that some inestimable, but not insignificant, portion of my resources are the legacy of these injustices. I'm hereby not overlooking the significant part of my resources that are the result of generations of hard work and thrift, nor am I seeking to grovel in disabling white guilt, instead I'm trusting that amidst the struggle with these truths Jesus will set me free. Like he did Zacchaeus.
So I've taken to recognizing myself as “The Child of an Unrepentant Zacchaeus.”
This is the third phase of my adult scriptural self-identity. For years I sought to follow Jesus while only giving out of my abundance (Luke 21:1-4). Then growing awareness of Jesus' message about caring for the least of these led briefly to my heroic identity as a good Samaritan intervening to save the day (Luke 10:25-37). Now Zacchaeus has helped me recognize that part of why I get to play Good Samaritan is because my forbearers were such efficient robbers. It has been humbling to embrace this more honest identity and struggle with what it means for me.
Like an unrepentant Zacchaeus, white Americans – our parents and grandparents, and their parents and grandparents – generally turned away from the complex costs of doing justice with our unjust wealth. They, and I suspect we as well, often feared Jesus' invitation to conversation. As much as we want to hear Jesus say, “Salvation has come to this house”, we resist wrestling with the origins of some portion of our resources.
This legacy of resisting Jesus now falls to this generation. Will we pass it to another? Will we ignore what we know to be true? Will we act as if this is all the government's responsibility, rather than wrestling with personal repentance and restitution? Will we continue to build upon these foundational injustices by enjoying new luxuries provided largely by the corporate exploitation of people and resources under authoritarian governments?
Still I look around our home and find I am unrepentant. Like those who came before me, I daily choose to treat the privileges and resources I have inherited as though they were entirely untainted by my nation’s original sins. I carelessly enjoy the endless array of cheap consumer goods produced by the victims of oppressive governments to whom we've outsourced slavery. I overlook unfair labor practices if they make my retirement portfolio rise. I prefer discussing racial reconciliation and poverty exclusively in the legitimate terms of personal responsibility while setting aside the consequences of these legacies.
I want to walk with Jesus today while holding on to unjust privileges the past affords me.
But then I remember. I remember Zacchaeus did repent, and I remember he celebrated his salvation with Jesus.
I want that too.
Jesus, please show me the way.
-----
- Jesus sat down opposite the treasury and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on. - Mark 12:41-44, NRSV
- Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.
But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers? He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” - Luke 10:25-37, NRSV
- Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to
grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and save the lost.” - Luke 19:1-10, NRSV
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