rocking me

This is another quote that has been rocking me these last few weeks. Say what you want about the political elements implied, but this man, some dude name Kaj Munk (I think he's dead,) makes an amazing point that cannot be ignored.

What is, therefore, our task today? Shall I answer: "Faith, hope and love"? That sounds beautiful. But I would say - courage. No, even that is not challenging enough to be the whole truth. Our task today is recklessness. For what we Christians lack is not psychology or literature... we lack a holy rage - the recklessness which comes from the knowledge of God and humanity. The ability to rage when justice lies prostrate on the streets and when the lie rages across the face of the earth... a holy anger about the things that are wrong in the world. To rage against the ravaging of God's earth, and the destruction of God's world. To rage when little children must die of hunger, when the tables of the rich are sagging with food. To rage at the senseless killing of so many, and against the madness of the militaries. To rage at the lie that calls the threat of death and the strategy of destruction peace. To rage against complacency. To restlessly seek that recklessness that will challenge and seek to change human history until it conforms to the norms of the Kingdon of God. And remember, the signs of the Christian Church have been the Lion, the Lamb, the Dove and the Fish... but never the chameleon.

stepping on toes

Man, I feel like my world has been rocked lately. I'm having trouble putting my head around the ideas that are running through my thoughts. Poverty, both spiritual and physical, is such a dominant force in society today. People are suffering, children are stuck in cycles of poverty that they have little to no chance of escaping from, yet ignorance among western christians is prevalent, ignorance is prevalent in my life. I see poverty every day, I see dirty, hungry, parasite-infected children running around barefoot in the streets, but yet I am only now, after over 8 months of living with these constant reminders, beginning to fully grab ahold of the problem of poverty and what I can and should do about it. I am struggling to function in life like I used to, and I'm so happy for that, because how I was functioning wasn't living up to the call that our Christ has given us. I am striving, searching within me to find, a holy, righteous anger, to fight the chains of poverty and offer myself in every way to show the love of my Christ, my savior to people with no hope, as he commanded.

Here's one of those commandments, from Matthew 25

34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

This passage has been rocking my world, would any Christian let Jesus go hungry? How then, do we justify not giving of ourselves to those who are hungry in the world around us, and not just in Africa or the Dominican Republic, but also in our own inner cities, our own neighborshoods.