christ in alabama
Christ is a Nigger,
Beaten and black–
O, bare your back.
Mary is His Mother
Mammy of the South,
Silence your Mouth.
God’s His Father–
White Master above
Grant us your love.
Most holy bastard
Of the bleeding mouth:
Nigger Christ
On the cross of the South.
- Langston Hughes (1931)
This poem is powerful, speaking volumes to the nature of American racism and distortion of Christian faith. But how much have we moved forward from the 1930s?
Racism doesn’t look like it used to.
We tell a black man, work your place in life.
We tell a black woman, stop complaining.
We tell black people, conform to fit into the majority system.
We tell black people, die to self as Christ did. You who once had no opportunity or hope now have it! Just play by our rules.
racial justice in mississippi
Justice served.
Justice, however, will not be complete unless these defendants use the remainder of their lives to learn from this experience and fully commit to making a positive difference in the New Mississippi.
what is the living wage?
The living wage is based on the amount an individual needs to earn to cover the basic costs of living.
This is a really cool endeavor by our friends over in the UK.
1. To acknowledge that minimum wage is not enough to live off of.
2. To bring research and numbers to the table so change can occur.
3. To be a benchmark for everyday citizens to gauge their jobs and pay.
4. To bring change about not through strict enforcement but through an informed populace.
5. To bring pressure to private sector (and public sector) to reduce need of government
Something to note in the midst of this – more money doesn’t solve problems. To give someone who has been living in poverty with a day-to-day survival mentality more money doesn’t automatically change that mindset. Such a system only keeps people in cycles of poverty. It is important and necessary to champion both livable wages and how to steward that wage well. Pray for the Church to be a champion of living wage in this way.
"Black lives matter.
The Kingdom of God is not a zero sum game. For others to gain more value does not devalue you."
"O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.
…
And the LORD answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end–it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay."
— Habakkuk 1:2-4; 2:2-3
coptic
brothers and sisters in arms
bearing the cross
suffering for the sake of the cross
who mourns for you?
who fights for you?
brothers and sisters in arms
simple faith
faith that moves mountains
who mourns for you?
who fights for you?
brothers and sisters in arms
full of mystery
a history full of heritage
who mourns for you?
who fights for you?
brothers and sisters in arms
rejected, forsaken
a remnant in a land of promise
who mourns for you?
who fights for you?
brothers and sisters in arms
understanding sacrifice
ready to die for the cross
who mourns for you?
who fights for you?
(Source: slodive.com)
poverty & saving
If I were to be single and lived at the poverty line for the remainder of my life, why would I save for the future?
Poverty Level Income: $11,490 [1]
Social Security benefit (after age 65): $8,652 [2]
Social Security income:$7,104 [3]
Total Income upon retirement: $15,756
When one thinks about personal finance, avoiding debt, investing in retirement, how does any of this matter to someone who is living paycheck to paycheck? It cannot be easy to have a far or high view of the future. What would Kingdom finance look like? Is it not at least what Social Security provides to the least of us?
But Jesus said, “… you give them something to eat.” They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then … taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. … And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over.
Matthew 14:16-20
Sources:
[1] https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/01/24/2013-01422/annual-update-of-the-hhs-poverty-guidelines
[2] https://www.socialsecurity.gov/ssi/text-benefits-ussi.htm
[3] https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/quickcalc/index.html
Note: this is all calculated for a single person in 2015 dollars. Probably have some grand assumptions as well.
initium
The first time I wrestled with the idea of justice occurred when I came across Micah 6:8. What does it mean to “do justice”? What is God’s desire for justice? Is it simply a wrathful desire for all impurities to be eradicated? Or is it something more?
As I have delved throughout the Biblical scriptures and experienced glimpses of life in the ghettos of the world, this has become clear: God’s justice is expansive beyond what I could have imagined. And the call to seek justice means that I am at the very least an ally and advocate for the orphan, widow, sojourner, poor, hungry, weary, forgotten, racially profiled, discriminated, persecuted, exploited, hopeless. I am broken and my salvation is integrally connected with the rest of the broken world’s restoration.
This is my continued exploration in what God’s justice is. This is my epitaph for all those who have been failed by the broken systems of the world.
Come Lord Jesus, come.