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May 28 - July 7, 2020
our longing for and live into shalom is by being in relationship to those who are the most affected by broken systems and broken relationships.
“Shalom is always tested on the margins
encourages excess consumption and consumerism paid for by the exploitation of others, a country that refuses to acknowledge its past sins and so repeats them.
Country's ills
Are we okay with the way our world works? Or do we long to see a different dream start to grow?
Question for Christians
For people who come from a dominant culture background or multiple variations—someone like myself, who is White, American, and Christian—it can often feel overwhelming. Do we need to dismantle everything? How can we fix it quickly?
What do we do?
sit in the loneliness of watching my carefully constructed theologies and ideologies crumble as I listen to the stories of those who have been wounded along the road.
The only ones who can help us inch toward this new kind of world are those who have never felt safe, who have never had access to all that I who have taken for granted. The only way we will ever start to see the kingdom of God come to earth is by following the lead of the true exiles among us.
Follow the exiles. Its the only way.
Everything is slightly chaotic, but there are so many smiles that I stand in the corner, grinning like an idiot, a lightness on my shoulders as we slip into a place of blessing
it’s a space designed for everyone to flourish, not just a few. Spaces like these are increasingly rare in a capitalized, privatized society,
Spce meant for all to fliurish
examine the opposite values—affluence, autonomy, safety, and power—and to pay attention to how strong they are in my life and in the larger narrative of the American experiment.
His original audience must have been familiar with Isaiah, and they would have eagerly been waiting for the conclusion to that grand list of proclamations toward the poor and disposed—In Isaiah 61 it says, “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God.”
Leaving out vengeance - just like Jesus did
God is indeed rescuing, loving, and moving in the very communities that we would most like to exclude from the good news.
He loves even thode we think most deserve hate
The crowd rushed and tried to kill Jesus for saying the opposite, for leaving out the bits about judgment against perceived enemies and for saying the kingdom would come from those we were taught to hate and despise.
Crowd revolts to demand judgment
our own hearts can be twisted to feel the same anger and fear as we lose our spot as the pinnacle of God’s creation in our own minds or our societies.
He was able to see Jesus for who he was because he was in relationship with someone who desperately needed good news, who needed shalom.
?
People love to say that proximity will fix everything.
Living side by side with one another can even make a situation worse: when the oppressed and oppressor are locked in a dance to keep one subservient and the other in power,
Proximity plus toxic narratives and unequal power lead to more oppression.
Proximity only changes us if we enter into other peoples’ suffering. Only when we allow ourselves to experience the bad news of their world, without rushing to explain it away.
Experienc bad news without trying to explain away or fix
“relational reparations.” The kingdom of God, Nikondeha says, comes when the people of God give back to those the empire has stolen from.
A tall White man, he would dress in a suit and bring a briefcase with him. He would say nothing at all; just his presence was enough for his friends’ cases to be dropped, dismissed, or the fines lowered. Carl knew he couldn’t overturn the entire criminal justice system—he
Acknowledges the inequity in the system
Whenever he and his friends would leave court, Carl would open his briefcase and reveal what was inside: a bag of Doritos, which they would eat with relish.
Carl in a suit. A briefcase full of Doritos.
buy duplexes in poor neighborhoods. They live in one half of the duplex with their family and rent the other at rates well below the market.
studies show that saying a child’s name in a positive tone eight times a day can help undo the damage of only hearing their name when they’re in trouble for something.
anything that brings beauty to the world, anything that is worth creating in a world obsessed with consumption.
Friends who reject the isolation and autonomy of the surrounding culture and find creative ways to cram more people, more life, and more love into their spaces.
They only try to stimulate, hint, give nuance, not more. They cannot do more, because they are making available a world that does not yet exist beyond their imagination.”
Poetry
someone who pays attention and sees the world and yet has the imagination and audacity to envision a different future.
tree, its branches spread out, a few birds in its branches. At the base of the trunk is a tiny seed. It’s a mustard seed, the symbol of faith in Jesus’ parable of a mustard seed (Mark 4:30-32
Mustard seed/tree tattoo
Instead, the kingdom coming will look like a new city, full to bursting with people—just like the apartments here at the edge of our city.
when I grow up I hope I am more like you: full of anger at injustice, full of wonder and hope that the world could be a different way.
stirs up the flame of love within me for a very good God.
learn to give the burdens of my community back to God.
my agent Rachelle Gardner, my editor Ethan McCarthy, and the good folks at InterVarsity Press.
Agent and publisher
