Today I want to take you back 2000 years ago and learn from a man who truly understood what effective community development looked like. He knew that unless it was long lasting, and well, eternal, that there was no point. His name was and is Jesus. Even if you don't believe He is the son of God (I really hope you do), it can be seen that his methods were ones that preserved dignity, empowered people, and were long lasting. So let's lay out a community development philosophy according to Jesus Christ. My goal is to answer the when, who, where and how questions of community developement, and particularly with regards to those experiencing homelessness.
When: Our first passage is found in most of the Gospels (I'll be reading from Matthew 12:9-14) and it is the story about the man with the withered hand. It was Jewish law that on the Sabbath one would rest and not do any work. So here we find Jesus strolling around on Sabbath and he encounters a man with a withered hand. The pharisees, who were teachers of the law were essentially out on the Sabbath trying to troll Jesus hard. They were trying to find ways to get him in trouble so that they could get rid of him. Anyways, as Jesus approaches the man with the withered hand the pharisees ask (troll) Jesus "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" His response is this: "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." Or in other translations: "What did the five fingers say to the face? SLAP." So when do you partake in interacting with this community? All the time silly! Jesus is essentially saying this: Use your common sense. If there is chance for you to do good, do it! I'm not going to get into a philosophical debate about ends and means here, I think this passage is supposed to be quite simple. So like, I don't know if it's Sunday morning and you're all dressed up ready to go into church and sing "How Great Thou Art" and there is someone on the street YEARNING for a conversation or maybe a shared meal, you could use your common sense and be a bit late to church or skip out on Sunday brunch with your friends and do good.
Where and Who: I'm going to answer this one in the first sentance. IN YOUR COMMUNITIES. You might think: I live in Arcadia CA, it's a really nice and wealthy neighborhood, there aren't any homeless here. WRONG. Is this what Jesus did? Yup. There isn't just one passage where we see this but many. Jesus walks around his neighborhood/community and INTERACTS with the people of it. All kinds of people. Tax collectors (Luke 19:1-10), lepers (Luke 17:11-19), prostitutes (Luke 7:36-50), adulteresses (John 8:1-11) and whole a lot of other demographics (Matthew 25). These people exist in our culture today, some in the same exact way and some have taken other forms. But nonetheless, they are here and we are called to love them. If I were to extrapolate a little bit and survey how Jesus spent his time, based on what the scriptures say, I would say he spent more time with the sick and unbelieving then he did with the believing and healthy. (Mark 2:17). And that should be no different for us.
I actually believe this requires us to simply spend more time walking around our communities. I don't think Jesus got out of his bed and said: Totes gonna heal a man with leprosy today, maybe hang out with some tax collectors, or forgive the sins of an adulteress. No, he simply spent time in his community and was available so that when the need was present, so was he. I was shocked to find that when I practiced this in Pasadena, opportunities began to pop up. Instead of taking the short route to the awesome taco shop across the street from my church, I took the long route and met a young man about my age named Chris, who was currently living on the streets. I asked him if he wanted some lunch and we went and got some tacos and had a great conversation about how the church views people like him.
This isn't the sort of thing where you say, it's not my calling, I don't feel like the Lord has told me to interact with these people. No, this is a given, a constant, something you are expected to do as a follower and imitator of Christ. But I agree with what you might be thinking. It's not easy! Approaching a man that hasn't showered in maybe a few years, wearing the same clothes, just finished getting high, and could potentially be mentally ill is not the most comfortable of situations. But we aren't called to live in comfort now are we? Jesus certainly didn't live a comfortable life, at least in worldly terms.
How: Here is were it gets a little bit technical and requires some reading into the scriptures, but I also believe it speaks out for itself. Throughout Jesus's life we see him perform many mircales and interact with many sick folk, but one thing that we see each time Jesus makes one of these radical displays of love, is that he does not just heal the person and walk away. He does not merely point out a flaw in the woman at the well, rather he tells her how she can acquire living water, that will never leave her thirsty, he tells the no longer crippled man to, "get up and walk." All of these displays of power point to something: Jesus was not just interested in fixing these people mechanically, but empowering them, lifting them up, and helping them in a holistic sense, so that they could rise and proclaim the Good news.
This last point will lead us directly into what our next blog will focus on, a continuation of the "how". How can we do things to help people, that are effective, but also long lasting? The key is empowerment. We empower by not destroying their dignity, by only doing for them what they can't do on their own. This is what Jesus has taught me and countless others community development pioneers.
When: Our first passage is found in most of the Gospels (I'll be reading from Matthew 12:9-14) and it is the story about the man with the withered hand. It was Jewish law that on the Sabbath one would rest and not do any work. So here we find Jesus strolling around on Sabbath and he encounters a man with a withered hand. The pharisees, who were teachers of the law were essentially out on the Sabbath trying to troll Jesus hard. They were trying to find ways to get him in trouble so that they could get rid of him. Anyways, as Jesus approaches the man with the withered hand the pharisees ask (troll) Jesus "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" His response is this: "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." Or in other translations: "What did the five fingers say to the face? SLAP." So when do you partake in interacting with this community? All the time silly! Jesus is essentially saying this: Use your common sense. If there is chance for you to do good, do it! I'm not going to get into a philosophical debate about ends and means here, I think this passage is supposed to be quite simple. So like, I don't know if it's Sunday morning and you're all dressed up ready to go into church and sing "How Great Thou Art" and there is someone on the street YEARNING for a conversation or maybe a shared meal, you could use your common sense and be a bit late to church or skip out on Sunday brunch with your friends and do good.
Where and Who: I'm going to answer this one in the first sentance. IN YOUR COMMUNITIES. You might think: I live in Arcadia CA, it's a really nice and wealthy neighborhood, there aren't any homeless here. WRONG. Is this what Jesus did? Yup. There isn't just one passage where we see this but many. Jesus walks around his neighborhood/community and INTERACTS with the people of it. All kinds of people. Tax collectors (Luke 19:1-10), lepers (Luke 17:11-19), prostitutes (Luke 7:36-50), adulteresses (John 8:1-11) and whole a lot of other demographics (Matthew 25). These people exist in our culture today, some in the same exact way and some have taken other forms. But nonetheless, they are here and we are called to love them. If I were to extrapolate a little bit and survey how Jesus spent his time, based on what the scriptures say, I would say he spent more time with the sick and unbelieving then he did with the believing and healthy. (Mark 2:17). And that should be no different for us.
I actually believe this requires us to simply spend more time walking around our communities. I don't think Jesus got out of his bed and said: Totes gonna heal a man with leprosy today, maybe hang out with some tax collectors, or forgive the sins of an adulteress. No, he simply spent time in his community and was available so that when the need was present, so was he. I was shocked to find that when I practiced this in Pasadena, opportunities began to pop up. Instead of taking the short route to the awesome taco shop across the street from my church, I took the long route and met a young man about my age named Chris, who was currently living on the streets. I asked him if he wanted some lunch and we went and got some tacos and had a great conversation about how the church views people like him.
This isn't the sort of thing where you say, it's not my calling, I don't feel like the Lord has told me to interact with these people. No, this is a given, a constant, something you are expected to do as a follower and imitator of Christ. But I agree with what you might be thinking. It's not easy! Approaching a man that hasn't showered in maybe a few years, wearing the same clothes, just finished getting high, and could potentially be mentally ill is not the most comfortable of situations. But we aren't called to live in comfort now are we? Jesus certainly didn't live a comfortable life, at least in worldly terms.
How: Here is were it gets a little bit technical and requires some reading into the scriptures, but I also believe it speaks out for itself. Throughout Jesus's life we see him perform many mircales and interact with many sick folk, but one thing that we see each time Jesus makes one of these radical displays of love, is that he does not just heal the person and walk away. He does not merely point out a flaw in the woman at the well, rather he tells her how she can acquire living water, that will never leave her thirsty, he tells the no longer crippled man to, "get up and walk." All of these displays of power point to something: Jesus was not just interested in fixing these people mechanically, but empowering them, lifting them up, and helping them in a holistic sense, so that they could rise and proclaim the Good news.
This last point will lead us directly into what our next blog will focus on, a continuation of the "how". How can we do things to help people, that are effective, but also long lasting? The key is empowerment. We empower by not destroying their dignity, by only doing for them what they can't do on their own. This is what Jesus has taught me and countless others community development pioneers.
No comments:
Post a Comment