Isaiah’s Cry

My husband and I just attended a thought-provoking, challenging and potentially life-changing conference this weekend focused on the changing demographics and “mission field” on our very own doorstep. We heard from Dr. Soong-Chan Rah, a professor at North Park Seminary and well-respected thinker in the world of Christian social action. Dr. Rah spoke of the theologies of suffering and celebration that mark different groups in Christendom. What I am sharing here are largely his thoughts gleaned from his study of other thinkers in this arena and their studies, but I write them because I am challenged by this and think that this idea should profoundly impact the Church. More »

March 8th, 2009 | Category: The Bible and Social Justice | Comments (1)

I can’t tell you how excited I was to read that the archbishops in the Worldwide Anglican Communion recently issued a statement requesting that President Mugabe of Zimbabwe step down from his role. They recognized that his leadership has been one of oppression, killing, secret kidnappings, threats and simply put, human rights violations. They also stated that his position as president at this time is illegitimate considering that he lost last year’s election. These archbishops have called upon the various leaders in the Anglican world as well as the laypersons in the church to speak out on this issue and to provide for the physical needs of the people of Zimbabwe.

Wednesday, February 25th, which is Ash Wednesday, has been designated by them as a day to stand in support of Zimbabweans who have long been oppressed and to pray for them.

February 23rd, 2009 | Category: Current Events | Comments (1)

I attend a church where we celebrate the Lord’s Supper or Eucharist on a weekly basis–actually, we celebrate it on Sunday and on Wednesday. Recently, we have been using a liturgy for the Eucharist that comes from the church in Kenya and includes this prayer:

O God of our ancestors, God of our people, before whose face the human generations pass away: We thank you that in you we are kept safe forever, and that the broken fragments of our history are gathered up in the redeeming act of your dear Son, remembered in this holy sacrament of bread and wine. Help us to walk daily in the Communion of Saints, declaring our faith in the forgiveness of sins and the resurrection of the body. Now send us out in the power of your Holy Spirit to live and work for your praise and glory. Amen.

What does this have to do with justice or poverty or mercy? Well, “the broken fragments of our history are gathered up in the redeeming act of [Jesus Christ].” Praise God that through His love and through His mercy, all of the injustice that we have committed, that our ancestors have committed, that our children and grandchildren will commit, is gathered up through Jesus Christ, the Just, for if they were not, I don’t think that this life would be worth living.

The end of this particular liturgy is a blessing, and it goes like this:

All our problems we send to the cross of Christ. All our difficulties we send to the cross of Christ. All the devil’s works we send to the cross of Christ. All our hopes we set on the risen Christ.

And so, today, as I am surrounded by a world filled with injustice, as I struggle against my own sinful inclination towards injustice and unmercifulness, I set my hopes on the risen Christ, for, as my dear husband gently reminded me yesterday, “Susan, one person cannot change the world by herself, but God can.” What a comfort. What a hope!

February 23rd, 2009 | Category: My Journey, The Bible and Social Justice | Leave a comment

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” –Matthew 25:31-46

I don’t feel qualified to exegete this passage, so I won’t. I’ll just share a few thoughts and leave you hanging.

Salvation is by grace through faith and not by works. Faith without works is dead (meaning, not in existence). So how do these words of Jesus fit in? Perhaps in our evangelical fear of giving the wrong impression (that we must earn our salvation or do works to keep it), we tend to ignore this passage in its entirety because it seems to be on the verge of being theologically unsound (wait, can Jesus be theologically unsound?) and we just focus on the first part, the nice part where, at the end of the sermon, we all feel like going to volunteer at the local soup kitchen.

In fact, I find that I am afraid that if I try to make sense of this passage, readers might begin to think my theology is messed up. So, maybe I’ll just leave this passage here for you to ponder, and I’ll ponder it too, and let’s all ask God to unveil our eyes so that we can understand and accept what Christ is calling us to in this passage. I don’t fully understand it, but every time I read it, I am disturbed. However, I’m going to stop running from that disturbed feeling and confront it and see what cool thing God makes of it. One thing I know, God doesn’t say ANYTHING He doesn’t mean.

January 18th, 2009 | Category: Current Events | Leave a comment