Justice In A Dangerous Time

I first came across the International Justice Mission when Jamie McIntosh was establishing the Canadian arm of the mission in Canada. It was 2002 and Jamie was thoroughly convinced of the message he had been given for the people of Canada. The mission of IJM Canada is

"To protect the poor from violence by rescuing victims, bringing the criminals to justice, restoring survivors to safety and strength, and helping local law enforcement build a safe future that lasts."

He knew that it would not be easy; justice ministries are not 100 metre dashes; they are long distance, endurance runs. Quite frankly, his zeal scared me and I was not sure the message would be well-received in the church; but, I also admired his willingness to speak out and say things that others had said before him but needed to be said again. His words rang like those of an Old Testament Prophet:

“Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; You will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets and Dwellings.” Isaiah 58:12

He sounded like our Lord rebuking those who thought that they were above reproach:

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices - mint, dill and cummin. But you neglected the more important matters of the law - justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former." Matthew 23:23

Bow Valley Christian Church will hear these words again as Mark Wollenburg represents the International Justice Mission of Canada at our World Outreach Weekend, 2014. Hear Mark speak at the Saturday (February 1) banquet and the Sunday (February 2) morning service. He will tell us of Project Lantern designed "to demonstrate the effectiveness of a law enforcement based strategy to reduce the prevalence of sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children in the Metro Cebu area" of the Philippines." We will all be challenged.

“Victims of injustice do not need our spasm of passion. They need our long obedience in the same direction. They need our legs and lungs of endurance.” IJM Founder Gary Haugen

Filling Our Lives

As we approach the most commercialized, consumerist, season of the year, it is appropriate to pause and consider our values once again. Let's take a quick look at some of the messages given to us by the dominant culture at this time of year:

• buying things will make you happy
• if you buy one thing for someone else you can get a gift card to spend on yourself
• entertainment systems are a necessity
• big, high definition, entertainment systems will make your life better
• buying enough things so that everyone can have their own is only fair
• buying things that allow you to choose your own entertainment options will make you happier
• your home is your sanctuary away from the problems of the world
• stuff will make you sexy
• sexy will sell anything
• houses need to be big enough to keep all of your stuff.

If these are indeed some of the messages heard in the dominant culture (and certainly we could add more), let us ask ourselves, "How many actually make sense to us?" How many of the dominant messages of our culture have become part of our thought processes? Father Richard Rohr has said,

Most Christian 'believers' tend to echo the cultural prejudices and worldviews of the dominant group in their country, with only a minority revealing any real transformation of attitudes or consciousness. It has been true of slavery and racism, classism and consumerism, and issues of immigration and health care for the poor. From a religion based on a man who was always healing poor people and foreigners, it defies any logical analysis!1

To what is God calling us? How might we once again become a people who follow a man who healed poor people and foreigners?

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.
Romans 12:1-3 (New Living Translation).

1 Huffington Post, "Religion and Immigration: We Have Not Yet Begun to Love," October 18, 2011.

Follow-Up to Passing Judgement

The love of those things that are outside Christianity keeps me outside the church. 

- Simone Weil as quoted in Duncan, David James. The Brothers K. New York: Random House, Inc., 2005.

Passing Judgement

I often cringe when people suggest that we should all stop "judging." Sometimes my cringe is because I feel bad for the person who feels that others are passing judgement on their actions. Sometimes I cringe because I feel that the person is seeking to justify actions that are certainly not worthy of praise. Sometimes I cringe because I simply do not know what to do with the emotions I feel when someone hurts someone else. If I judge that someone has made a judgement upon someone, do I have enough knowledge to know why that person has made the judgement? If I condemn the judgement, am I also guilty of judgement? Sometimes my cringe is because I sense that people are continuing to hurt others with words meant to correct a fault.

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Romans 2:1

This passage tells us to treat others with the respect with which we would want to be treated. It is a recognition that we will see the sin in others' lives but may not recognize the same type of sin in our own life. For example, I may see the lifestyles of those who earn large salaries and judge that they are living excessively and that they should live their lives differently. I may judge that they have succumbed to the sin of greed. I may not see that I have chosen a lifestyle in which I use more resources than I need and that others may see my lifestyle as excessive when compared to theirs. An appropriate reaction would be for me to live with generosity and model a lifestyle in which I seek to use wisely the resources that have been entrusted to me. I can also pray that others might wisely use the resources with which they have been entrusted whether those resources be small or large.

I may look on the sexual lifestyles of others and recognize sin without seeing the sinfulness and brokenness of my own sexuality. As Robert Burns wrote, "O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us To see oursels as ithers see us!"1 Might we begin to see, not only the sin of others, for we all know that there is sin in our world, but, might we also see ourselves as others see us.

Might we see that we too are broken and in need of rescue from ourselves. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are."2 If I choose to do so, I can pray for others who sin against God and against people and ask God to be gracious toward us all. Might we seek to see ourselves as God sees us.


1 From "To A Louse, On Seeing One on a Lady's Bonnet at Church," a 1786 Scots language poem by Robert Burns. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_a_Louse
2 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship; http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/2723088-nachfolge

Canada and Germany

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are set to meet together to discuss austerity, European debt, and stagnant economic growth in many countries of the world. Both Germany and Canada have weathered global economic downturns well and some look toward them both as models for other countries. Yet, both countries continue to struggle to post positive economic growth while residing close to other economies which have been severely affected by global events. Both Germany and Canada have relatively small populations but account for much global industry. This meeting will give two of the world's strongest economies a chance to consider the options regarding Europe's soaring debt and poor economic growth.

It also gives me an opportunity to consider how fortunate I am to live in Canada. In the midst of a world struggling with austerity plans and huge debts (Ireland has a debt of approximately 20 million Euros per person) I am very thankful to be living in Canada. In fact, I want that to be my first response to the world economic crisis: thankfulness.

Beyond thankfulness I pray that I can have an attitude of generosity. However other countries got into the situation in which they find themselves, I want to help them get out of it. Many times I am tempted to live a frugal life simply so that I can store up more for myself and my family. But what if I turned that attitude around and lived frugally and with austerity so that I might help someone else? We can consider how Canada and Germany might help others to find the way back to fiscal responsibility. We can model fiscal responsibility, generosity, and thankfulness.

“Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” Luke 3:11.

"Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life . . ." John 6:27.

"But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that." 1 Timothy 6:8

Immigrants

In an article in The Globe and Mail, Michael Valpy and Joe Friesen propose that it is largely the religious traditions of immigrants that are keeping our places of worship from closing. They point to the increasing secularization of native-born Canadians and contrast this with the steady faith of new immigrants to Canada.

In 1985, only 12 per cent of those born in Canada said they had no religious affiliation, compared with 21 per cent of immigrants who arrived in the previous 20 years. The 2009 data show "no religious affiliation" among the Canadian born jumped to 28 per cent, while the rate among recent immigrants held steady at 19 per cent.*

The article also quotes sociologist David Seljak of St. Jerome's University in Waterloo, Ontario as saying that

What attracts native-born Canadians to church these days is the availability of parking, quality of preaching and children's programs, in that order.*

Yes, that is what he said, parking, preaching, and programs. Sounds a bit shallow doesn't it? I would wish that sociologists would look at Canadians and see that they are looking for churches that care for the poor, churches that break the chains of those caught in the oppression of the sex-trade, churches that care for the immigrant, churches that care for the environment, and churches that create a community of faith that rights the wrongs of prejudice. Perhaps those of us who have been born in Canada have taken this life for granted. We have never learned what it means to be poor or to be an immigrant or to be oppressed. But God calls both recent immigrants and Canadian-born persons to care for the fatherless, the widow, and the foreigner.

Deuteronomy 10:17-19 (New International Version)
For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.

*Valpy, Michael, and Joe Friesen. "A Twist of Faith." The Globe and Mail, December 11, 2010: A12, A13.

Incarnation

The incarnation of God is a concept that is difficult for many to understand and believe. The word simply means to take on flesh. One who is incarnate is embodied in flesh. Thus we speak of Jesus as being "God embodied in flesh" or taking on human form. It is a mysterious and difficult concept to grasp. This poem/song by Wayne Watson expresses why it was necessary for God to put on flesh and walk among us.

One Christmas Eve
(Words and music by Wayne Watson; 1994 Material Music/Word Music)

He was a loving father
Gentle master of his home
But all alone against their love for God
No Savior of his own
Unmoved and softly cynical
Of those he thought naive
God come to earth? A virgin birth?
No, how could anybody believe?

His Christmas evening solitaire
Beside the fire’s glow.
Out of the window tiny sparrows
In the spell of a chilling snow.
And moved with deep compassion
With a redeeming plan, he rose
He tried in vain to gather them
To a shelter from the killing winter cold.

Oh, but simple creatures seldom
Comprehend the ways of man.
Sometimes love expressed is met with doubt and fear.
He thought, “If I could only fly among you,
I know I could make you understand. Just for a moment walk beside you
I know it would all be clear.
It would all be clear.”

And even before the thought had left his mind
Christmas bells from far away
Reminded him of simple truth
He’d denied until that very day,
How Jesus born the Savior
Walked this earth with mortal man.
Another soul brought safely home
And Christmas would never be the same again.
It would never be the same.

Transformation

Recently, I had the privilege of being the "best man" at a wedding. I met the groom, whom I now count as a friend, seven years ago. We met through an organization called COSA# on the day that he was released from a federal penitentiary. This friend has been through many challenges and ups and downs but yesterday was a great day of celebration as he and his bride said "I do" and committed themselves to each other.

As about thirty of us gathered around this couple and celebrated with them, it was great to see the transformation that had taken place in this man's life. And it was great to see that these thirty people had become a family to this couple. People can change. Many times people do not change because they do not have a family. For many of us, a family is what offers us the support and accountability that we need. A family provides respect and encourages growth. Very few of the thirty people in the room were actually biologically related to the couple but we were all family. I am thankful to have had a part in the transformation of this man's life. I am thankful for the community that is standing with this couple as they move forward in commitment together.



#COSA is a highly effective organization that makes a difference in criminal recidivism. I encourage all readers to consider volunteering as a COSA circle member. For information about your local COSA click here.

If I Were You

(Wayne Watson, © 1995 Material Music/Word ASCAP)

If I were You . . . if I ran this place
There wouldn’t be no mercy
There wouldn’t be no grace
And people that wander off and go astray
I’d make real sure that they would pay
Yeh, that’s what I’d do
If I were You

And if I were You . . . if I ran this town
The righteous would be sitting pretty
And the rotten would come tumbling down
They’d beg and they’d wrangle for a second chance
I’d say, "Sorry boys, but I just can’t"
Yeh, that’s what I’d do
If I were you

But You know me, I’m just a man
Of unclean lips and unclean hands
Some of the thoughts I have
Make me want to run and hide
I don’t know much but I’ve observed
You’ve never treated me like I deserved
Your loving arms are always open wide

If I were You . . . a catastrophe
What in the world kind of world would this world be
I guess I’ll take my place
Wrapped in amazing grace
Let You be You
That’s what I’ll do