Let's get to work.
It was Christmas morning.
All of the presents had been unwrapped. My always-cleaning brother-in-law had already collected the wrapping paper and folded up the gift bags. And all the children were running around “sharing” each others toys.
As my family was gathered together for the day, a decision was made. My sister, my wife, and I vowed that 2020 was going to be the year that we improved our lives significantly.
The book proposal would be completed. The undesired weight would be shed. Soda would abstained from. Belongings would be minimized and travel would be adventurous.
2020 was going to be OUR YEAR!
And then, well, 2020 happened.
I cut my hand with a butter knife (more on that fun journey here), Nashville was ravaged by tornados, Covid-19 began destroying lives and livelihoods, and then George Floyd was murdered.
I think I can speak for all of humanity when I say:
Things are not going well.
This is not how 2020 was supposed to go - with so much death and destruction, pain and poverty, isolation and fear. Each day brings new brokenness and new anxieties. If we are not careful, it can all too quickly become overwhelming.
And while resting and time away from our phones is a good thing, we cannot simply turn away from the pain of the world.
As followers of Christ, we are shown in Scripture what Jesus did in hard situations. He did not run away or create divisiveness. He went to those who were hurting and marginalized. And He brought them the Good News of God’s Kingdom.
His Kingdom which is about healing brokenness, eradicating sin, defeating evil, and gifting us new life in God forever. We call this the Gospel.
In Luke 8, we hear a story of Jesus going to the broken and bringing new life and salvation:
26 Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me”— 29 for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) 30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. 31 They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss. 32 Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. 34 When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36 Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him. (Luke 8:26-39)
Jesus went to the wrong place by going to non-Jewish/Gentile land. He talked with the wrong person by interacting with this naked, demon-possessed, Gentile man. Which were three strikes in the book of any good Jew! And to top it all off, pigs - the dirtiest of animals to a Jew - are central to this miracle!
And when we read through Scripture, we find Jesus time and time again going to “wrong places” with the “wrong people” and doing the “wrong things”.
In the Kingdom of God that Jesus introduced, however, everything is turned on its head: Jesus went to the broken places with the marginalized people to bring the Good News through word and deed.
Here in 2020, the broken places and marginalized people are front and center. Just turn on the news. There is so much hurting and so much need in our world right now.
And we need to follow Jesus to those places.
To protect the vulnerable. To protect the at-risk. To protect the discriminated. To protect the downtrodden.
What does this look like?
Learning about the complex and disgusting history of racism and discrimination. Read books by minority authors like The Color of Compromise or Be The Bridge. Watch the movie 13th or Just Mercy. Listen to podcasts such as Throughline or 1619. Do the work to educate yourself and challenge your own perspectives.
Learning about areas of brokenness and poverty in your city and ways that you can help. The book When Helping Hurts is a good place to start.
Building relationships with those who are different than you. A strong antidote to the sin and brokenness in our world is diverse friendships. Before you make a decision on an issue, get to know someone who has a different perspective than you on it. Friendship can change all of our lives when they are Christ-like and love-filled.
Moving to action. Volunteer with a nonprofit, protest, pray for and with law enforcement officers, shop local as well as minority-owned businesses, vote, write cards and make phone calls to those who are quarantined, deliver groceries to shut-ins, socially-distance, and make your voice heard by contacting the government officials who represent you.
We are called to follow Jesus into the broken and hurting places in our neighborhoods, our cities, and our world.
That starts with learning and listening and then moves to prayer and action.
Let’s get to work.
Please comment below with other resources and examples of how we can follow Christ into the areas of need in our world.
