More on My Open Letter to Christians
My follow up response to my Open Letter to Christians. Please read it first to this has some context. It begins with, “Shut the hell up...”
The issue is when we just yell and demand Don’t! without lifting a finger to actually help. Guaranteed that 90% of the people telling the other not to abort are not willing to adopt their child.
In the particular case that hit this cord in my soul, the woman has a very high chance of death if she goes full term, and she already has a special-needs child who needs her to live, she got pregnant (her surgical birth control failed) and was placed in a dilemma none of us would want to be in. Regardless, when she went public about the day-to-day process of living with that choice and her abortion (within the first 4 weeks), all heavenly-hell broke loose on her. She received emails and comments to the tune of, “keep killing babies, you nipple face witch!”
Of all those Christians (and many unspoken more) who are spewing venom, how many do you think would drive to her house (pretending she was able to go full-term) and take care of / adopt her child? Multiply this and many pro-life scenarios by the 1,000s, and you see where words (specially the seething kind) with no love-action is anti-Christ.
The other fire for this rant is some perspective (thanks Tor). 1.5 abortions take place every minute, 90 an hour. Compared to 66 people who die of starvation every minute (11 of which are children), 3,960 an hour. — let that sink in…90 vs 3,960 — Now a case can be made either way about when life begins, or doesn’t begin, in the womb; is it a life or a potential life, etc. However, those 3,960 people ARE lives 100%, no argument, no debate; living, breathing — but not eating — bodies and souls. Given that the large majority of both Biblical testaments speak clearly about the poor (starving people included) and our human response to them, and hints in a few obscure/poetic verses at when possible life might begin in the womb, pretty safe to say where one should error.
The point of this was not to argue morality, per se, but to point out that no one is listening to us any more. Why? Cause we aint lovin. If we as a collective whole tackle the issues Jesus was crystal clear about and bring that 95,000 people a day down to a few hundred because we zipped our mouths and put food in other’s mouths, perhaps then, MAYBE then, people will stand up and notice Christians, not for what they say , but because of their love.
Local case in point. A church (one church out of hundreds) in the Sacramento area opened their building to house and feed the poor/homeless 2 days a week. People noticed. Newspapers noticed. Other organizations noticed. And their love is changing lives; other’s and their own.
An Open Letter to Christians
Shut the hell up. I mean it. Just shut up! And when I say “hell” I mean it – literally. Shut the hell up when it comes to homosexuals and abortion (since those seem to be your two biggest peeves). You have no right whatsoever to say one word – not ONE – until you sell all you have and give it to the poor and until the 66 people that die every minute from starvation are fed through your efforts, words, and sacrifices. Until you start giving more of a shit about the things Jesus cared and spoke about while on earth, then shut the hell up, ‘cause hell is precisely where your words are flowing from. And when I see the hellish wounds and disasters your words create, I rage. My insides want to explode.
And the irony is that as I write this I realize I have no right to judge you, and that’s our quagmire, isn’t it? We are all a bunch of egotistical, self-righteous hypocrites who find it much easier to hate the other (or politely distance ourselves from them and their world) than to love the other. So forgive my tantrum, but as a family of people who claim to follow God, let us encourage one another to do just that. The words you speak to those you currently consider outside of God’s grace should echo God’s grace, not Satan’s venom. Sadly, and the reason for my tirade, I fear it is too often the second.
So please, shut the hell up and begin loving your enemies, blessing those who curse you, selling your possessions, feed and cloth and love and bless and forgive, forgive, forgive. Perhaps then, the world will stand up and notice God, not because of our words, but because of our love.
There. I said it. Thanks for letting me vent.
Same-Sex Marriage, Prop 8, and Jesus’ Words
I am amazed. Since California legalized same-sex marriages in May, 2008 and an estimated 22,000 people of the same sex have wed…our social world and order hasn’t collapsed or fallen apart, as some feared it would.
In fact, I have hardly noticed any difference in life at all, except the amount of money and rhetoric raised in fighting it rather than fighting against the things Jesus was clearly against, namely poverty, injustice and materialism (a homework assignment…look at the number of time Jesus taught on the sins of homosexuality vs. poverty, injustice and materialism…hint, the ratio will look like 0/100). If only we had the same passion to raise $25-27 million dollars in four months (the amount raised since May to support California’s Prop 8) and divide school campuses across the state to combat poverty, injustice and materialism. It really makes me sad and my heart heavy.
But when we profit everyday from poverty, injustice and materialism, why would we truly want it to end. But two men or two women having the word “married” applied to them rather than words “domestic partner” will send us into an uproar…as we are witnessing.
Anyway, for what’s its worth, these are simply my observations of the whole ordeal…
I really wonder how Jesus is feeling.
Jesus, Who Is My Enemy?
Chad got me thinking (dangerous, I know).
When Jesus says to love our enemies, who does he mean? Even “enemies” like Bin Laden? Or just our private, personal enemies?
If we saw Bin Laden on the street and had the power to take his life, should we? If not, what should the proper response of a follower of Jesus and his way be?
If we are called to love even the “Bin Ladens” of our world, what does that look like? What does it really mean to LOVE our enemies? What actions? What words? Who are some examples of people throughout history, or even in your personal circle, that demonstrated love for their enemies in real and tangible ways? Does love also entail forgiveness?
If we can’t love enemies like Bin Laden, then who can we love? Really?
What Is Missional Living to Me?
Missional living is, in part, what my sister and brother-in-law are doing. Out of the love they have for Jesus, they are in China picking up the newest member of their family, Cassie LinHua. They began the adoption process roughly 2 years ago. Check out their blog for more.
In short, missional living in listening to and joining what Jesus is doing (or desires to do) in the life of another. In this case, Cassie was born in the “wrong country” for her female gender. She was tossed aside into an orphanage and has lived there for two years today. The back of her head is flat and she has not learned how to walk from laying in a crib. After going to China, God softened Dave’s heart towards the baby girl’s in China (Becky, his wife, was already wanting to adopt from China) and from that stirring, they began the process. They sought a ‘special-needs’ child and God brought them Cassie. Dave and Becky listened to God and joined him in what he was desiring to do in Cassie’s life.
So the question becomes, where is God leading you to join him in what he is doing? Are you listening? Are you able to listen? Am I?
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Other thoughts on Missional Living:
Ben Wheatley – Are Things You Are Living For Worth It
Blake Huggins – What Does Missional Living Look Like
Alan Knox – Living in the love of God
Dave DeVries – The Missional Challenge
Bryan Riley – What Does Missional Living Look Like To Me
Jonathan Brink – Meeting God Where He is Already Working
Jesus, Who is My Neighbor Today?
I often wonder what Jesus’ words would be if he came to our culture, in our time. Perhaps this:
One time a Bible scholar stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to receive eternal life?”
“What is written in the Bible?” he replied? “How do you read it?”
He answered, “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“You’re correct,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you’ll live.”
But wanting to justify himself he asked Jesus, “And just who is my neighbor?”
Jesus answered with a story:
“A man was walking when some muggers got a hold of him. Stripping him naked, they took all he had, beat him just shy of death and left him for dead.
“A Pastor came and when he saw the beaten man, he crossed the street to avoid him.
“So too, a Church Elder, when he came to the beaten man, crossed the street avoiding him.
“But a Muslim, as he traveled, came to where the beaten man was; and when he saw him he felt compassion for him. He approached him and treated his wounds. He brought him to the hospital and stayed with him for the night. Leaving the next day, he gave the hospital his information and some money, saying, ‘Take care of him. I need to go out of town. Send me the bill and when I return I will pay you for his complete treatment.’
“Of these three men, who was a neighbor to the man who was left for dead by thieves?”
The Biblical expert said, “The one who showed mercy to him.”
Jesus said, “Then go and follow his example.”
For us, perhaps the Bible’s header for Jesus’ story would read: The Good Muslim.
INSPIRATIONAL SOURCE: Gospel of Luke, The Parable of the Good Samaritan
God is Not a Balanced God, Quite the Opposite
God seems anything but balanced. At least that is what Jesus seemed to think and teach. I hear this often (or along these lines): “I know God is love, but you can’t sway too far to that side—you have to keep him in balance.” Most of us want a God who is balanced. One who doesn’t stray too far to the side of vengeance or to the side of love. One who finds a nice comfortable spot in the middle and firmly plants himself there, never to be moved. A lot of us want a moderate God, a middle of the road God.
But fortunately for us humans, that God does not exist.
Instead, we have a reckless God. An extreme God. A far-leaning-to-one-side God. Daddy is excessive. He’s wild. He’s unreasonable. He’s unfair. He’s unwarranted. He’s a fanatic who is insane, hell-bent, unbridled, unrestrained, uninhibited, and a borderline lunatic when it comes to loving and forgiving us humans—his kids.
To Jesus, God is a field manager who hired a bunch of workers at different times throughout the day—some working all day and others for only an hour—and paid them all the same! Some complained he was not being fair.
God is a scorned old father who at the mere glimpse of his wayward son (who, by the way, wished his father dead) off in hazy distance, hiked up his robe, ran to him, embraced him and could not stop kissing him; he then killed the best calf, put a ring and robe on him, and partied for days! The respectful older son was jealous, complaining too that the situation was not fair.
God is a shepherd who left 99 sheep in the open field—abandoning them—to go chase one worthless (in our eyes) sheep that ran away! Talk about reckless.
God is a banquet host who, when the invited guests did not show up, went into the streets inviting the outcast, the homeless, the crippled, the sinful, the lepers, the AIDS stricken, the mentally disabled and a whole other mess of his kids who were rejected, to a banquet with the finest food, the best china, the most expensive wine (you get the picture)—for free, with no hope of receiving anything from them in return! A tad excessive.
God is a woman who lost a coin and tore apart her house day and night looking for it, and when she finally found it she threw a party! Fanatic comes to mind.
God is a pearl collector who found a pearl and then sold everything he owned to purchase it! He is also a chum who found a treasure in some field and in turn sold everything as well to buy the field! Sure, they have their pearl and “treasure”, but now they are homeless and on welfare. Picture a friend of yours doing that…lunatic, no?
God is a king who let off the hook a guy who owed him $3,000,000,000—three billion dollars!—free and clear, not owing a thing! Who does this if not someone who is insane? (Yes, I know that the forgiven man then went out and demanded five dollars from a buddy and threw him in jail when he couldn’t pay, and yes, when the king heard of this he called the forgiven man back before him and threw him in jail because he refused to love as the king loves, to forgive as the king forgives).
And on and on Jesus went describing a God who was anything but balanced when it came to love. But he not only described it, he also lived it. He touched the untouchable, talked to the untalkable, forgave the unforgivable, ate and drank with sinners, healed the cursed, and went crazy when it came to love! (He also had some pretty harsh words to say for those who labeled, judged, and condemned all of the above, but I offer that even his harsh words flowed completely out of love for even them!)
So is God balanced? Thankfully not. But what about justice? Listen, since God is way unbalanced towards the side of love (which to him isn’t even a side) then any loving decision he makes is just, because God is the measure of justice, not us. In the end, his love-justice will probably seem terribly unjust to us—even me! Perhaps our “unjust” feelings will be more of a light shed onto our screwed up idea of “justice” than anything else.
Its funny, when it comes to God’s extravagant, unfair love and forgiveness, we freely believe and claim it for ourselves. It is when it applies universally to others, especially all the non-deserving (whoever that is for you), that we get hung up.
I am sure a large majority of us Christians (perhaps myself included) will whine much like my seven year-old son does: “But that’s not fair! I did this and that. I believed this and that. I served you. I…I…I… What did they do? Why do they get the same thing we get? Who are they that they should be called sons of God? Why do you love them? It’s not fair!” (Sounds awfully like a few parables, doesn’t it?)
Perhaps God will respond much like I do when my son enters into his whiny it’s-not-fair-mode, simply and calmly saying . . . “I know.”
Perhaps he’ll add, “Are you envious because I am generous?”
I am so glad that Jesus painted a picture of God who is anything but balanced. I am glad that Daddy is not moderate. That he’s reckless, extreme, far-leaning-to-one-side, excessive, wild, unreasonable, unfair, hell-bent, unbridled, unrestrained, uninhibited, and a borderline lunatic when it comes to loving and forgiving us humans; his kids.
Aren’t you?
May I follow my Daddy’s lead…
Here, Jesus, Take My Shoes
There are few moments in life that I remember as vividly as the one I am about to share with you. Though I do not remember the names (I’ll make them up), the images of the story are imbedded in my mind.
The year was 1995 and we were in a barrios on the outskirts of Tijuana, Mexico. My cousin and I decided to take a trip to Mexico to serve with Spectrum Ministries. We had been there for about a week and this was our last day. We had spent the afternoon bathing kids, providing clothes and food for families, making snow cones, giving haircuts, providing health care, and running mini-carnival booths, among other things. We were all tired but had been blessed by the joy and gratitude of the poor surrounding us.
A few of us began loading up into our white van. Efran, who had become a good friend during the week, was the leader of our group. He works for Spectrum and is one of the funniest, hard-working men I have met. Our doors were open as we sat in the parked van, just talking and regrouping at the end of a hard day. I was sitting shotgun and he was in the driver’s seat when a young Mexican man, perhaps in his early 20s, approached Efran.
His appearance made the poor we had been working with look wealthy. His pants were shredded from the knee down, revealing his mud-caked legs. His white tank top was light brown. His hair, mud caked. No shoes. As Efran spoke with him, I learned his story and that his name was Miguel. Miguel was a drug baby whom his mom kicked out at a young age. He had no home. No family. And thanks to drugs, not much of a mind. Currently he lived in a literal pig-pen with over a foot-deep of mud, urine and crap.
Efran continued to speak with him and as the conversation came to an end, Miguel walked away. As he did, Efran took off his flannel jacket and removed his boots. He whistled for Miguel, who turned and came back to the van. My eyes were glued to the scene unfolding before me. Efran took his flannel and draped it over Miguel. He then took his own work boots (nice ones, mind you) and handed them to Miguel. Miguel bowed his head and a nervous smile formed. He rotated his chin slightly upward and, glancing out of the corner of his eye towards Efran, nodded gently. He quietly turned and left.
I was rendered motionless by what I just saw. After a few moments of appropriate silence, Efran said very humbly, “That was the first time I’ve done that. He needed those boots more than I did and I can go buy another pair. I just couldn’t picture him trudging through pig crap barefoot.” I nodded, at a loss for words.
There is a worship song that reads, “I can only imagine what my eyes will see when your face is before me.” That evening in 1995, I did not have to imagine. Jesus’ face was before me and he took the name of Miguel. Jesus received from Efran a new jacket and new boots. In return, Jesus blessed us with a deep sense of “this is what a life of love is about.”
May we look for Jesus’ face today. And when we see him, may we bury our ego and respond out of love. May I.
A Mending Shift – A Look Behind the Curtain
I have had a few people ask me what A Mending Shift means and its origins. Good question……
To shift simply means to move, to change. Sometimes, a shifting takes place for its own end; in other words, to change simply for change’s sake. Other times, a shifting takes place for another end; to change for a reason or a purpose outside of itself. The first makes the statement: We are changing. The second asks the question: Why are we changing?
Let me use my Jeep as an example. My Jeep has a five-speed manual transmission. I manually have to shift from one gear to another. If I were to drive down the freeway and indiscriminately start changing gears, say from 5th to 2nd to 3rd to 1st then back to 5th, the results would be reckless and potentially damaging. This is an example of changing just to change. When the officer asks why you changed from 5th to 1st going 65 MPH, the answer would be, “I don’t know. I just wanted to shift.”
Now, on the other hand, if I were driving down the freeway at 65 75 MPH (let’s be realistic) and came to the base of a mountain with a steep grade, a shift would be required. Why? If I tried to scale it in 5th gear, I’d drop to about 10 MPH and my engine would sputter and eventually stall. There I’d be on the side of the road with no cell phone coverage waiving for help. Now in the valley, when I was just cruisin’, I could stay in 5th gear. But now this new mountain has rudely entered into my path, and in order to get up the mountain so I can get to my destination (my goal and purpose), I need to shift. Not to just any gear, but the gear that the mountain demands. Is it 1st?…Sometimes. 2nd?…Perhaps. 3rd?…Occasionally. Even back to 5th?…depends on the mountain. But isn’t this relative shifting? Absolutely. My gear choice is relative to my environment, based on my goal.
So in our current postmodern context, or environment, what needs to shift? Our thinking and practice. When Christianity was cruising in Christendom (Constantine era to 50-100 years ago), 5th gear worked fine. In fact, it was ideal. When Christianity was in the Modern era (1500-1950 [some suggest]) 4th gear worked; a more principle oriented and scientific approach to scripture and faith worked. In fact, it was ideal. But now that we find ourselves climbing the grade of Postmodernism and Post-Christendom, a shift in our thinking and practice is required. 4th and 5th gears are no longer appropriate to our context. A shift is required.
But why, why do we need to shift? What is the goal or the purpose of the shift here? To mend. To heal. To restore. To put it in more direct words: to mend what is damaged or forgotten. To mend means to heal, to restore something to a satisfactory condition, to remove damage, to improve something. Notice how the word “perfect” is no where to be found. Perfection is not the goal. Mending is. And I apply it to two areas.
The first is towards us; Christians, the church, those who associate with the name of Jesus. It is the removing the plank from our eye so we can see clearly the speck in the others’. There is stuff in us that is damaged, hurt, broken, not satisfactory and needs improvement. As we climb this mountain, we need to look into the mirror, watch our gauges, listen to our engine, and do some deep thinking about our environment and the way of Jesus. How do we follow him today? What questions need to be asked? What junk are we lugging around in the trunk that we need to toss? What’s broken and we need to fix? How do we love, truly love, our neighbor?…
The second is towards the other; to seek their healing and restoration. To help communicate the healing that came through Jesus. To let them know that God loves them and is not mad. To communicate that they do not need to feel the alienation as runaways, but that they are God’s kids whom he died to love…come home! To heal injustice. To fight for the least. To love for love’s sake. To not require them to come to us for healing but to pack up our tents and go to them. To take seriously our and their crap…and to take seriously God’s expansive love and grace. To let go of our need for control and trust God as we get busy in joining his Kingdom coming to earth as it is in heaven. To make it about them…not us. To apologize for the pain we have caused. To humbly serve them with no expectations. To see them as people and not conversions. To radically live out Jesus everyday in a world that has pushed us into the margins.
And all of this is for his love and his kingdom and his glory, which in turn is all about him mending the damaged and having his kids stop running, believe they are forgiven, and come home so they can help him mend the damaged.
A Mending Shift: A shift in thinking and practice in order to mend what is damaged or forgotten. A restoring change. A healing alteration.
So there you have it…the purpose of this site. I invite you to: Enjoy. Think. Comment. Shift. Mend.
One of Those Lines
It happened again. One of those lines grabbed me, but this time, instead of messing me up, it just drove a blessing straight to my heart. From the song, “Here is Love”, the line:
Kissed a Guilty World in Love
I could not stop picturing God reaching for the world –guilty with all the hate and anger and violence towards him– and embracing it, bringing it close to his face and kissing it in love. Alone, these worlds gripped me in a powerful way as I tried to meditate (which is, ironically, often hard to do in church) on them, but add to them the words that proceed and you get a fuller picture of God’s love:
and heaven’s peace and perfect justice kissed a guilty world in love
May we live what God is about: Peace; perfect justice; kiss; love…all from heaven, all for a guilty world.
Shalom.
The Biggest Loser
Confession time. My wife, Jennifer, and I watch the Biggest Loser.
There is something endearing and inspiring about this “reality” show. 18 people share a common obesity problem and the same goal––to loose weight, and lots of it. There is not one person who comes onto the show feeling good about themselves or the choices they have made. They admit they have failed to eat and exercise properly. They are sick and tired of living the way they have been living and are committed to change––together.
It is an intense period of their life where they leave their family, friends, jobs and community. Why? To focus on correcting a lifetime of bad habits and mistakes. This is their sole drive––for a time. Are there other things in their life that are important? Are there other areas that might need fixing? Isn’t there more to life than just loosing weight? Absolutely. But not right now. Now is the time to focus on what is terribly lacking. Now is the time to mend what is unhealthy and killing them. Now is the time to loose weight, get back into shape and begin living again. Now. Not tomorrow; not sometime; but now.
This analogy helps me understand why there seems to be, to some, an unhealthy focus in the emerging church right now on loving others, justice, serving, missional living, etc. Some of us are waking to the realization that we have been terribly unhealthy in the area of loving people; people who are different than us in every regard: race, religion, social class, doctrine. We have a sense of failure. As we begin to listen to those around us, we sense that it’s true…they have not been loved by the church.
And so some of us are saying we need to intensely focus on our love-obesity. We need to take a radical season as followers of Jesus to exercise our atrophied love-muscles. We need to do an obscene amount of hard work to break the habits and lifestyles that have led to our unhealthy condition. We need to intensely read the labels on the spiritual-food we have been given and are eating to see if it is feeding the problem. If so, we need to change what we are eating, regardless how long we have been eating it or who recommended it to us. Our goal for this season is to learn to love again; thus beginning a lifestyle of love. This needs to be our sole drive––for a time. Are there other things that are important? Are there other areas that need fixing? Isn’t there more to the Christian faith besides love? (Some would say no, but for the sake of argument) Absolutely. But not now. Now is the time to mend what is unhealthy and killing us, and others. Now is the time to learn how to love unconditionally––unconditionally––everyone who is our brother and different from us; to get back into shape and begin living, as Christ would have us live, again. Now. Tomorrow will be to late. Sometime may never come. Today is here and the world is waiting to see us loose the pounds and love again.
This is why some in the church are perceived of having an unhealthy fixation on loving others. They come together not feeling very good about themselves or the choices they have made. They admit they have failed to live and love others properly. They are sick and tired of living the way they have been living. Whatever the cost, they are committed to change––together.
May the church of Jesus Christ become, The Biggest Lover (sorry, couldn’t resist). Perhaps then, a watching world will begin to listen to us again about the love of Jesus.
For Love’s Sake
Sometimes a line from a song or scripture just grabs me and will not let go. It happened just this past weekend in a church gathering. During a song that I have heard and sung a thousand times (“Here I Am To Worship” by Tim Hughes), a line grabbed my heart in such a way that I heard nothing else the rest of the morning. The line is buried at the end of the second verse. Here is the line:
“All for love’s sake became poor.”
This line is talking about Jesus leaving the riches and glories of heaven to become a “man” and live on earth among his creation…he became poor for the sake of love. He chose human poverty over heavenly riches to express and show his love to us, his creation. Clearly, This is what the line is talking about. But this is what hit me…
…For the sake of the love of others, am I willing to voluntarily become poor? Am I willing to strip down my level of living, simplify my life, sell excess junk, limit my consumption of goods? Am I willing to say “no” to myself so I can say “yes” to others in very real, practical, and financial ways? In that moment I realized something: the poor do not have a choice or option of becoming rich…that’s what makes them poor. However, I, as someone who is rich, have the option of becoming poor (making the same amount of money, but limiting my spending on myself so I can spend the excess money helping others)…just the fact that I have the choice to make a purchase or not make a purchase makes me rich. Why Jeromy? Why would you ever consider doing such a thing? Why would you give up your God-given right to pursue the American Dream? Why would you choose to live poorly when you can clearly live richly? Why would you choose not to invest your excess money but squander it wastefully on those who cannot help themselves? Why?
All for loves sake, like my Lord.
Jesus, give me the courage to live simply, so others can simply live.
Cruising Among the Dead and Dying
There are some blogs I hate writing––this is one of them. I hate it because I am personally and terribly convicted by the picture it paints. So here it is…
There is a gripping scene from the 90’s Blockbuster, Titanic, that has been used by pastors in churches around the world to illustrate how there are countless souls dying around us; all we need to do is row our “lifeboat-in-Jesus” back to them and save them by pulling them out of the icy water of their sins. In a brief moment of candor, I have to admit I have used this scene to this regard. If you’ve seen the movie, then perhaps you know the scene I am talking about.
The Titanic has sunk, leaving, what looks like, thousands of dead floating bodies in the icy waters of the Atlantic. To-little-to-late, the lifeboats come back trying to save any survivors by calling out and blowing whistles, while clearing dead, frozen bodies bobbing in their path with their oars. It is one of those eerie, quiet, disheartening scenes that etch itself into your mind.
Yet, as scarring as the image of rowboats navigating through dead bodies is, the image I had the other day was distressing––no, disturbing.God has been gently (and not so gently at times) tearing me apart with the dichotomy that I, as a rich-Christian, am enjoying luxury and prosperity while my neighbors of the world are literally dying from many things, but especially poverty, AIDS and malnutrition.
As God gripped me one day while reading, “Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger,” that scene from Titanic came flooding back into my mind. Yet instead of small rowboats of “saviors” it was a Disney Luxury Cruise Liner 
filled with affluent Christians, like me. We were enjoying an enriching cruise complete with the all-you-can-eat buffets, shows, swimming pools, entertainment, movies, games, spas, deck activities, karaoke, suites, nightclubs, lounges, characters, cuisine and gourmet food in first-class style while our multi-million dollar paradise tilled through millions of blue, floating bodies. Those of us who were on the decks saw the dead and dying all around us. Some of us tossed some loose change or a chicken leg overboard to help appease our conscience and “remove” our guilt. Some of us simply left the deck and retreated back inside to paradise, choosing to ignore and pretend that we did not see or know about those dead and dying all around. Some of us encouraged to captain to speed through the bodies so we could be “done with it”, but when he showed us the radar of the ocean, we saw how futile our suggestion was––the bodies covered the oceans of the world and more were being dumped in every minute.
As I said, there are some blogs I hate writing. There are some images I wish never entered my mind. May we, together, re-learn what it means to be a follower of Jesus in this world as we love and care for our neighbors––yes, even those who do not live in the mighty and prosperous USA. May we follow Jesus’ model as he, “all for loves sake, became poor.” But that is another blog for another time…
A Mending Shift 
The Conversations…