“What would happen if everyone did followed the values of the Kingdom of God? Turn the other cheek. Love your enemies. Forgive always.”
Chaos. Disorder. Violence. Civilization would cave in on itself.
The way of Christ is not realistic.
I just moved to Baltimore a month ago. In this short time, I’ve been intentional about soaking up what this city is about.
Overall, it is not a pretty picture.
I live in a nicer, midtown neighborhood filled with parks and museums, but it is only a few blocks away from the notorious east side known for two very different things: The great medical institution of Johns Hopkins Hospital and the poverty and violence of the projects. The irony is thick. The large and mighty institutions here do not appear to give life. All is not right in the world.
“So what would happen if everyone did that?”
Chaos. Disorder. Violence. Civilization would cave in on itself.
On the contrary, it is all happening anyway. So what are we doing about it?
I’ve also been about churches, looking for signs of the Kingdom of God in a space thick with the darkness of principalities and powers corrupted and turned in on themselves. They are here. They are small. They are growing. Baltimore is a city of local flavor and concern. Those who live here are forced to make a decision on whether to serve the city or ignore it. This decision is set before every church here as well.
“What would happen if everyone did that?
Maybe the police wouldn’t be twittering 2-3 shootings every couple of days. Maybe the homeless congregating outside churches would have a home. Maybe the boarded up row homes would be refurbished for the people who need it, not the institutions who want them. Maybe the youth would be empowered to serve one another instead of rival on the streets. Maybe schools would be provided the resources they need to educate. Maybe our churches would be beacons of light and community instead of ominous steeples of judgment. Where is this Kingdom of God that supposedly transforms suffering into victory against the dominant culture of redemptive “means to an end” violence and control?
But that’s not the question I should be asking. The real question is:
“What would happen if I did that?”
This is a much scarier question.
“The Kingdom of God is within you”
How will I love my God and my neighbor this year?
This is Baltimore. For this season, it is the space I’m called to live out my radical discipleship. It is so much easier to hide away in my apartment with my books. How will I live out the values of the Kingdom? How will I carry my cross?
Lord, I pray for radical passion, vision, and opportunity to be a disciple of your cross and resurrection. I pray for the streets and the skyscrapers, the prisons and offices, the universities and the inner city high schools, the storefront churches and the cathedrals. Work within these institutions. Lord, connect me with the communities of faith that serve and empower their greater community with the values and message of the Gospel. Connect me with the powerful and the weak, the fatherless and the widow, the well resourced and the homeless, the youth and the elderly. Lord, teach me how to engage the world with the spirit of the coming age, not that of the former. Help me to conquer death so that I might live free. I was blind, but now I see. Use me to help others see you and the world as it ought to be. Give us courage to live as you’ve called: bearing crosses and setting captives free.
“What would happen if everyone did that?”
The Kingdom of God would happen.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
The Baltimore Experience
-Excerpt from a chapter written by Stephen T Baron, Deborah Agus, Fred Osher, and David Brown. Scholars from Baltimore's many academic institutions.
"Baltimore city is the 13th largest city in the US. It is located on the eastern seaboard of the US in the state of Maryland 37 miles from Washington DC and 196 miles from New York City. Baltimore is one of the oldest cities in the USA and in 1997 celebrated the bicentennial of its incorporation. The city is governed by a Mayor and 19 member City Council which is elected every 4 years.
Over the past 40 years, similar to other urban areas in the USA, Baltimore has experienced a decline in population. Once the largest political jurisdiction in the state of Maryland with 939,024 or 25% of the state's population, Baltimore is currently the fourth largest subdivision in the state with a population of 692,800 or 4% of the state's population. The majority of the individuals residing in Baltimore City are African American (about 60%) with Caucasians making up 38% and other races the additional 2%. Baltimore's 14,652 businesses employ 311,161 workers. Manufacturing accounts for 10% of the city's workforce and the largest employed is the Johns Hopkins University and Hospital System.
Baltimore is home to the largest concentration of poor people in Maryland. About one half of the state's poor people reside in the city of Baltimore. The population of Baltimore City is about 30% of the metropolitan area (the city and the five surrounding counties) but the city is home to almost 68% of the region's poor.
In 1960, the median family income of city families was 91.2% of the metropolitan area median family income while in 1990 the income of city families was 66.9% in proportion. The poor are overwhelmingly children from single parent homes,, African American female single parents, and the elderly and disabled. In 1992, 21.5% of the households in the city hand incomes below $10,000 compared to only 9% of households in the state of Maryland. The elderly (over 65 years old) make up 13.7% of the city's population. Over 40% of the elderly population living in the city are disabled, while 32.5% of the elderly state-wide are disabled.
In 1991, the city's unemployment rate of 9.4% was the highest in the state. Baltimore is also home to the greatest concentration of homeless persons and individuals in need of substance abuse treatment in the state."
Maybe... God put me here for a very intentional reason.
"Baltimore city is the 13th largest city in the US. It is located on the eastern seaboard of the US in the state of Maryland 37 miles from Washington DC and 196 miles from New York City. Baltimore is one of the oldest cities in the USA and in 1997 celebrated the bicentennial of its incorporation. The city is governed by a Mayor and 19 member City Council which is elected every 4 years.
Over the past 40 years, similar to other urban areas in the USA, Baltimore has experienced a decline in population. Once the largest political jurisdiction in the state of Maryland with 939,024 or 25% of the state's population, Baltimore is currently the fourth largest subdivision in the state with a population of 692,800 or 4% of the state's population. The majority of the individuals residing in Baltimore City are African American (about 60%) with Caucasians making up 38% and other races the additional 2%. Baltimore's 14,652 businesses employ 311,161 workers. Manufacturing accounts for 10% of the city's workforce and the largest employed is the Johns Hopkins University and Hospital System.
Baltimore is home to the largest concentration of poor people in Maryland. About one half of the state's poor people reside in the city of Baltimore. The population of Baltimore City is about 30% of the metropolitan area (the city and the five surrounding counties) but the city is home to almost 68% of the region's poor.
In 1960, the median family income of city families was 91.2% of the metropolitan area median family income while in 1990 the income of city families was 66.9% in proportion. The poor are overwhelmingly children from single parent homes,, African American female single parents, and the elderly and disabled. In 1992, 21.5% of the households in the city hand incomes below $10,000 compared to only 9% of households in the state of Maryland. The elderly (over 65 years old) make up 13.7% of the city's population. Over 40% of the elderly population living in the city are disabled, while 32.5% of the elderly state-wide are disabled.
In 1991, the city's unemployment rate of 9.4% was the highest in the state. Baltimore is also home to the greatest concentration of homeless persons and individuals in need of substance abuse treatment in the state."
Maybe... God put me here for a very intentional reason.
Acts of Devotion
Acts of Devotion are.. .
water poured out over sacred alters
oil dripping off the foreheads of the anointed
flickering of the candles by icons
swirls of the smoke from incense
blood trickling off the hands of the cursed
darkness in the hearts of the cursing
calloused hands folded in prayer, meditation, and daily work
fingers on triggers with eyes focused on moving targets
slaves wading through the rivers, to reach the other side
expectant, fearful couples preparing their homes for the blessings of new life
children at the bedsides of their ailing parents faithfully awaiting a life beyond
students in the classroom, pens tapping, brains turning over and over
students on the streets, fists pumping, hearts blazing, higher and higher
flags at half mast
bells are ringing
bombs are falling
marching hand in hand
we shall overcome
the bottom of bottles
the street corners
the tops of towers
the dollar
the cross
the sword
the heavens
the earth
water poured out over sacred alters
oil dripping off the foreheads of the anointed
flickering of the candles by icons
swirls of the smoke from incense
blood trickling off the hands of the cursed
darkness in the hearts of the cursing
calloused hands folded in prayer, meditation, and daily work
fingers on triggers with eyes focused on moving targets
slaves wading through the rivers, to reach the other side
expectant, fearful couples preparing their homes for the blessings of new life
children at the bedsides of their ailing parents faithfully awaiting a life beyond
students in the classroom, pens tapping, brains turning over and over
students on the streets, fists pumping, hearts blazing, higher and higher
flags at half mast
bells are ringing
bombs are falling
marching hand in hand
we shall overcome
the bottom of bottles
the street corners
the tops of towers
the dollar
the cross
the sword
the heavens
the earth
Thursday, September 10, 2009
The Imitation of Christ, Books I & II, A reflection
Is what you have to say still relevant to me today? You, a monk secluded in the comforts of a monastery during a time of chaos and crumbling empire. As I read your words of centuries past, I am disturbed at the level of intensity by which you encourage me to disregard and retreat from the world around me. Has not Christ called me to engage the world? Had Jesus not incarnated himself amongst us to serve, connect, heal, and empower? Can such things be done within the walls of spiritual retreat?
I have long thought of myself as a person of compassion, a servant seeking to love all in the same spirit of Christ. I imagined myself compassionate, considerate, and humble to the needs of friends, family, and broken.
But in recent days, I have been challenged.
Those closest to me have proposed that my desires to serve all around me are but expressions of codependent brokenness. From my perception, they were good deeds done to express love and joy. To my loved ones, they were acts done to seek the approval of others, to meet the demands of a shamed and insecure soul. I cannot manage to speak what I feel, only what I see desired to be heard. Speaking for my loved ones so that they will continue to love me. Had I made my relationships an idol? Truly I ask, where are my efforts directed? And for what cause are they acted upon?
Suddenly, the ancient monk's words begin to echo in my heart. "Do not open your heart to every person, but discuss your affairs with one who is wise and who fears God... We ought to have charity for all people, but familiarity with all is not expedient," you say in your first book, the eighth chapter. Indeed, I have reached out to more people than I ought. I've extended myself in a web of friendships and relationships I but claim as friendships, even if they are but connected by thin threads of shared memories and ideals.
Why? Why am I so dependent on the company I keep to maintain an image of self as credible, loved, and valuable? Mother must commend me. Brothers must approve of me. Old lovers and childhood friends must always remember me.
"We should enjoy much peace if we did not concern ourselves with what others say and do, for these are no concern of ours. How can a man who meddles in affairs not his own, who seek strange distractions, and who is little or seldom inwardly recollected, live long in peace?" you ask in the 11th chapter of your first book.
I confess, I have meddled, and am often tempted to continue meddling in the relationships of my life as a means of securing an allusive grace. I am seeking the wrong sources. "If we let our progress in religious life depend on the observances of its externals alone, our devotion will quickly come to an end." (Book I, Ch 11) Then let me stop seeking the externals, the praise and grace of my audience of a hundred loved ones. It is not real love without Christ. Let me
Perhaps there is a time for monastic work to be done after all. Especially in this age of modernity that attacks the senses ceaselessly. Is there a quiet space to be found anywhere? Can you not make one for yourself, through the discipline so often spoken of in the text, in the chamber of the heart? Quiet your life and let peace flow in you from a pouring of the Spirit instead of seeking it in the externals of your life. Take time for yourself, and spend it well with the one who has called you
"Beloved."
Christ calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves.
.. . as ourselves.
Do I love myself as Christ loves me?
Or do I refuse it, seeking validation beyond the one who has eternally embraced me already?
Where is the care for my own soul?
"Where are your thoughts when they are not upon yourself? And after attending to various things, what have you gained if you have neglected self? If you wish to have true peace of mind and unity of purpose, you must cast all else aside and keep only yourself before your eyes." (Book II, Ch 5)
After all, Christ has died for me, and redeemed me. I am beloved in His sight. What else do I need?
Indeed, there is a time for retreat and the renewing of self.
Words of saints, centuries old, written in lonely cells of distant monasteries, still speak today.
I have long thought of myself as a person of compassion, a servant seeking to love all in the same spirit of Christ. I imagined myself compassionate, considerate, and humble to the needs of friends, family, and broken.
But in recent days, I have been challenged.
Those closest to me have proposed that my desires to serve all around me are but expressions of codependent brokenness. From my perception, they were good deeds done to express love and joy. To my loved ones, they were acts done to seek the approval of others, to meet the demands of a shamed and insecure soul. I cannot manage to speak what I feel, only what I see desired to be heard. Speaking for my loved ones so that they will continue to love me. Had I made my relationships an idol? Truly I ask, where are my efforts directed? And for what cause are they acted upon?
Suddenly, the ancient monk's words begin to echo in my heart. "Do not open your heart to every person, but discuss your affairs with one who is wise and who fears God... We ought to have charity for all people, but familiarity with all is not expedient," you say in your first book, the eighth chapter. Indeed, I have reached out to more people than I ought. I've extended myself in a web of friendships and relationships I but claim as friendships, even if they are but connected by thin threads of shared memories and ideals.
Why? Why am I so dependent on the company I keep to maintain an image of self as credible, loved, and valuable? Mother must commend me. Brothers must approve of me. Old lovers and childhood friends must always remember me.
"We should enjoy much peace if we did not concern ourselves with what others say and do, for these are no concern of ours. How can a man who meddles in affairs not his own, who seek strange distractions, and who is little or seldom inwardly recollected, live long in peace?" you ask in the 11th chapter of your first book.
I confess, I have meddled, and am often tempted to continue meddling in the relationships of my life as a means of securing an allusive grace. I am seeking the wrong sources. "If we let our progress in religious life depend on the observances of its externals alone, our devotion will quickly come to an end." (Book I, Ch 11) Then let me stop seeking the externals, the praise and grace of my audience of a hundred loved ones. It is not real love without Christ. Let me
Perhaps there is a time for monastic work to be done after all. Especially in this age of modernity that attacks the senses ceaselessly. Is there a quiet space to be found anywhere? Can you not make one for yourself, through the discipline so often spoken of in the text, in the chamber of the heart? Quiet your life and let peace flow in you from a pouring of the Spirit instead of seeking it in the externals of your life. Take time for yourself, and spend it well with the one who has called you
"Beloved."
Christ calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves.
.. . as ourselves.
Do I love myself as Christ loves me?
Or do I refuse it, seeking validation beyond the one who has eternally embraced me already?
Where is the care for my own soul?
"Where are your thoughts when they are not upon yourself? And after attending to various things, what have you gained if you have neglected self? If you wish to have true peace of mind and unity of purpose, you must cast all else aside and keep only yourself before your eyes." (Book II, Ch 5)
After all, Christ has died for me, and redeemed me. I am beloved in His sight. What else do I need?
Indeed, there is a time for retreat and the renewing of self.
Words of saints, centuries old, written in lonely cells of distant monasteries, still speak today.
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