Listen to the quiet voice that calls you

Ever since I was in Middle School I have had a bleeding heart for social justice. I can remember back during my time in the abhorrent years of middle school finding solace in acts of service with my youth group. Even my first sermon I ever gave focused on justice for the "least of these." Often times the places I enjoyed serving most in one manner or another revolved around food. It is crazy to look back and see the small steps that would lead me to where I am today.

During my undergrad years I continued to develop a passion for social justice, but struggled to find the right area to focus on. I explored many different ones and all the while had an idea of where I should be...that I constantly pushed aside. I saw advertisements for community gardens and read into the environmental reasons why someone should be vegetarian, all the while telling myself that I didn't have time to garden and I couldn't be vegetarian with the food options I had. I gave these excuses while simultaneously overbooking myself with other forms of service. It wasn't that I couldn't partake in that kind of social justice; it was that I had prioritized other types. I was still learning. I am still learning.

Flash forward to 2016. I had been out of college for a year and in the midst of my first year of marriage. Brianna and I learned about a community garden and finally--after years of thinking about the perks of joining one--we got two plots at a garden across the street from the apartment we lived in. This was a great way for individuals all throughout the community to have space to garden, to build community, and to have ways they can donate their extra produce. All of the excess produce was encouraged to be donated to the local Hot Meals Programs and Food Pantries. It wasn't long into the season that we transitioned into the new garden coordinators. We didn't want to just be a part of the garden, but we wanted to help it grow and make sure it would keep running.

It was this same year that I left the church I was working for and accepted a job as a Community Nutrition Professional for The Ohio State University Extension. My passion for creating access to healthy, affordable food for all led me to this position. I had no experience with Extension before, but I felt my time at the church was coming to an end and I needed to be focusing my energy on food. It took me years to come to this conclusion and finally settle my social justice focus on food, but I finally found it.

Now I am working towards promoting, educating, and helping provide food access to all individuals in my county. I do this through my job as an educator, but also as the chair of our county's Local Food Council and as a member of our Creating Healthy Communities coalition. I still coordinate our community garden, but since we bought our house we have developed a garden in our backyard too. This garden has allowed us to get to know our neighbors more as many have come over to see what we are doing and talk with us about our plants. I have gone from just having a side hobby of gardening to making it a sustainable lifestyle that I hope others can see and want to join. We have a rain barrel system we set up to collect water for our gardens, we compost our food scraps, and we have even become vegetarian. The lifestyle that I dreamed about and said I wanted I finally have. How did I get this lifestyle? I decided to pursue it and that's exactly what I did. I learned how to build things myself to save money and I sought out help when needed. I want others to see that the lifestyle we have is not only sustainable, but also easy to replicate.

 I view social justice as a wide-range of topics that works best when people have their focus to funnel issues through. Choosing food justice isn't just about addressing hunger--although that is a huge issue. Food justice deals with sustainability, the environment, gender equality, racial equality, and so much more. Many of the issues that I had become passionate about can be partially addressed with our food system. This is one part of the solution. We need people working in all sectors of influence to truly make a different in the fight for social justice.

I share this part of my story as a way to invite others to find their focus. It may take time so don't be discouraged if you try something out and it doesn't seem to be your fit. I thought I was supposed to be a youth minister for most of my life. Now I know, for me, that was a stepping stone to a different calling. I am thankful for my time at the church because it led me to where I am now. Keep looking for your calling. Keep searching. The next time you feel the urge in your soul, that continuing draw, follow it. Stop saying, "Maybe another day...I'm too committed to other things." Instead, step back and focus on that calling. Ask yourself, "is this a fleeting thought or is this more?"

Where are your priorities? What is calling your heart? What is the still, quiet voice saying to you?

Go to it.

Love

Hope.

Peace.

Love.

Week three of the Advent season is all about love. What a fitting theme for such a time as this. There are so many issues and catastrophes around us today, but we can never have enough love. We can never be reminded of love enough. We need more love in this world and in our lives.

And yet I feel as if that word gets tossed around so flippantly. People us it as a means for control. People put stipulations on it. People make it conditional. They lose it's meaning.

But the Love of YHWH is unconditional and it never fails.

When we're caught in the web of the most often asked question: how do we love properly without condoning certain practices? My response is: if you have to ask then are you actually loving? 

Yes we can't condone every action out there. Yes there are dehumanizing things that individuals do. Is love condoning something? Or is love simply loving them regardless? Loving them as a human, as an individual, for who they are not who they could become.

When I think of love I think of the Old Testament reading for this week which comes from Isaiah 61:

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Because the Lord has anointed me;
He has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
To bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And release to the prisoners, 
To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, 
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn;
To provide for those who mourn in Zion--
To give them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness, 
The planting of the Lord,
To display his glory.

They shall build up the ancient ruins,
They shall raise up the former devastations;
They shall repair the ruined cities, 
The devastations of many generations.
Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, 
Foreigners shall till your land and dress your vines;

But you shall be called priests of the Lord,
You shall be named ministers of our God;
You shall enjoy the wealth of the nations, 
And in their riches you shall glory.

Because their shame was double,
And dishonor was proclaimed as their lot,
Therefore they shall possess a double portion;
Everlasting Joy shall be theirs.
For I the Lord love justice,
I hate robbery and wrongdoing;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

Their descendants shall be known among the nations,
And their offspring among the peoples;
All who see them shall acknowledge that 
They are a people whom the Lord has blessed.

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
My whole being shall exult in my God;
For he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
And as a bride adorns herself with jewels.
For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
And as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
To spring up before all nations.

(Isaiah 61:1-11, NRSV, Italicize and Bold added for emphasis).

Be the Change in Your Community.

Since the very first "Bible Lesson" that I wrote myself I have found that I am passionate about the verse Matthew 25:40 and in a larger spectrum I am most drawn to passages of Scripture that proclaim good news to the poor, oppressed, marginalized, etc. It is this very reason that I am drawn to books such as When Helping Hurts by Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett, The Hole in the Gospel by Richard Stearns, and A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans to name a few. This is also why I am so often drawn to liberation theology and firmly believe that as those who claim to follow the Resurrected Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we have a duty to love and serve the marginalized, poor, least of these, etc. It is not merely something good we might do, nor a legalistic set of rules, but it is how we live out this lifestyle of the Kingdom. There is so much disunity, dysfunction, and brokenness on this side of the Kingdom and so that alone shows the need for the Body of Christ to bring change in the world.

I bring up all of this because I have found that there are certain causes that people say everyone needs to contribute and be main advocates for. I have often been told that if I truly believed in Matthew 25:40--which I hope I do since I have it tattooed on my wrist--then I needed to put most of my focus on advocating and speaking up for this one certain group. You fill in the blank. Sometimes I wonder if helping the least of these has been used to guilt people into supporting certain causes or advocate for certain groups.

I am not saying that those people are wrong or that those certain groups do not need help and advocacy, but what I want to argue is that not everyone is called to every single group. Some people may feel led to work with promoting a pro-life from birth to death mentality, some may feel led to work with the homeless, some may feel led to work with those marginalized in the LGBTQ community, some may feel led to adopt, some may feel led to foster, and some may feel led to work with providing education to third world countries. All of these are groups and settings that we should support and be in favor of, however, I would say that people should choose where they are being led to put their focus.

In our overbooked, over-scheduled life we cannot take part in every cause and we cannot fully devote ourselves to every marginalized group. I believe that we should always be standing with the marginalized in whatever context we are living/working and that we should focus on ministering to those specifically in our context. It is also important to know where, with the help of the Spirit, we can be most effective with the skills and gifts that God has equipped us with. Instead of trying to tackle every social issue out there, we need to pick the ones we have been equipped to work with and encourage those who are called to other issues to pursue those.

As the Body of Christ we need to follow the pattern of Jesus when He said,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

    because he has anointed me

        to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

    and recovery of sight to the blind,

        to let the oppressed go free,

 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” 

(Luke 4:18-19 NRSV) 

We should be striving to share the good news of liberation from oppression that Jesus provides. We should be striving for a holistic understanding of transformation that cares about each person's physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. We need to proclaim this good news to those who are marginalized in our context. We need to use the gifts that we have been given to impact our communities. 

So who are you called to minister and serve? Who needs liberation in your community? What has God given you a passion for? Homelessness? Human Trafficking? Gender Inequality? LGBTQ issues? Abortion? AIDS/HIV? Orphans? Lack of education? World Hunger? Thirst? Whatever it may be, what it is that breaks your heart...go after it. 

Let's stop getting overwhelmed by all the issues in the world and thinking there is not a change we can make. Let's instead act on what we can, live out our passions, focus on the change we can make in our own communities, and advocate for the issues we have been given a passion for, while empowering others to advocate for the issues they feel led to stop.

If we work together, as the Body of Christ, with all of our different passions and gifts, we can truly make a difference and help usher in the Kingdom. 

The Waiting Season

Waiting. Waiting is an element that is pervasive all throughout life. Every human being experiences some form of waiting. There is waiting for the weekend to end and finals to begin. Waiting for my wedding in August. Waiting to finish my current loom project. Waiting to find a job for after graduation. Waiting for the coming of Christ and the day the world will be renewed. There is so much waiting. As I have been sitting in my apartment since 2 A.M., listening to my "Folksy Christmas" Spotify playlist, and looming I cannot help, but think about the advent season that we are in. Advent is a beautiful time to reflect on this idea of waiting. Advent is a wonderful time during the Church calendar that can help us better anticipate the coming kingdom.

As I have been reflecting this evening I have been reminded that waiting does not mean being stagnant. Waiting is about anticipating and preparing for the outcome. I am preparing for finals through studying, planning my wedding by working out the necessary details, anticipating a future job by searching for one, and anticipating the coming of the Kingdom by working to bring about the Kingdom of Heaven on earth in the here and now. As I wait for the caffeine in my system to wear off so that I can sleep I have decided to read the lectionary readings for church tomorrow and reflect on them as I prepare for the second full week of Advent. The Gospel reading comes from Mark 1:1-8, which says,

 "The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’” John the baptizer appearedin the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.  He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The other readings (Epistle, Old Testament, and Psalm) go along excellently with this passage which is all about preparing and anticipating for the coming King. In Mark's retelling of this story, we see this radical homeless guy going around and declaring that the Lord is coming and we need to prepare. John is not just sitting around in some Synagogue, but instead he is out in the wilderness baptizing people with water and preparing the way for the coming King. How often do we do nothing when we are waiting? I think the good news of the Gospel this week is that we can do something while we wait. We are called to prepare the way and anticipate. We all can find ways to help usher in the Kingdom as we wait for the Age to Come. This can be done through helping out at your local homeless shelter, helping your elderly neighbor with their groceries, asking for forgiveness, shopping ethically for the holiday seasons, babysitting for those parents that never get a day for themselves, treating the cashiers at your favorite convenient stores with respect and love (as well as those who work at your least favorite stores), getting to know people with developmental disabilities, loving the hard to love and getting to know their stories, and so many more things. There is so much brokenness in this world which means there is so much more we can be doing as we anticipate the day when all things will be made into how they were intended to be. 

May we continue into this Advent season with an attitude of anticipation that is coupled with action.

Jonah and Redemption

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.
 But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. 3 And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 And the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” 5 Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city.
6 The Lord God appointed a bush,[a] and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush. 7 But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
9 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” And he said, “Yes, angry enough to die.” 10 Then the Lord said, “You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”-Jonah 3:10-4:11

When I heard this passage read as the Old Testament Lectionary reading on Sunday I could not help but be reminded of high school. Since the my early high school years I had a passion of letting people know how Jonah actually ended. I got so tired of seeing the flannel graph adaptations where kids assume that Jonah changed his ways after he preached to Ninevah. People often neglect the fact that he was bitter, had prejudices, and wanted God to destroy this city of the Assyrians. How often do we, as Christians, act just like Jonah here?

How often do we preach that God is loving and wants to forgive us if we are repentant but, then assume that God will obliterate anyone who thinks differently than we do? We look at horrible situations like ISIS and demand retribution but, as the Pastor at church so greatly pointed out, modern day Ninevah would be like ISIS. Yes, what they are doing is some of the most horrendous and dehumanizing things but, we have to wonder how God views them and if they are in the scope of God's redeeming love and forgiveness. It can be easy to think of our enemies, of that person right down the street that just gets under your skin, and say we'll "pray for them" while secretly hoping that they "get what they deserve" for the way they treat us. Instead maybe we should walk over, share the good news of redemption, and get to know their story. When we pray for our enemies let's actually mean it and hope for God's redemption to come into their lives.

Why do we do ministry? Why do we preach the "good news" and why should we even live out the "good news"? Is it to fulfill an obligation? Is it because we're told we have to? Or is it because it's actually good news? Is it that God actually does have mercy and chooses to love all of us? Is sharing the good news a response to the grace we have been given?

Let's stop whining about why we cannot have instant gratification or why sometimes we are uncomfortable. Let's stop assuming that God won't do what God says God will do! If God says that He is merciful and will free us then that is what God will do! Let's get up and share this good news with the assurance that God is one who forgives. God provides new life. And God can redeem even the worst of foes.