Never let me forget

Never let me forget the people that have lost everything.
Never let me forget the people that never had anything.
Forever let me comfort them, and discomfort those who forget.

With this prayer in mind I know that there could be no dulling down what I have to say about India. I know that to do otherwise is to sell out my experience as just laughs and giggles. But India wasn’t all about laughs. I feel as if for the last 10 months, I have constantly struggled with life and everything that I have seen.

Where I wonder is Jesus in the world today? He was crucified, died, and was buried; where did he go from there? I ask not because I want to know about the weeks that followed the resurrection but because I want to know about today. Where is Jesus today?

The rest of the world does not look like America. India is not solely a land of poverty, but there are people here who are impoverished. There are people who work day in and out for less than a buck. Does this even matter? Does it matter if there are poor people in the world? And not the poor we think. Not poor like lower class trying to make the rent. Poor like digging through the garbage all day to sell anything useful and build a house out of the rest because that’s all life has given you. Does it matter that people build their lives out of the remains of trash?

Does Jesus care about these people? Can he hear the cries of the oppressed? Can he hear those who are broken, who have nothing left, who never had anything at all? Where, in all of this, is GOD? He is a God of justice, of righteousness, of love, of hope, of so many things. But where is he? Will he save us?

In Greek comedies, at the end of the play when things were looking like they could not get any worse and evil had won, god would come in and set everything back in its place. Life was good again. The ending to these plays became known as “deus ex machina.” God the machine would spring in and save the world. In Greek tragedies, the gods just don’t show and endings aren’t so pleasant. I don’t think God is setting us up for a “deus ex machina.” I don’t think that is God. I don’t think that is how he works and I think we are in for a big surprise if that is where we see God. We have been given everything to make things right already. God isn’t waiting to save the day. That isn’t how God works. I think he is waiting on us.

Dietrich Bonheoffer writes in Letters and Papers from Prison, that God is not at the periphery of life. He is not the unknown force behind unexplainable actions or the magic man that is going to save the day. He is the center. He is the known. He is in many ways what lies in our heart more so than what lies beyond.

Personally, I see God in people and less so much in the beyond. Like they say, “Namaskaram.” Possibly translated as hello; more accurately translated as the god in me acknowledges the god in you. I acknowledge you, and while I don’t think we are gods, I am all for recognizing each other’s humanity. Namaskaram.

Do we acknowledge each other’s humanity though? Do we even see that our neighbor has humanity? And I am not talking about your neighbor in church or in your suburb. I am talking about all your neighbors. Indeed your neighbor is not a person, but neighborliness is a quality manifested towards all. Can you see your neighbor? Do you care for his problems? He has problems.

What does it mean to be a Christian? Does it mean you go to church? Does church have anything to do with being Christian? Does it have anything to do with Christ anymore?

Jesus, the son of God, came down to earth and laid it out on how it should be. And he didn’t just tell them how it was going to be, he showed them. He took the law of Moses and showed them what God was like – that there was mercy and grace. He showed them how to walk in love, that that was the way of God. “Come follow me.”

But following Jesus wasn’t a parade; or a picnic. The things he asked of people were almost impossible. Bless the man who spits on you. Take evil but give only good. Forgive them all. Love them all. The world will hate you because of me but still, follow. Do these teaching even matter in the church today? Do they define Christianity or are they just a lost ideal?

Jesus was a good man and while he was God, I don’t think he meant for us to engage solely in worship of him. Jesus prayed and so should we. But Jesus also lived. He saw people for what they were. He talked to people that “holy” men never should. He associated with dirty women and spoke well of people who were “not of God.” He saw people for what they are. He saw that it did not matter who people were, what mattered was what was on the inside. He taught his disciples to do the same. He taught that what mattered was the fruit of the tree.
Jesus gave a human face to a distant God. He came into this world and showed us what it was like to love each other, and to show us how much God loved us. Jesus came to show us what God would look like if he came to earth. He showed what God’s humanity looks like. He showed how to treat each other, how to care for each other, how to love each other. He showed us how to acknowledge our neighbors’ humanity. I don’t think Jesus came to save us from death. I think that would be just hoping God will be my “deus ex machina” and save me from the beyond. I think instead he came to show us how to live.

So what about Jesus today? With all the pain, and suffering, and hate in the world, where is God? Not in the beyond, but at the center: in your heart, and your mind, and your hands. He came, lived, and died to show us what to do. And now his body, the body of Christ, sits every Sunday in church. Does this have anything to do with following Christ? I am starting to think so; but I think Christ also calls us out of the pews, to step out of church on Sunday morning, smell the air, and know that God came and left. That he taught us a good lesson and that there is work to do. Our neighbors need us more than ever. Some are broken. Some are homeless and some make their homes of garbage. Some have problems just like us. Does God care? I think so; look at the way he lived his life. But what about his Christians; do we care?

This is a prayer that was shared with me as I left by my mom. Enjoy.

We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end war; for we know that You have made the world in a way that man must find his own path to peace within himself and with his neighbor.

We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end starvation; for you have already given us the resources with which to feed the entire world if only we would use them wisely.

We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to root out prejudice, for you have already given us eyes with which to see the good in all me if we would only use them rightly.

We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end despair, for you have already given us the power to clear away slums and to give hope if only we would use our power justly.

We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end disease, for you have already given us great minds with which to search out the cures and healing, if only we would use them constructively.

Therefore we pray to You instead, O God, for strength, determination, and will power. To do instead of just pray, to become instead of merely wish. Amen

Go in Peace. Serve the Lord.