It's bad enough that another man was killed. It's sad that the reporting about the incident is being analyzed and made to look like the wrongness or rightness of the killing is simply a matter of racial perspective. The only possible good (and this is minor) that may come out of this is the acknowledgment of a constantly denied fact that the basic fabric of our country's social and legal structure is predicated on racism, classism and fear. This is not an indictment of all white or non-African people. It is a fact that remains, regardless of the skin color and culture of the highest officers in the land. The structure in which we work to secure the rights of all people has shown itself historically to be jaded against AFRICAN AMERICANS particularly.
The recent shootings of African Americans (Oscar Grant, Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown to name a few) and the injudicious ways that the killers were cleared of wrong-doing should alarm every American and serve as a call to action. Our actions must not only include flowers and memorials (as honorable as they are), meetings and public forums where we vent our frustrations; they should include training for those persons in our society who are still afflicted with the "black bogey-man" consciousness. The idea that a black man is dangerous or threatening to a person of another race simply because he is big, or speaks loudly or possesses any other social trait seen as normal in others, but magnified and vilified in African Americans, can only be dispelled when we begin to play a larger role in the intellectual development of how people in this country and across the world understand us.
The truth be told, there are people who are African American that have been mis-educated about their own people, distance themselves emotionally and culturally from us and contribute to the ongoing justification of Black abuse and murder. Not all of them are educated or raised in white institutions. Some are urban misfits who themselves see Black life as worthless or at best expendable, as they seek to gain control our Communities for their own purposes. So whether one has grown up in pristine white neighborhoods that demonize blacks or whether one has succumbed to the "make it in this world by any means necessary" ideology (even when it means contributing to the creation of a deadly or hostile living environment), Americans collectively must work to stop the violence that targets blacks because they are black. It doesn't matter whether the killer is brown-skinned, white-skinned, black-skinned or clothed in blue, our justice system and the broader societal attitude that it fosters by its conclusions must see the need for change from fear of blacks and affect that change that is so badly needed to save black life and protect the innocent. We should never feel content to hear the statement "I felt threatened" from individuals who are armed while their victims are unarmed.
A mother and father will bury their 18 year old son today. Most cultures would see this young person for what he was, "a child." Did he make bad decisions? Like most of us who have gone through childhood, yes. Should he be made to understand the consequences of his actions? Yes. But he did not deserve to die. He should not have died. The children of other groups would have had can opportunity to at least correct their young son. No so, here. These parents who could have taught their son have been deprived of parenting privileges because someone brutalized him. This is our tragedy. It is an American tragedy. If it is justified, maybe it signals the death of the true American soul, which for others espouses "equal protection under the law," but not for African Americans.
We all deserve to live safely. When we cannot secure safety for ourselves, we have laws, local, state and federal governments to help secure us. But when our security turns against us; when our institutions endorse our extermination and extinction, how tragic is that?
LET US WORK TOGETHER TO END THE VIOLENCE.
Monday, August 25, 2014
Sunday, August 24, 2014
For the Simple / Common People
FOR THE SIMPLE / COMMON PEOPLE
...and the common people heard him gladly. Mark 12:37
Some things are a mystery. Deuteronomy 29:29 tells us that. (The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.) Why do children die? You may not understand, why there is so much evil or bad in the world. Why do natural disasters destroy innocent lives? And Look! We cannot figure out how free will coexists with predestination.How can there be a thing called God's Sovereignty, without God ever participating in sin, leaving man’s moral choices as man’s primary responsibility. We don't like it, but we cannot understand why it seems like bad people get away with everything, while good people suffer so much. But don't let what you don't understand stop you from responding in faith to what you do understand.
The Bible teaches us simple things that we can understand. Things like, God loves us. Jesus reminded us that, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends “ (John 15:13). But, Jesus was not really interested in winning religious or philosophical arguments. He was not interested in scientific explanations or philosophical frustrations that dismiss God’s existence simply because a person cannot understand life’s major crisis and God’s place in them. Instead, Jesus was interested in getting people to enter the Kingdom that the Father was building through him. ...and the common people heard him gladly. Jesus did not seek out the deep thinkers like Nathaniel (John 1:46 - And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?). Deep thinkers searched for Jesus. (For example, Matthew 23:35-36 35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? ) Even today, Jesus is not interested in helping you understand everything about the origin of man, the tension between free will and Providence, the detailed intricacies of human travel from life on earth to or through death; but there are things that he knew and knows that simple people need to hear.
Common people, simple people are both phrases that refer to people who live life based on a clear understanding about life. They are not stupid or ignorant. They, like those who consider themselves to be educated, make a choice of what presupposition they will build their lives upon. Whatever they do not understand, they wait until it is revealed in some way. They do not try to solve the mysteries of the universe. Common people read the record that God left on the earth and his imprint in the sky. Common people heard Jesus say blessed are the poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3), and despite the crowd they found themselves in (Matthew 4:24 - 5:2 “and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. 25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan. And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying…”) they say Amen. Common people understand Jesus' statement, "you must be born again” (John 3:3). They are not theologians who try to break down the process of salvation, if Jesus said it, they simply believe it must be done and it can be done, and will be done for those who will surrender. Common , simple have no problem understanding that Jesus came to “seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10; Matthew 18:11).
Simple people know that there are moments that miracles happen; but they understand that not every moment is a miracle. They know that a daughter is healed when doctors have given up, is a miracle(Matthew 9:18). Simple people know that a terminally ill leper whose science and culture could not cure him, received a miracle ( Luke 17). They need no deep understanding of fasting and its relationship to preparing a path for God to work. Simple people are cognizant—mentally aware—that since there is God, a blind man may be made to see at any moment. They do not ask why every blind man is not healed, they simple trust that one day, God’s generosity will overtake them. Simple don’t try to explain things, they are just thankful.
Maybe our joy and our commitment to witnessing about the presence of Christ in the world would increase, if we spent less time looking for deep sayings from all of the deep thinkers in the family of God. Our experiences with God are profound without any attempt by us to magnify our journey. Christ does the common things for common people. He gives healing, assurance, and provision. He makes us aware of our place in the Kingdom of God.
Finally, simple people do not need to be impressed; they need direction. They need encouragement. They need the power of a word from Christ. Simple people heard Jesus because his message was simple, plain. In the context of Mark 12 Jesus had refuted religious arguments and openly dealt with an ernest seeker. But when he turned to the common people, the simple people, he gave them a simple narrative question that presupposed that their answer would be, “because he is God.” That’s all they needed. Simple interrogations! Simple declarations! The narrative itself put to rest the questions about who he was and where he came from, so that Jesus could return to the plain/simple teaching of the Kingdom.
This week, why not try to listen to the simple things that Jesus had to say. You will find yourself refreshed in the spirit and ready to live this new life in Christ with new excitement.
...and the common people heard him gladly. Mark 12:37
Some things are a mystery. Deuteronomy 29:29 tells us that. (The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.) Why do children die? You may not understand, why there is so much evil or bad in the world. Why do natural disasters destroy innocent lives? And Look! We cannot figure out how free will coexists with predestination.How can there be a thing called God's Sovereignty, without God ever participating in sin, leaving man’s moral choices as man’s primary responsibility. We don't like it, but we cannot understand why it seems like bad people get away with everything, while good people suffer so much. But don't let what you don't understand stop you from responding in faith to what you do understand.
The Bible teaches us simple things that we can understand. Things like, God loves us. Jesus reminded us that, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends “ (John 15:13). But, Jesus was not really interested in winning religious or philosophical arguments. He was not interested in scientific explanations or philosophical frustrations that dismiss God’s existence simply because a person cannot understand life’s major crisis and God’s place in them. Instead, Jesus was interested in getting people to enter the Kingdom that the Father was building through him. ...and the common people heard him gladly. Jesus did not seek out the deep thinkers like Nathaniel (John 1:46 - And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?). Deep thinkers searched for Jesus. (For example, Matthew 23:35-36 35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? ) Even today, Jesus is not interested in helping you understand everything about the origin of man, the tension between free will and Providence, the detailed intricacies of human travel from life on earth to or through death; but there are things that he knew and knows that simple people need to hear.
Common people, simple people are both phrases that refer to people who live life based on a clear understanding about life. They are not stupid or ignorant. They, like those who consider themselves to be educated, make a choice of what presupposition they will build their lives upon. Whatever they do not understand, they wait until it is revealed in some way. They do not try to solve the mysteries of the universe. Common people read the record that God left on the earth and his imprint in the sky. Common people heard Jesus say blessed are the poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3), and despite the crowd they found themselves in (Matthew 4:24 - 5:2 “and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. 25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan. And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying…”) they say Amen. Common people understand Jesus' statement, "you must be born again” (John 3:3). They are not theologians who try to break down the process of salvation, if Jesus said it, they simply believe it must be done and it can be done, and will be done for those who will surrender. Common , simple have no problem understanding that Jesus came to “seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10; Matthew 18:11).
Simple people know that there are moments that miracles happen; but they understand that not every moment is a miracle. They know that a daughter is healed when doctors have given up, is a miracle(Matthew 9:18). Simple people know that a terminally ill leper whose science and culture could not cure him, received a miracle ( Luke 17). They need no deep understanding of fasting and its relationship to preparing a path for God to work. Simple people are cognizant—mentally aware—that since there is God, a blind man may be made to see at any moment. They do not ask why every blind man is not healed, they simple trust that one day, God’s generosity will overtake them. Simple don’t try to explain things, they are just thankful.
Maybe our joy and our commitment to witnessing about the presence of Christ in the world would increase, if we spent less time looking for deep sayings from all of the deep thinkers in the family of God. Our experiences with God are profound without any attempt by us to magnify our journey. Christ does the common things for common people. He gives healing, assurance, and provision. He makes us aware of our place in the Kingdom of God.
Finally, simple people do not need to be impressed; they need direction. They need encouragement. They need the power of a word from Christ. Simple people heard Jesus because his message was simple, plain. In the context of Mark 12 Jesus had refuted religious arguments and openly dealt with an ernest seeker. But when he turned to the common people, the simple people, he gave them a simple narrative question that presupposed that their answer would be, “because he is God.” That’s all they needed. Simple interrogations! Simple declarations! The narrative itself put to rest the questions about who he was and where he came from, so that Jesus could return to the plain/simple teaching of the Kingdom.
This week, why not try to listen to the simple things that Jesus had to say. You will find yourself refreshed in the spirit and ready to live this new life in Christ with new excitement.
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