charity versus justice.

so david hilfiker, the founder of joseph's house, is teaching a class for us volunteers about the structural causes of urban poverty. his book, urban poverty, is a really great, fairly easy read that clearly lays out the structural causes, historical roots, and possible ways to change the urban ghetto. i've really gained a lot of great insight from reading his book and taking this class with my fellow volunteers.

last week, we read an article that he wrote several years ago about the dichotomy between charity and justice, and it really made me think. his argument is not to do away with charity, but that we need to be aware of the dangers of charity work in inhibiting our work for justice. places like joseph's house and other charities address the results of a problematic system, trying to alleviate the immediate, dire needs of people in poverty; and as much as this is necessary, in some ways it takes pressure off of the government to change the systems that put them in such dire straits in the first place. charity is also more rewarding and often easier to do than pursuing justice - charity gives us the pleasure of seeing real people's lives being changed, even in small ways, and it can be a once and done thing. negatively, however, charity lets us maintain an unhealthy power relationship with the poor, a one-way relationship in which we are the only ones giving, which allows us to continue to see them as "other" than ourselves. conversely, justice, achieving a level of enough and dignity for all human beings regardless of whether or not we think they are "deserving" of our charity or not, is a life-long effort, does not always result in seeing change in our lifetimes, forces us to see ourselves and the poor as part of a larger human family, and is much more threatening to changing our own way of life. but if we want to see places like joseph's house rendered unnecessary, if we want to eliminate poverty and AIDS, then just taking care of those currently in poverty will not do it - we need to radically change our systems - healthcare, welfare, education, employment opportunity. and these things will change our way of life in some way. but isn't it worth it - how can we, the richest nation in the world, allow our own people to live in such destitution? we need to stop seeing the poor as "other" than ourselves, stop being so concerned about preserving our individual privilege at the sake of depriving others of basic needs, stop feeling good about ourselves after writing a check or volunteering our time at a charitable organization, and start engaging our government and those in power about the things that are keeping our brothers and sisters in the unbreakable cycle of poverty that they are currently in.

my hope and prayer is that you, hearing the stories about these precious friends of mine who are being wronged by our current systems, will join me in engaging. we need the real relationships across racial and socio-economic lines which charity work so often provides to keep fueling our passion to engage these systems. it's much harder to give up when faces and names of dear friends will not leave you alone, friends who are suffering. i invite you to find your own friends that cross these boundaries, and allow them to teach you and help you engage the issues that are keeping us apart from one another. Jesus was the ultimate boundary crosser - he befriended women, samaritans, tax collectors, prostitutes. let us do the same and allow these relationships to transform us and transform our country, as well.

choosing to follow.

it's been a long time since i have thought about choosing to walk in God's way, to follow Him in my life. as i've thought about what i will do next year, i've thought about it mostly from a perspective of selfishness. what do i want? what will i enjoy the most? what will bring me joy and security? i do think that it's helpful to think about what i love and what i desire as i think about God's will in discerning the next steps for my life. as a general rule, i think that evangelical christians tend to downplay their own desires and wants as they try to deny themselves to follow Christ. but i believe that God has created us with unique gifts and desires, and so when we discover something that brings us deep joy, it is often God's spirit coming alive inside of us and guiding us. yet, i do want to think about how i can follow Christ, how i can work to bring God's kingdom, which is both at hand and still coming, here on earth now in a deeper way.

last sunday, i heard gordon cosby, one of the founders of the church of the savior, preach at church. his sermons are always deep and convicting, and this one was no different. one of his points was that we need to understand Christ's suffering as tied to his love and to follow him in that. gordon talked about Christ's love being a suffering love, that Christ went to places of suffering to be with and take part in that suffering. and if we claim to follow Christ, we need to do the same. when he spoke those words, "joseph's house" came to my mind in complete clarity. i realized last week that for me at this point in my life, to follow Christ in the deepest, most complete way that i can see is to live at joseph's house next year. to live in community and work with those who are suffering in a deep way, facing their own pain, illness, and death, is clearly God's call on my life right now. and i want to choose to follow God's call. i know that it will be hard, i know that living with my beautiful friends here in DY again would be a lot easier and more fun, but i want to choose God's way. and so i choose it, knowing it will be rich and hard and painful and beautiful.

also, i've gotten so many opportunities in the past week and a half to go downtown and see the cherry blossoms. they are so beautiful, and i love being with them with different friends in different times - bringing down a blanket and lying in the grass amidst them, walking around the tidal basin and seeing all the petals in the water, taking silly pictures and beautiful pictures, watching the other people there to take in the beautiful sight. i love spring and the beauty of nature. i'm grateful to be alive at times like these.