by Christine Sine
For Love of the World God Did Foolish Things. As you can imagine I have thought a lot about this over the last couple of weeks and I find myself asking some challenging questions as a result. Who are the witnesses that our “foolish God” has sent to proclaim the message of good news? God doesn’t choose the rich and the powerful, or the famous.
Slaves Become Chosen People.
Think of the slaves that became a chosen people and I wonder who are the slaves today that are God’s chosen ones? Are they those enslaved in the sex trade? Is it the children enslaved to grow coffee and tea or mine diamonds and gold? It’s easy to get irate at these forms of slavery and imagine that God wants to create chosen people of these marginalized ones.
Then however I think of those who are enslaved in poverty because of our desire for cheap goods and services – the farmers who often get only a pittance for their produce, the minimum wage earners who do not earn a living wage without working two or sometimes three jobs, the factory workers in China who often work in even worse conditions. I wonder how long will their cries for freedom rise as prayers before God until they are set free? I wonder too what am I can do to help them break out of their slavery.As I walk through Lent this year I wonder: Are there ways that I can become a spokesperson for people on the margins whose poverty I contribute to by my consumer choices?
Despised Are the Best Advocates
Next I think of the shepherds, the despised in their society whose testimony was not admissible in court and I wonder who are the despised today whose voices we do not listen to. Is it the homeless living in increasing numbers on our streets? Or possibly the indigenous people whose voices have been silenced in so many of our countries. Is it the George Floyds and Breonna Taylors and so many other black people who have lost their lives and family members to gun violence? Or is it the children crying out against yet another gun massacre here in the U.S.? What can I do to make sure I listen to the possibly exciting news about God they are wanting to proclaim?
Foreigners Welcome
Not surprisingly, my next set of witnesses that our “foolish God” sends are the wise men, foreigners from a distant land. They too challenge me to expand my vision – who are the foreigners – immigrants at the border, those of other faiths or other races. Who are the foreigners kept out by walls – not just physical walls of which there are 74 in the world, but also those excluded by the walls in my mind that tell me these foreigners are not worth listening to. How can I educate myself more effectively about their viewpoints and build bridges not walls?
Forgotten Ones Come First .
Next I am reminded of the women who were the first witnesses to Christ’s resurrection. We so easily forget them or disparage them. Especially Mary Magdalene. She has been so maligned over the centuries. Instead of the awe due to the one who was the first witness to the risen Christ and was know as an apostle to the apostles, we condemn her as a prostitute, an accusation for which there is no evidence. Who do we misjudge today? Is it people of other sexual orientations whose viewpoints we are closed to and on whom we heap condemnation? Is it the poor that we condemn by fallaciously saying “they don’t work hard enough”? Or is it those in prison, gang members, drug addicts? We all have our lists of “condemned” people, those we want to keep hidden in our society. How can we make sure their stories are listened to with acceptance and love? Perhaps they are the “foolish ones” God has chosen to lead us on the next step of our journey.
Unlikely Leaders
“Can any good come out of Galilee” the religious leaders say when Jesus comes on the scene. I am sure they kept saying it when Galilean fishermen became the leaders of this new movement too. “A little child will lead them” says the prophet Isaiah. The wisdom of children who embrace everyone they meet and want to share generously with those around them, could lead us into a new way of looking at the world. Our foolish God has always chosen unlikely leaders, people that most of the world would reject as uneducated, irreligious, unworthy, too young. God takes such people and molds them into a new community. How too can I be open to God’s unlikely leaders and look not to the rich and powerful but to the marginalized and the poor who are God’s primary spokespeople?
As I continue to walk through Lent I am asking myself what new practices I should take on in order to be open to the “foolishness of God” in choosing people like me and you, the poor and the marginalized, the forgotten and the foreigners. I am looking for new ways to engage the unlikely people of God all around me.