So I haven't been great about getting new content on my blog this month. It has been a crazy few weeks, and I just haven't felt inspired. . . until this morning.
I read a blog post from a friend of mine and wanted to repost it. I think it is profound enough that it needs to get some circulation. The "Guest Blogger" today is Paul Sundberg, who is a Lutheran pastor up in Lynwood, Washington. His daughter, Kirsten, and son-in-law, Nathan, are some of our best friends and I count Paul as a friend of mine in his own right.
The post really resonated with me relative to the work I do with Healing Waters and any other global or local missions work that people do. Enjoy!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Are We Just Enabling?
So here is the question-- We do a whole lot of local mission work, helping those who are homeless, have little in the way of resources or money. Jesus teaches us to take care of those-- feed the hungry, etc. When people have made a whole host of poor decisions that have landed them in that spot, are we doing more to enable them to make more poor decisions, or are we really doing good? There are consequences to our decisions--where do these come in? In this culture of kindness and gospel outreach, I feel guilty even asking the question-- but it has been bothering me for months. And maybe it's grace. We don't judge-- we just do what we can and leave the rest to the Lord. Comments?
This is a question with which we constantly struggle as we work to address basic needs. There simply aren’t simple answers.
It is an accurate reading of the gospels to conclude that Jesus never asked someone how they got into a situation of need. It is also an accurate reading to conclude that much of Jesus’ criticism of the Pharisees, scribes, priests, and leaders is directed to their socio-economic/political failure to care for the poor and excluded. Such care was an obligation of the “system”/institutions. When it comes to personal choices Jesus seems to point to the reality that systems themselves limit the range of choices one can make. What is possible from one position in the system is impossible from another position in the system.
Maybe the most interesting situations occur with the feeding of the great crowds 5000 and 4000 “not counting women and children”. These people willingly followed Jesus out into the desert and seem to have neglected to provide for their own needs – generally accepted foolish behavior. In addition, it’s likely that few would have suffered by waiting for a meal until they got back home. But, Jesus says, “feed them”.
It’s not that Jesus doesn’t call us to exercise our decision making abilities; he just doesn’t call us to self care. When he feeds and heals he sends people back home to take up their productive/supportive roles in society. When he doesn’t do that he invites people to follow him and join his community – and become healers and feeders of those in need. There is nothing he does about past choices; he only draws people into new opportunities. And what if their choices are once again bad? 70 X 7 seems to be the formula for forgiveness – transformation most often takes a long time.
So, meeting basic needs seems to have several objectives. 1) Meet the need, after all, hungry is hungry, thirsty is thirsty, homeless is homeless. 2) Draw people into community. 3) Turn the healed and fed into healers and feeders of others.
Those are the objectives we actively pursue at Trinity as we deal with basic needs. Thanks be to God, we’re seeing all three of them realized.
Posted by paul sundberg - justkeepasking@gmail.com at 6:34 AM
Labels: care, choice, community, Compassion, forgiveness
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