Singing Tomorrow’s Song. . . Today in Bangladesh

posted by Lauren Sable

Our community has been reflecting intensely on Sunday nights for some time now on the coming of the Kingdom and how it is not just a future reality, but something that is occurring now in the present. Our Sunday series has enabled us to not only be reminded of this truth, but to develop stronger theological underpinnings to enable us to live more consistently into this truth in our own lives and with our vocations. We know that we have a role to play in this ongoing work and can be agents of change.

As I walked out of the Dhaka airport on Monday and took in my first sights of Bangladesh, I was instantly reminded of an environment I have only experienced once before. People – everywhere. For those that have not had a chance to travel to this part of the world, the volume of people around you that your eyes can take in within one view is really quite amazing. With every sense, you are reminded that this is a land where people scratch out an existence. Of all the countries I have had the privilege of traveling to in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America, - India and Bangladesh are completely unique in this regard.

As we slowly drove from the hotel to the office crawling through the congestion, there were incessant knocks at the car window from beggars. One little girl about nine or ten years of age was considerably persistent. She knocked with her face pressed against the glass, calling out to me at one red light for five or ten minutes and following along to repeat her persistence at the next one. For anyone that has ever traveled overseas, we know that begging is the norm and part of the fabric. It’s typically an issue first timers overseas struggle with and then soon adapt to it. Sadly, I am usually immune to it. Of course the begging makes me sad, but I accept it as a reality. This day, however, whether due to this child’s persistence, the length of time she knocked at the window, or a sensitivity of the Spirit, my analytical brain kicked in as she knocked, returning me to fundamental questions.

What am I supposed to do in this moment? Right now, what does transformation and service look like for this child? How can the Kingdom be brought to her, here and now, given the nature and short circumstances of the moment? My primary lens for supporting transformation is through the work I contribute to in international development. If this child lived in one of our programming areas, addressing her poverty, whether physical or spiritual, would have a framework. Under this framework, there is hope for transformation of systems and structures, changed relationships, income generation possibilities, education and health care. But this was one child in need on a corner, knocking at a window. Her need was evident and there was no chance to address her poverty through my daily work.

According to World Vision’s (and St. Brendan’s) biblical understanding, the harsh reality of social and physical poverty calls for "justice, generosity, and acts of conviction and compassion." But what do these look like in a given moment. How can we discern how to act in a sea of infinite need?

Jesus himself must have encountered this sea of need as he walked the roads of Palestine. He urged people to “knock at the door”. Perhaps there were not car windows, but the multitudes did:
o push into him
o touch the hem of his robe
o cry out beside pools of water and open gates
o send servants with urgent requests to come
o scrape at the roof

We can read the stories of the specific moments in which he responded, but there must have been countless other requests. Palestine was a poor and oppressed land where like Bangladesh, people also scratched out an existence. In the midst of his longer-term mission, as he was confronted with endless needs, what did faithfulness look like in each of those moments?

The next morning, I joined with some Bengali colleagues around a table for devotions. World Vision staff around the world share the same devotional book, though we all progress through it at different paces and use the book differently. The title of our book from last year is something like Making the Most of the Rest of Our Lives and the title of the day’s devotion was “Singing Tomorrow’s Song . . . Today.” The devotion focused on the subject of hope. Participating with National Office staff in devotions is always a privilege as I hear them interpret scripture and make sense of God’s call in light of their social and cultural settings. In particular, we spent much time on the phrase, “Hope is tangibly practical.”

“Hoping boldly in the midst of present problems. Hope is tangibly practical. Rather than distracting us from the pains of the present, hope motivates us to deal with them. It is our privilege to lift up the signs of tomorrow’s certainties in the midst of today’s uncertainties. Followers of Christ are empowered by the Spirit towards what is good, and they can be found at the center of today’s solutions.”

We know it is true, but making hope tangibly practical in given moments is a challenge. How do we possibly make a future reality (i.e. God's Kingdom coming) a present reality? How do I answer a call to "justice, generosity, and acts of conviction and compassion" and make the future hope a present reality to a little girl I encounter for 10 minutes who is following my car in traffic? I know we can all rattle off appropriate theological and practical responses. “It was too short of a time span to do anything. You have no local currency yet. You don’t want to perpetuate a dangerous situation where children beg in traffic. She probably works for a mafia boss who will take what I would give her anyway.” These statements let me off the hook and build immunity to the areas in which I think we are called to wrestle and groan as Christ’s body in the midst of a hurting world. The bottom line is: Although it should be possible to bring the Kingdom in the moment at hand, none of my analysis in those minutes of knocking revealed something that would actually work.

I offer no solutions here. The purpose of this blog is to say to my community that I want us and need us to keep wrestling with questions like these as we explore the Kingdom and focus this year on its practical application. Let’s not conversationally apply easy, thematic spiritual truths to contexts without wrestling with what it means to make them a reality. Personally, I need folks to strive with me and submit with me before God, asking him in his mercy to show us how we can sing tomorrow’s song today. To show us how to be people of justice, mercy, generosity, compassion, and conviction in the world’s most broken places so that we can truly be signs of the Kingdom and sources of hope in the midst of pain.

God, lead us that we may stand firm in faith for justice. Teach us love, teach us compassion. Above all, out of love and compassion, teach us to act. Amen. -St. Brendan’s Common Prayer Liturgy (prayer from the Iona Community)

Epiphany and TS Eliot

On this day, January 6, we celebrate Epiphany. What better way (besides corporate worship and Eucharist (bread for the journey)) than to settle down with a warm coffee or hot tea, and take a slow read of "The Journey of the Magi" by TS Eliot. It begins

"A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey..."

The rest is here http://www.blight.com/~sparkle/poems/magi.html

posted by Bill

Not necessarily belligerent but great nonetheless

In the spirit of Bill's list of co-belligerents and Laura's suggestion of the conference, I have a few favorites of late to share:

http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/ (often provocative, which is a compliment!)
http://www.theotherjournal.com/ (out of Mars Hill Grad School)
http://www.burnsidewriterscollective.com/ (my friend Penny is social justice editor, and I like what they're doing)
http://www.zoecarnate.com/ (amazingly long and good list of "Jesus-infused" sites)

I'm too new at St. Brendan's to assume that all will be interested but I think you'll find some nuggets here.

Also, I attended two conferences at Mars Hill Grad School in 2007. They were life-changing, and I could not recommend them more highly. Learn more at: http://www.mhgs.edu/conference/schedule.asp

(Brief testimony -- "Leadership Crucible" is a chance to "lead" in a very creative, cyber-world, in Seattle, for several days and be critiqued and encouraged, in real time, about your leadership style. Based on Dan Allender's book LEADING WITH A LIMP.

"Story Workshop" is based on Dan Allender's book TO BE TOLD and is about learning to love all the aspects of your life story and thus making all of it available for God's purposes in your life --"grieving your losses in the company of those who will help you reframe them."

Finally, just watch this for goosebumps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA
I love the idea of how often we fail to see our own glory even when it's there! Watch this as a metaphor for how we see ourselves vs. how God sees us. I'm taking liberties here but in any event, you will be introduced to Paul Potts. I like his story.

Cary

Stereotypes Straining Because of Integration

This from one of John Stott's study assistants....

Two global conferences I attended in the last couple years exemplify this division. In July 2004 I attended the “Global Institute of Theology” in Accra, Ghana, sponsored by the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. While the Institute had the appearance of being directed by non-Western leadership, the content and teaching of the Institute was driven almost entirely by one ideological concern: trade, development and globalization. Even as a concern to discuss evangelism, personal conversion, or spiritual warfare was expressed by participants, these concerns were sidelined by the overwhelming focus on issues of trade and development.

At the Younger Leaders Gathering, there was again the impression of non-Western participation in the planning and leading of the event. But this time, rather than being driven by a concern for trade and development issues, there was an almost exclusive focus on world evangelization and personal conversion. While the conferences were vastly different in their agendas, they both suffered from being far too influenced by the Western ideological division that has so profoundly shaped the Western missiological project over the last 100 years.

But the most remarkable thing of all was that at each of the conferences I encountered non-Western Christians who could have easily been a part of either. Again and again these non-Western Christians defied my ability to categorize them. Were they evangelical or liberal in their priorities? I discovered that they were both and neither. They had a deep concern for many of the things that American evangelicals care about: biblical faithfulness, evangelism and conversion, sexual and moral standards and purity, the centrality of Jesus, spiritual warfare and the activity of the Holy Spirit. Yet they also had concerns about things which are not often discussed at a typical American evangelical conference: fair trade, the environment and conservation, rights for women, a deep aversion towards war, even resistance to global capitalism. Was this a case of confused priorities? To the contrary, it appears that as Christianity flourishes in environments beyond the historical baggage of Western Christianity, our non-Western brothers and sisters are re-discovering a more balanced form of “evangelical” Christianity that we have neglected.

From http://theotherjournal.com/article.php?id=207
posted by Bill (h/t Cary)

The Artist & The City

St. B's community,

I'd like to invite you to consider attending Image Journal's July 2008 Glen Workshop, the foremost meeting place of creative thinkers (artists, musicians, readers, moviegoers, etc.) of faith. Last year's conference was covered by PBS Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, so this year's spots are bound to go fast. The Image staff and community are outstanding. I'm really hoping I'll be able to go this year, and it would be great if others might join me!

Here is some information, plus a link to the website:

The theme for the week, “The Artist and the City,” will provide a focal point for discussion. What is the relationship between the believing artist and the public square? This question raises fundamental issues about the way faith and culture interact. In North America believers have often felt that they must address the world through proclamation, the assertion that others should acquire what we already have. But art works differently, involving both its creator and audience in an act of common discovery. As the theologian Henri de Lubac once said: “Truth is not a good that I possess.... It is such that in giving it I must still receive it; in discovering it I still have to search for it....” How might the artist's quest to understand what it means to be human influence the way church and society address one another?

http://www.imagejournal.org/glen/08/index.asp

Thanks!

Laura

Friends of StBs, and co-belligerents!

There’s great joy in introducing good friends to good friends. One way or the other, these are some of the folks St. Brendan’s is connected to or whose work we want to further by highlighting them. It’s hardly an exhaustive list, but it sure is encouraging when taken together.

Google away!

St. Brendan’s in the City is a grateful daughter community of The Falls Church in Northern Virginia, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and gladly submitted to Christians in the 'majority world' through the Convocation of Anglicans in North America. Some of us had a part in founding the Kairos community, and are glad to be a sister to that community. We find deep theological roots in the work of Bishop NT Wright and the Reverend John Stott and Pope John Paul the Great, and increasingly Dalls Willard.

We find deep spiritual nurture through the contemplative website offered by the Irish Jesuits at Sacred Space, the Henri Nouwen Society, Jean Vanier and L’Arche, Ruth Haley Barton’s ministry of The Transforming Center, and Renovare.

We’re grateful to redemptively engage this hurting world with Word Made Flesh, a sort of Missionaries of Charity for young Protestants, and especially their communities in Bolivia, Calcutta, and Sierra Leone. A very important servant of justice is our dear friend and long partner, the International Justice Mission. We continue to share in the labor of loving Washington DC through the Southeast DC Partners and Central Union Mission among others, including deeply appreciating the ministries of L’Arche in Washington, Christ House and Columbia Road Heath Services, and the Servant Leadership School of the Church of the Saviour.

St. Brendan’s is deeply committed to relief and transformational development, manifested in our support and partnerships with the Anglican Relief and Development Fund, World Vision, and Five Talents International.

It’s a crazy American culture we live in, and Andy Crouch at Culture Makers, Catapult Magazine, the Center for Public Justice, and the Washington Institute help us make sense of it and learn how to engage it.

As best as we’re able given the strangeness of our metro Washington DC context, St. Brendan’s is all about intentional community among the poor for the sake of Jesus. So we count as friends and inspiration Circle of Hope in Philly, the Simple Way, Urban Neighbors of Hope, and Rutba House and their identification of the New Monasticism. It’s not particularly urban (!), but L’Abri has had a huge impact on us.

We're glad for these friends, and co-belligerents for the Kingdom. We look to God to lead us to our unique contribution to this wonderful list of his agents.

I'd love some responses to this post, sharing more people and ministries and communities we should be aware of, inspired by, or are already connected to that I left out.

posted by Bill

A Template of Meaning

I’m big on “the day after” as opposed to the anticipated holiday or the big event. I’ll take a random Tuesday over a holiday anytime, and I particularly love December 26 and January 1.

Traditionally I spend time on New Year’s Day looking back at journal and calendar and checkbook to see where the year went and what it all meant, with the hope of “doing better.” And sometimes I do (better); sometimes not.

But this morning I chanced upon the “praise” section of my 2007 journal and reread it, meditating on some of the names of God I had clung to this year and some of the ways He had manifested Himself in my life. I have renewed gratitude for those (and awe that He meets me so specifically). And in the names, I saw patterns.

There is a book of “Then and Now Bible Maps” in which there is a printed page and then a clear page that goes over it to show changing boundaries, new place names and how the maps reflect history. Today I was able to look at my year with an overlay of God’s names and roles in my life as the template that made sense of the reality, the lens through which it should be properly viewed. And that brings comfort and hope… that the disparate events, people, crises, joys, challenges, travels, encounters, readings, prayers and hopes of 2007 were not random or haphazard but, instead, functions of God’s movement and will in my life.

A major highlight of 2007 was healing in some key relationships, and I see that a Wonderful Counselor, Healer, Great Physician was responsible.

The River of Delights provided road trips, adventures, epiphanies, tears over beauty, moments of joy, feasts and reunions this last year.

I see that I faced specific instances of adversity, fear, worry, and uncertainty with one who trains me for battle and provides armor. He was a Shield where I can take refuge, a Rock, a Fortress, and Deliverer.

At times when I was lonely (stunned from having been hurt by or having hurt others, or just longing for deeper companionship than earth always provides), I had a Friend, although I rarely welcomed Him as “Sufficiency.” At other times I see how God sent specific books, thoughts, verses, experiences or even people (closely connected or one-time messengers) as manna that got me through a day, sufficient indeed.

Paths were made smooth so my ankles wouldn’t turn; my way was flooded in light and guidance. Discipline and rebuke sought to save me the trouble of wandering into minefields or digging my own, ultimately empty cisterns.

I see where the Holy Spirit was Librarian and Tutor, where God’s presence was an Abba’s lap, where Jesus was Guide in ways that surprised and intrigued and, yes, even irritated in the call to follow. But mostly I see that 2007 was from Him, and He was present – as opposed to the year being some random, haphazard series of events on the way to a someday, somewhere, somehow experience of finding God and His will.

Posted by Cary Umhau