The Challenges of Either/Or and Both/And

In Luke 4: 16-30, Jesus enters his home synagogue in Nazareth and preaches the following good news:  "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor...Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." (Lk 4: 18-19, 21b).  How people reacted to Jesus' proclamation of justice for the poor, the captive, the blind, and the oppressed is a sad and frustrating response to Jesus speaking truth to the power of those systems whic hold people captive.

As Christ followers, we're challenged to serve the hungry/homeless/lost and lonely/poor/prisoners/ mentally ill and all who suffer and struggle.  One way that we serve faithfully is to volunteer and financially support the social service agencies whose clients are described above.  But such useful and good service doesn't change the systems that hold people captive.

In "Soul of a Citizen" Paul Loeb tells Greg Ricks' story as metaphor for our dilemma:  "People try to pull an endless sequence of drowning children out of a river.  Of course we must address the immediate crisis, and try to rescue the children.  But we also need to find out why they're falling into the river - because no matter how hard we try, we lack the resources, strength, and stamina to save them all.  So we must go upstream to fix the broken bridge, stop the people who are pushing the children in, or do whatever else will address the problem at its source." (P Loeb, "Soul of a Citizen," p 147)

Our dilemma is not an "either/or" situation.  Jesus calls us Christ followers to be "both/and" people.  We are called by Jesus to respond to the immediate tragedies around us and we are called to hold systems of injustice accountable to God's intent of wellbeing and shalom for all people.

As Jeremiah 1: 4-10 reminds us, we are to trust that God will touch our lips and put the words into our mouths to "pluck up and pull down, destroy and overthrow" oppression and injustice at its source.  Then we can build and plant gardens where all are fed - where there is plenty for all - where no one is held captive.  When we band together in such efforts, we are prophets who speak truth to power and demand change.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Shelley