Calloused Hands and Calloused Hearts

As I got out of the shower the other day I looked at my hands. I guess I wanted to make sure they were clean, but all I noticed was the callous I had developed in Honduras was now just a faint trace. Like a mark made by some invisible ink it was only noticeable when wet.  

At one time in my life, a week of digging would not have given me a blister – that was when I was used to manual labor. But today my fingers do key strokes and rarely grip a shovel or pick for more than a few minutes. So friction created heat, a blister formed to protect my sensitive skin, and then it burst. The sore scarred over to create a mini-armor guarding my hand against more abuse.

But as I thought about the disappearing callous on my hand I was struck with fear, was the callous on my hand being replaced by a new one on my heart? Like a callous on the hand, heart calluses also form armor that keeps things out that could trouble a sensitive heart.

As a callous on the hand begins to fade,
a new one on the heart is easily made.

If lessons in the flesh can’t penetrate my heart,
Then I’m safe from change, no new course to chart.
If I can make a new friend, next week forget his pain,
My hard heart has done it’s work so I won’t go insane.

I’d lose my mind from solidarity with a brother in oppression
If a comfort-seeking is my boss and has me stressin’
If I refuse to loose my life – to find my soul
Then I must forget his struggle to stay whole.

If Yah speaks to me, but I do not obey
Heart hardening follows with out delay

A callous on the hand fades when the work is done
But on the heart they’ll make sure it’s not begun.

I’m convinced this is one reason most “so-called-Christians” would rather argue about theology than love their neighbor in need. Talk is cheap – love is costly.

1 John 3:16 – 19This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This

 then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence.

Home from Honduras: Day 3

As I climbed the stairs to go to my clean comfortable bed last night, I couldn’t help but think about where I had slept just 4 nights before. As much as I loved getting home my wife and family, I have resisted pushing the “reset button” on my life and going back to normal. Our Honduran experience continues to push me to question “normality” as commonly understood.
I had the blessed opportunity to sleep in cramped and uncomfortable conditions. Six of us shared four 3 inch foam twin mattress that were laid out on a two-day old concrete floor. We were in a small room that was filled with all the tools, wheel barrows, and the generator in order to protect them from thieves. Myself, along with another from our group, had been given the opportunity to spend the night on the mountain at the coffee farm (and budding community center) overseen by Carlos and Melissa. The Honduran workers, who had stayed there all week, had requested our company in this half-completed shack without plumbing or electricity and only openings for windows and doors. Carlos had agreed to our stay, but I believe he made it on the condition that a door be built to the room in which we were to sleep. Later that night a pile of lumber was transformed into a beautiful door that was built and hung.

I saw it as a blessed and sacred opportunity. Even as Jesus took on flesh he was able to go and experience things he had only observed before (as God) but never felt personally (as a man). In a similar (yet so insignificant) way we were invited to share and experience in the lives of Octavio, Daniel, Cristian, and Rolman. All week we labored and sweated together; we had dug septic tanks, mixed concrete, laid water lines, and moved blocks. We had laughed, talked, cried and prayed side by side. We had earned a right to enter into this place. As we ate, drank, laughed and talked that night they shared hopes and doubts, and we reciprocated. The Lord was present and through these relationships his love and hope were communicated.

the morning after....

In Honduras the average worker makes the equivalent of $5 a day. And like much of Latin America, most children cannot afford to stay in school after elementary or middle school. School costs money and the family needs the child to work. The financial situation between North Minneapolis and Siguatepeque are beyond comparison, yet the core problems facing young men, women, children, and families are quite similar: Hopelessness from isolation.

My observations show me that youth on the low end of the economic ladder (from wherever) often are isolated from healthy relationships through broken homes, broken promises, and lack of opportunity. Often this social isolation and brokenness leads to deepening hopelessness, and life without hope can set the stage for a drama of self-destruction.

Back to my night at the shack, the question nagging me is, how do I repay the blessing of experience and community with my Honduran brothers? A brother of mine from South Africa has taught me about the concept of solidarity. He wrote “In this movement, [solidarity] the I and the other enter into a sacred space of commonality. In the sacred space we understand that we are different, but our difference cannot divide us in pursuing the liberating message of the good news.”

Whether in Honduras or North Minneapolis people need more than stuff, they need to know their life matters. Physical needs must be met, but mere handouts fall short without a relational exchange.

Share experiences.
Build commonality.
Give what you can.
Receive what you need.
Repair brokenness.
Plant seeds of hope.

The above recipe is foreign to a culture in which the individual is the master of her/his own destiny. To live the above and know solidarity with others will cost us all “normality” as commonly understood. Furthermore, this biblical recipe will liberate all if we come believing we are not our own but tools in the hands of a loving God.

Not Just a Myth….

We had Christmas yesterday…. sure it was only the 23rd of December, but at our home in North Minneapolis for my wife and our 3 kids, 2 dogs, and one cat…. it was Christmas Day. I was caught off guard for a moment to hear the news this morning talking about the weather report for Santa – then I remembered, the rest of the world has Christmas tomorrow… (and we will too, with my in-laws)

I was raised knowing the day was wrong, everyone knew there is no way shepherds would keep their flocks in fields at night in December, (you do that in the spring when the ewes are lambing) and yet it didn’t really matter. We were not celebrating the day, but the event; God took on flesh like us – so he could show us the way and give us his life.

But it makes you wonder – since the date we celebrate is based on mid-winter pagan myths, is there reason to believe the rest of the story?

Before opening gifts yesterday, we read these verses from Luke…..

• Luke 1 – 5THERE was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia:

• Luke 2 -1And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. 2(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

• Luke 3 – 1Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, 2Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

These are not the typical CHRISTMAS STORY verses, but to me they are immensely important.

Count the Historical references….

AT THE TIME OF THE BIRTH

1. Herod King of Judea

2. Cesar Augustus Emperor of Rome

3. Cyrenius was governor of Syria

ABOUT 30 YEARS LATER WHEN THE MINISTRY OF JOHN AND JESUS BEGAN

4. fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar

5. Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea

6.Herod being tetrarch of Galilee

7. Herod’s brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis

8. Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene

9. Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests,

All of the above references have shown themselves to be TRUE – by outside historical verification. Archeology, Jewish and Roman records all support the historicity of this list of rulers. Why is this important? Some “biblical” scholars say the Gospels were written not at the time they claim, but 100’s of years later by a Church trying to create MYTH to support their existence.

But think about it, is it possible a group of persecuted religious people, without access to both Roman and Jewish records, without internet access, could get all the names and years right? This was a time when rulers changed positions frequently, yet it all aligns.

The point I made to my kids is this, some days it IS hard to believe God became flesh and dwelt among us. But when I remember the bible is accurate on little things (like who was tetrarch of Abilene, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar) I find it much easier to trust it in the main points. Myths do not usually work to be historically accurate. This does not replace my faith , but only make it stronger.

Have yourself a Merry Christmas!

Donald Miller: Evangelical Author, Prays at the Democratic Convention

Maybe you’ve seen this – but I wanted to put it up front. I think it is worth listening to and worth serious discussion as we consider the intersections of faith and politics

Thoughts?

here are his comments to “Christianity Today” regarding why he chose to accept the invitation to close the evening session in prayer.

The Good Life. NorthSide Style!

Biking across North Minneapolis, for the second time that day, I remembered: how much I Love my neighborhood, how much I love my job, and just how GOOD GOD is.

I have not always had the privilege of living and working in the comforts and security of a place like North Minneapolis. As I child I knew the comforts of a tight-knit community (sometimes a tight-knot) but usually it was a good life. But because everyone was so much the “same” being accepted was often more important than being right or even happy with who you were. It’s like the “standard deviation” was so small, the pressures to conform were even greater.

North Minneapolis showed me community and security in a new way. With the “standard-deviations” being larger – the need to conform was smaller – and the ability to “be” was greater. My neighborhood has been a fun and safe space to raise a family. Some folks think of safety only physically, but I’d say spiritual and emotional safety are more significant. We have found a space that is safe, because we are part of a community that embraces and supports one another in the midst of real life and real struggle.

During the past 5 years, financial needs (and probably it was God – forcing me out of my comfort zone) pushed me to take employment outside of the comforts of the Northside community. I had to actually work with people who believed my worth as a person, the value of my opinion, depended on how many years I had gone to college. I had to act like I understood the stories and jokes of people who (like John McCain) thought they were middle-class, when I knew that by any statistical measure they were in the upper 20% of the wealthiest Americans (and in the wealthiest 1% of the world).

It was during this time I realized how safe and comfortable North Minneapolis was. At work each day I would feel the crap of the “corporate world” married to “institutional christianity” begin to choke my faith and twist my values. My ride home would be an opportunity to purge my self of this dangerous toxin. As I crossed the bridge and headed into North Minneapolis, the sounds of sirens and sights of trash, would be a welcomed reminder that Jesus is not a commodity to sell and market – but a savior and friend in a very real time of trouble.

True, the troubles are real everywhere. But in some places we are able to bury and avoid them because of the “props” and externals money can buy. To me this façade of “life, beautiful” – is much more dangerous that the ugliness some see in my neighborhood. In my neighborhood you will probably see much of the garbage and danger of life, right out front. But you will also see love and grace, truth and forgiveness at work. To me this is a much more comfortable and safe place to live and work.

I get to go to schools, help teachers, train tutors and mentors, and just “kick-it” – all in the name of Jesus. I know my block(s) – and my block(s) know me. I wouldn’t trade the safety and comforts of my community for the dangers of Roseville or Waconia. I’m glad there are people called to those communities, but to follow Christ consistently in a community cluttered by so much commercialism, and avoid the dangers of consumeristic-christology … requires a great deal of discernment. For me, this is the good life!

Stand with Immigrants

http://www.startribune.com/video/25981169.html?location_refer=$urlTrackSectionName

It seems to me that most people who have strong feelings against UNDOCUMENTED workers – have never met one.

They likely do not know a family struggling in Mexico, needing the money wired each month so that they can survive  -  Or do not know a family believing GOD allowed them to get here, often they are a family full of love and “conservative family values”-

They most likely do not know the young man who has gone into gangs and drug dealing, because they find no other way.   Their familes brought them here when they were young – but now they cannot work – go to college and have no future because we refuse to embrace these people – and call this exclusion from society -  “JUST”!

People wonder why latino immigrants frequently don’t learn ENGLISH – WOULD you learn a language if at any moment you might have to leave?

If we provide a pathway to citizenship (including fines for “Illegal” entry) we could end 90% of this mess tomorrow.

God was clear in his commands to Israel – welcome the alien – because I am GOD!

Lev. 19: 33 – 34  ” ‘When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him.   The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.