peacestartswithme.org

Sunday, July 30, 2006

peacestartswithme.org

7 29 2006

I am going to try to start a blog about peace and justice issues. A Christian blog, because I am a Christian and I believe that seeing justice through the window of the gospels is the easiest way to see it.

Right now I am reading a book by Dorothy Day, a book on her writings. She kicks my butt. I love that she was a crazy progressive/communist/almost-anarchist. She said "the mass of bourgeois smug Christians who denied Christ in His poor made me turn to Communism, and that it was the Communists and working with them that made me turn to God..."
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I'm a liberal. Even after almost two years in the dirty south I am still a liberal. But I must admit that my views have changed significantly. Being down here is frustrating, and has made me question the efficacy of government social programs. I have seen so many people abuse the system; it is hard not to become calloused and bitter. But I got slapped back into place when another progressive Christian told me "You can't deny people social programs just because of people who abuse it". Really, even if everyone abused it, it doesn't give us the right to pull it away.

My mindset is different now, though. I used to be a liberal because I believed in those social programs. Now I know that it is not my duty as a Christian to promote social programs. It is my duty to serve the poor. Myself. One-on-one...I cannot rely on the government to love my brothers and sisters who are on the streets, impoverished or in pain. It is my responsibility because these are truly my brothers and sisters. And they are also little Christs in disguise.

Dorothy Day says that we should not think of it as Duty, though. It should be our Joy to serve those in disguise, because that is what the gospels tell us. Those stories tell us that the servants of Christ were joyful in giving to Jesus. Dorothy tells it better than me:

"For a total Christian, the goad of duty is not needed-always prodding one to perform this or that good deed. It is not a duty to help Christ, it is a privilege. Is it likely that Martha and Mary sat back and considered that they had done all that was expected of them-is it likely that Peter's mother-in-law grudgingly served the chicken she had meant to keep till Sunday because she thought it was her "duty"? She did it gladly; she would have served ten chickens if she had had them".

I wish I could say that it was always a joy to serve those who I am not comfortable with. I think with time it will become that way, the more I slip on the eyes of God who sees everyone with great love. And that is my prayer for today.