We can admire and worship Jesus without doing what He did.
We can applaud what He preached and stood for without caring about the same things. We can adore His cross without taking up ours. -Shane Claiborne from his book that I am reading called The Irresistible Revolution.
I had a insightful talk with a friend of mine involved in hands on ministry with he poor and homeless in urban Spokane the other day. he said he was angry because of all the urban redevelopment that is pushing the poor out of the areas where they are able to afford housing.
It has become vogue to reclaim old buildings and homes that are low cost and turn them into middle to high end condos or hip living areas for hipster urbanites or rich people.
From one perspective that seems great for the economy, the look and feel of the city and it feeds our desires to have more entertainment available. Because where there is money there will be those businesses that will establish themselves there to feed off the abundance.
But what do the poor do, when the property they rent has gone up in value by $20,000 in a year because of the redevelopment and potential of the property to become a money making venture. Well the property taxes go up and the landlords pass that along to the renters and boom...relocation takes place. The poor can't afford the rent raise, so they move again to another area that is economically realistic. And so the story goes...the poor get the shaft as the rich take more and more.
Jesus said that he didn't even have a place to rest His head but we have many rooms and beds and choices to cuddle up in. Can we really rest so soundly when countless others are being pushed out of their poor communities because we want a cool loft overlooking the river?
1 comment:
Pastor Eric, I am deeply moved by your compassion and heart to reach the poor and forgotten in our community, and to champion their cause. For myself and my family, I am praying for opportunities to show love to them in any possible way, and sometimes those opportunities manifest themselves in the simplest ways. Like saying hello to and smiling at one of the many homeless people that frequent the sidewalk near City Hall. It's amazing how many times these people will be completely ignored by everyone, as if they don't even exist. It breaks my heart.
If anyone has a desire to do so, there is an open session towards the end of every Monday night meeting of the Spokane City Council, during which anyone can speak to the council about anything. The meetings are televised on Cable Channel Five and the minutes of the meetings are published in the City of Spokane Official Gazette, which is available on-line. This can be a good way to call public attention to different areas of community concern.
Also, if anyone would ever like contact information for the mayor or any of the council members, let me know. They can be reached by e-mail and voicemail.
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