When I was a community organizer
I certainly wasn’t Jesus Christ. Although there are some nattering nabobs of punditry (that means chattering know nothings who think they are rich with words) who have tried to reframe what we did (Donna Brazile, Tom Brokow, Steven Cohen, etc. and other brilliant theologians) and who Jesus is.Let’s be clear. Christians believe Jesus is God incarnate who stepped into the world he created for a very specific purpose, and it wasn't political, social or cultural. I, however, in those days was a friendly, well-intentioned young adult from the middle-class and middle west going door-to-door taking surveys and feeling benevolent in a poor and working class neighborhood in California. Our surveys were probably worded so that no matter what the residents answered about their needs, we already had the answer. I don’t remember, but I know that’s how it is done. Saul Alinsky and the Communists didn’t invent this, the churches did--maybe that‘s why from a 50 year perspective a very ignorant, in-the-tank for Obama, MSM has picked up on this mantra. I was idealistic and had a vision that I could make a difference. I suspect most of the families and certainly the teenagers my own age that I met in that African-American community moved into the middle class through their own efforts. There were a few female-headed households, but not too many. There were married fathers in the homes of that community. The adults in that neighborhood were the off-spring of migrant workers who had arrived in California in the 1930s during the Depression, leaving behind the poverty and racism of the South. Although their lives weren’t materially as good as what I had enjoyed growing up in Illinois, they were light years ahead of their parents and grandparents.
Food pantries, clothes closets and job assistance came later, maybe the 70s. In the 1950s we offered play ground supervision, Bible school, canteen type activities for youth, a community garden, and maybe some tool sharing like lawn mowers--not sure about all the services. Whatever we did, I’m quite sure we made no long term difference in the community. You’re never any smarter than the era in which you live, and the reason it’s better to give than receive, is because no one wants to be anyone else’s charity project. When was the last time you had to accept help and felt good about it?
I had a great time, learned a lot, got much more than I gave, and would never, never even consider that it belonged on my resume.
Posts
7 comments:
Some Christians. Not all. Kindly speak for yourself, and not the rest of us. Many of us have joined, and appreciate, churches that have a focus on Jesus' social message. I am still a Christian, even if I don't worship and practice in the same way you do. I have done work in my community, and I know that it has made a lasing difference. I'm sorry that your experiences were different, but sometimes we need to look past our own experiences to see the bigger picture.
Some are members of Christian churches, but if they don't know who Jesus is, they are. . . just members, not Christians.
Jesus' message did have a social component--he changed none of that from the Old Testament, which probably has the most highly developed moral teachings in the world of religions. But if that's all he was, he could have stayed home. If that's all he was, a nice guy social worker, if the I AM statements meant nothing then or to you today, he was indeed a blasphemer.
Or as others have learned, it's easier to box up the left overs, than to go over a budget plan for paying bills, and then have them throw it in your face because it's too hard.
I am not saying that is all He was about. I think you misunderstand. A great many things. However, my church, and I, take his social message to heart as well as an example of how we can live our lives and devote ourselves, in a small part, to those who are less fortunate or disenfranchised. You may disagree, but I think to demean our actions and intent, which is how I read your entry, is, well, most un-Christian.
I have not heard ANYONE say that is ALL that Jesus was about, and I challenge you to find such a comment. I, and others, believe that it was part of His message, but we are also very aware of the message of salvation only through Him.
I'm sorry if you don't understand how some of us have been motivated by some of His other teachings and actions.
I take Matt 25 extremely seriously. However, there is not a word there that says you will change the lives of people, only that you do it anyway because you are meeting Jesus in the poor, hungry and imprisoned. Too often, I see the motivation of Christian workers (or gov't workers or non-profits) is to change the material and cultural lives of people who aren't like themselves. As though that has brought peace and happiness to us.
I guess we just see things differently. I just can't focus on my own salvation to the exclusion of the suffering that goes on around me.
I'm also thankful for the freedom to worship as I deem proper, because I couldn't practice your inward focused brand of Christianity.
It is not focusing on personal salvation to say you are not to go into this relationship with the poor with your own expectations, but with those of Jesus--that they are worth dying for just as they are, just as you and I are. They have value, as does the unborn. Read the Bible. That's what he says. But if they come out on the other side of all your help unchanged and still poor and still unemployed, and you are disappointed, you might need to examine your motivation.
Post a Comment