A Letter to a Partner Church about the Homeless

Anawim Christian Community is a community church among the homeless and mentally ill.  Our partner church is an immigrant church that shares the managerial duties of our facility. 

It has been an interesting four years, hasn’t it?  We have been sharing this church facility, and despite the cultural differences, and ministry differences, it has pretty much worked.  It hasn’t been perfect, God knows that we both understand that.  There has been miscommunication, occasional false accusation, and sharing the facility between us hasn’t always been easy. 

So when you said to our denomination that our ministries, our congregations were incompatible, I understood that and I knew that it was coming.  There has been an increased dissatisfaction on your part that the homeless are around the church property at all.  And when one homeless couple were caught by you having sex on our porch and another homeless man threatened me on the property, that just increased your fear and disgust.   Finding a knife in the sanctuary didn’t help, either.  These are not issues that you expected to have to deal with in the United States with your children around.  But here they are, and you’d rather not have to deal with them anymore.  I understand that.  I would rather not as well.

But a couple things we need to remember: that not all the homeless are having sex or being violent on the property, only a very few.  And we are inviting those who cause problems to change or to not come on the property.   The homeless are not the problem, but only a few people are.  Admittedly, most of the homeless carry knives, because it’s useful to have, just like a knife in the kitchen. 

When you folks came from central Africa, most of you left a desperate situation full of war and violence.  You came to this country and started your church to be at peace, to provide security so that you could pray and see God change your people and your nations.  But instead, you find yourselves in the midst of another war, another area of violence and pain.  I’m not sure you know this, but this very neighborhood our shared church facility is in is the poorest, most violent neighborhood in Oregon.  And it is becoming poorer every year.  I am afraid that you have moved from your desperate situations in Africa to a desperate neighborhood in America.

Yes, there have been some homeless staying on our property occasionally, but we made sure that they weren't dangerous.  And there are people who walk through our property at night, but we have little control over that.  There used to be drug deals and difficulties on our property, but we put a stop to that.  Occasionally, you have found that our janitor has allowed some folks in the church building to get warm or to use the bathroom, and you found that unacceptable.  We are trying to work together in all of these issues, but we don't find them to be irreconcilable. 

The problem is not the homeless.  Rather, our homeless are a symptom of a bigger problem.  It has been discovered that most homeless people, when they are seen by the average American, they are seen as disgusting, lazy people, who brought their own poverty on their heads.  And many people, if not most, are afraid to speak to or approach homeless folks.  I have heard from neighbors that they want us to ask the homeless not to walk down their public streets, or to hang out in their public parks.   Some neighbors have gone around to harass and threaten people of my congregation.  They have called the police and the city, complaining about our people, when our folks have done nothing to harm them, and they come and live in peace.

Who are the homeless?  They aren’t those without jobs, because many of them have jobs.  They aren’t all, or even mostly, addicts.  They aren’t all mentally ill, although a few are.  The one thing all the homeless have in common is that they have no network of family or friends to support them when they faced a personal crisis.  Some of them lost their jobs, some of them lost their marriages, some of them lost themselves, and there was no one to support them.  Some of these folks have family that not only don’t support them, but they actively pull the rug out from under them.  I have seen a father drive his sober 16-year-old daughter to our overnight shelter instead of taking her home.  I know of at least two families that take the check of their disabled family members, use it for their own expenses and keep them out of their house, with none of the money that is rightfully theirs.  I know of people who have been falsely accused and persecuted by their friends, so they have no one to turn to.  I also know of some folks who have brought their homelessness on their own heads, and their families will have nothing to do with them because they don’t want to be hurt.  But none of them have anyone to turn to.

Once you have been turned away from your own people and place, then you are targeted by society.  If you sleep in a sleeping bag in public, or in your car, then your neighbors assume you are a criminal.  If you look like a homeless person, then strangers will assume you are a criminal.  And they will call the police on you, because you are in their area, which they consider safe… or they used to consider safe until the homeless person showed up, loitering.  And the police will ask the homeless person to move on, or perhaps they will give the homeless person a ticket, or, if the homeless person refuses to cooperate, then they might arrest them.  There are a few police officers who believe that all homeless people to be criminals, and they will abuse and attack them with their dogs and their taser guns.  They might give the homeless person a command to leave the city, or the county, and to not come back.  This is despite a person having grown up in this community.

In our city this year the homeless have been particularly harassed.  It used to be that the police would be told to move the homeless folks a few times every year.  This year, it has been continuous since June.  There is no park, no private space, no woods, no empty house where the homeless can remain for more than a few days or a few hours before they are woken by the police and told that they have thirty minutes to move on or be ticketed or arrested.  No place, except one.

That’s right.  Our facility.

The city police have called our property a “bubble” where the homeless are safe.  They won’t bother street folks if they are on our property, day or night. The police have even driven people to our facility in our off hours because they knew the homeless would be welcome here for a few hours to rest safely.  Most of the police have no joy in arresting the homeless.  They just want to do their job.  And they see our property as partnering with them to keep peace in the neighborhood.

It is unfortunate that the city doesn’t see it that way.  The city has sent inspectors, encouraged by some of the neighbors, to clear everyone out, even our security people.  We acquiesced, because we cannot afford seven hundred dollars a day.  I guess the city hasn’t let the police know, because they are still bringing the homeless here.  And they get upset when we tell them that we can’t allow anyone to stay on the property.

Meanwhile, our church of the homeless is growing and becoming more fruitful.  I wish you could have seen our emergency overnight shelters last week.   We had groups of people cleaning the church facility all night, others cooking for the community, and others keeping people calm and others caring for the sick among us.  I wish you would come on any Tuesday and see about a dozen homeless folks care for this property, almost all of them without pay, simply because they care for the community that has been built here.  Because they are grateful for an opportunity to stay for as long as they do.  I wish you had come early this Sunday morning seeing the ten or so people who slept under the awning of the Red Barn, cleaning up and raking and expressing their gratitude that they had one more night of safe sleep. 

As far as that person who threatened me?  He realized that he couldn’t do that here and has been on the property actively controlling himself and keeping the peace.  He’s changing, but slowly.  Because that’s the pace at which change happens.  The couple who had sex on the front porch?  They realized that wasn’t acceptable and apologized. 

When I see our homeless community, I consider what Jesus sees when he looks at them.  I believe that he doesn’t see them as disgusting or criminals.  He has compassion on them as “sheep without a shepherd”, and he walks among them, healing their wounds, both inner and outer, giving them an opportunity to follow Him.  Not all make that choice, but many do.  But Jesus allows the crowd to remain, because, over time, a new context will create change and establish the Kingdom of God in the midst of our poor, violent neighborhood.

But these folks aren’t really without a shepherd.  Jesus has called me and my companions to be their shepherds.  Some of us shepherds are even homeless, destitute, overworked, oppressed.  We are doing the best we can with what Jesus has given us.  We are here to bring peace in the midst of the war we find ourselves in.  We are here to love those whom the world despises.  We are here to eat with the sinners and tax collectors.

And in the midst of our work, we want to be a blessing to you as well.  We want to provide a facility that you can bless and be at peace and build up your own corner of the Kingdom of God.  We want you to thrive and be joyful.  We want you to live as a community of peace.

But we cannot participate in your peace if you insist that the cost of that is to oppress our people.  If you want to bless your oppressed people by taking away the blessings of our oppressed people, we cannot participate in that.  We will not call our people “unholy” because they smoke or carry knives, because that is not how Jesus sees them.  We will not tell our people that they are not welcome here (unless they do violence or steal).  We will not give our people less hope than they already have.  We will not take away their healing.

We are not asking you to do the ministry God has called us to.  Rather, we only ask that you give us, and our partners, the opportunity to fulfill the command of the Lord: “When I was hungry, you fed me.  When I was thirsty, you gave me drink. When I was a stranger, you gave me shelter. When I was sick, you visited me. When I was in prison, you came to me.”  We affirm that to not do these actions to our homeless who come to us is denying our Lord and Savior.  This we cannot do.

Thank you for listening.

Pastor Steve

Transformative Peacemaking

At our church, we allowed Rachel to sleep on our front porch, because she was homeless and working two jobs and just needed a hand up for a while.  I was walking around the property, and I heard a hoarse scream.  I walked over to the front porch and saw a man bending over Rachel, choking her in her sleep. 

It was Mark, her ex-boyfriend who has an abusive streak.  I yelled at him to get away from her, and he backed away.  Rachel began crying, but she wasn't seriously hurt.  I called 911, and Mark approached me.  "You don't know what she's done to me!  You are allowing her to prostitute herself and sell drugs on your property!"  He approached me, threateningly.  "What are you going to do, huh?  Call the police?"

"Mark, just leave."

"Why, are you afraid of me? You can't do anything to me."  He bumped my chest and started to push me, trying to knock me down so he can hit me.

Just then, a fellow pastor came around the corner, but he stood, stunned, not knowing what to do.  

"Yes, Mark, I'm calling the police.  You are not allowed to abuse."  Mark pushes me again.

Then my janitor, also staying on the property, came out with a baseball bat, ready to use it.  I said to him, "Trevor, put that down.  We don't need a baseball bat."

At the sight of Trevor, twice his size and ready to defend me, Mark backs away, gets on his bike and begins to leave.  I follow him so I can see where he's going.

He stops and yells back, "You never accept me the way you do other people.  You aren't fair to me."

I say, "Mark, I won't accept violence or abuse or threats here.  If you come to abuse, then you will not be welcome.  But if you come in peace, we will give you peace. But for now, you have to go."

He rides away, saying, "You think I need you?  I don't need you."

In the next month, my fellow pastor declared to our denomination that our ministries were "incompatible" because they were trying to provide a place of security and that incident proved to him that our church just wasn't safe. "If they would threaten Steve like that, then what would they do to me?" We are considering dissolving our partnership, not because he is afraid of Mark, but because the incident with Mark put in his heart fear of all of my homeless congregation.

But last week I saw Mark, sleeping on our couch.  I gave him a roll of toilet paper,  He thanked me.  He was at peace, and he wasn't interested in threatening anyone.

Peace is not only about safety for the good people in our lives, but also creating peace in the people who are violent or abusive.  Jesus doesn't call us just to be at peace, but to make peace.  Making peace involves serious risk.  It means stepping in the lives of those who are violent, of those who are haters, of those who want to abuse us and finding inroads of transformation.  If we meet violence with violence, then we will be haters.  But if we meet hatred with acts of kindness and mercy, then we will be peacemakers, transformers toward community.

Here are some ways to take the angry and violent and to begin the process of transformation:

1. Listen to them
Give them a chance to speak their perspective.  Don't interrupt or disagree with them, no matter how wrong headed they are.  They need a chance to speak their perspective.

2. Agree with them
Find something that you can agree with, even if most of what they say you can't.  Let them hear that you've really listened to them and can see how they are right about some of what they are saying.

3. Meet their needs
Everyone has needs, and if you are able to meet that need, then you are seen to be on their side, creating a bond.  The violent need connection, to feel that someone actually cares about them. If they are cared for, then they are less likely to lash out.

4. Explain the broader perspective

Let them see how their behavior is hurting others. Try to explain what it would be like if they were receiving the treatment that they are giving, and how they would naturally react. Explain to them how important it is to have a place of peace for all involved.

5. Give them respect

Don't yell or lash out against them.  Speak gently, but firmly.  Be as friendly as possible. 

6. Don't compromise on the safety of all
If a person refuses to give peace, then they must leave.  We don't have to punish them, or hurt them, but we cannot have them around if they are going to be violent or threatening.  A group of people forcing them to separate from their target works to do that. 

7. Pray for them
God is the main transformative agent, so we need to get him involved.  Pray for the violent, asking God to give them new hearts, and to protect the vulnerable. 

If you are abused or threatened, don't try to handle your abuser yourself.  The abuser is not objective about you.  Sometimes we need to realize that as much as we want an abuser to be transformed, there are times that we cannot be involved in the process.  Separate from the abuser until he or she is willing to get help stopping their abuse.  

As churches, we should all get training to learn how to deal with the violent.  We should be places that create peace in the midst of violence.  We will need some training to do that.  I highly recommend the training provided by Lombard Peace Center.

All the names in the story have been changed.

Five Timeless Heresies of the Church

For Reformation Day, when Martin Luther's 95 theses against the church mis-doctrine of indulgences are celebrated, I want to remind us of a few ways the church continues to misguide us all. 

1.       The church has the right to oppress heresies or immoralities

Heresies and immoralities come and go.  There will always be a sin that people call righteous and there will always be an evil doctrine that people call godly.  But the response of the true church to these is not to fight them or attack them.  The true church, in humility, realizes that neither our doctrine nor practice is perfect.  The true church will discuss, and point toward Jesus.  The true church realizes that Jesus alone is the true teacher and that Jesus is the only judge.  Thus, we do not judge for ourselves, nor teach our own doctrine or practice, but just point to Jesus.   And, like Jesus, we harm no one, nor let a hateful word pass our lips.

2.       The church is a place of safety from the world

We see our properties and buildings as holy places, a place of purity and quiet to worship the Lord.  To do that, we lock ourselves off from the chaos of the world, we separate ourselves from sinners and we create peace for those who live according to the tenants of our community.  But Jesus lived among the demon-possessed, the lepers and the chronically ill, in order to bring healing.  Jesus ate and fellowshipped with sinners, making them family.  Jesus offered peace to those who have no peace in themselves.  The church is not to create safety for itself, but safety for those who truly need it—the vulnerable of the world.

3.       Church leadership is a means of gain

Many become pastors because it is a decent profession and they want to help people.  Many become pastors because they want to discuss theology and the Bible and make a living at it.  Some become church leaders because they see it as a means of avoiding poverty and even a means of power for them and their family.  But Jesus said that church leadership is not a means of power or gain, but rather a means of slavery.  True leadership in the church is lowliness, poverty and the acceptance of persecution.  Jesus’ true leaders are those who give and give and give until there is nothing left to give, who drain themselves in love.

4.       Money and influence is power for the church

Churches and church leaders often complain that there is not enough money to run their programs, that they need more volunteers, that they need to wield more influence on the world.  They want to change the world and build community and they see wealth and people and politics as the means to create true change.  But according to Jesus, true change happens through resurrection, and resurrection only happens through the cross.  True change occurs when we completely trust the Power that enacts change.  The greatest power in the world for change is trust in God, and we enact that trust by living according the merciful will of God.

5.       Oppression of the church is to be avoided

We pray for our persecuted brothers throughout the world, and we might seek political change to ease their suffering.  We are willing to fight and even bomb those who threaten the lives of our fellow Christians.  We will enact cultural war so we need not change our traditions and practices for any outside influence.  But Jesus said that we are not to fight persecution, but rejoice in it.  We are not to fear tribulation, but to recognize that it is the key to open the door to the kingdom of heaven.  It is a means of opening up the heavens so that blessings would come down upon us.  For when we have the comforts and support of this world, we will not obtain the greater blessings of God.  The oppressed church is the normative church.

The Way: Meditations on Frailty

Rejoice in the full moon!
For her light is not her own
But merely reflects what she is given.

Rejoice in the half moon!
For she is in the midst of change,
Embracing what light she is given.

Rejoice in the new moon!
For in her weakness she has the capacity
To become full of light
And her emptiness is her potential.

Do not fear your darkness
It is simply emptiness that must be filled
By light.
Demand not light
But simply embrace it when it comes.
As you walk on the way
Collect what light you find,
And so reduce your emptiness.

So many look at their emptiness
And call it light!
They cannot bear to have darkness,
Thus they call their darkness maturity.
Real light reflects Light above:
Full grace
Full mercy
Full purity
Full compassion.
Let not the light in you
Be found to be darkness.

The sun neglects no one
But warmly, gently embraces all.
Some feel burdened by this embrace,
Shaking their fist at the sky,
But even they could not live without the radiance.
Others regret that they do not
Receive more warmth, more grace,
But we only appreciate abundant mercy
After experiencing emptiness.

Once we have defined Truth
And understand it from high to low
Only then can we be certain
That we have never understood Truth at all
Truth is not an entity to be contained,
But a person, containing deep mystery.
Truth adjusts to context, as a person evolves.
To connect to Truth we must first
Embrace our ignorance.
Instead of imprisoning Truth
We must allow Truth in our souls
As He wills.

Truth can only be revealed by Truth
If someone says they have found Truth
And point at themselves,
Their ideas, their ambitions,
They do not know Truth at all.
The sincere speaker of Truth
Always points away from himself.
For Truth is complete only in itself.
The greatest Truth-teller is the empty one.

This is a mystery:
The Truth-seeker is the maiden
Gorgeous in her emptiness
She seeks what she knows not
When she is filled with love
Then she is transformed
Into the beauty of motherhood
Which is the beginning of her journey.

Eleven Radical Anawim Principles

Anawim is a Hebrew word which means, in context, “the poor who seek the Lord for deliverance.”  It is used frequently in the Psalms and book of Proverbs, including Psalm 37:11, “the anawim shall inherit the earth”, which is quoted by Jesus in Matthew 5:5.  The anawim are the focus of God’s acts of salvation, and the inheritors of God’s kingdom.

Anawim is also a community church in Portland, Oregon.  It is a church whose members are from a variety of denominations, most of whom are homeless, almost all of whom are desperately poor.  Within the United States, one of the most prosperous countries on the earth, is a huge population living in what some may deem third world conditions.  Without electricity, without easy access to toilet facilities, without showers, even if they have a job, this population struggles to survive.  And this same population is targeted by local governments to be assumed to be criminals and ne’er do wells, simply because they are forced to live their poverty out in public.   This is the population of Anawim: the homeless, the mentally ill, the desperately poor, the rejected, the outcast due to economic disadvantage.

As a community, we have a number of principles by which we live, which makes us a unique church, unlike most any others.  Here are some of the principles:

1.       We not only speak of our love of God and neighbor, we show it. 
It is not enough to talk a good talk if we do not live it out.  Theology and doctrine isn’t the primary indication of being a follower of Jesus, or a member of God’s kingdom.  Living it out is. “Faith, if it has no works, is dead”

Below each of the following principles, we will describe some of the ways in which we live these principles out.

2.       Our resources are for the poor

We are not building a “Christian” community, but a community of the poor and vulnerable.  Our buildings, our finances, our worship, our housing, our food are all primarily for those who lack these very things.  We seek those who need the most in our community. “Sell your possessions and give to the poor.”
Our facility is used to shelter those who need a secure place to be, both day and night.  Our kitchen is used primarily by the homeless who have no facility to cook in.  Our shower is used by those who have no shower.  Our bathrooms are open to those who have no place to use the bathroom. Our community house offers rest to those who do not have a place to live.

3.       We are multi-cultural

One of the gravest problems in any society is monoculturalism, the myopic viewing of the world through only one point of view.  We seek to build relationships with people of different languages, different social groups and different ethnicities so that we might learn to get out of our own narrow-mindedness, and understand the breadth of God’s variety.  “Before the throne and before the Lamb are those of every tribe and all nations, peoples and tongues.”
Our church facility is used by four different congregations: One African, one Hmong, one Hispanic and one homeless.  We invite middle class people to both serve and participate in our meals, especially to relate to our homeless and needy.

4.       We live by faith

We don’t know where tomorrow’s meal will come from.  We don’t know whether we will have tomorrow the shelter that we depended on today.  We seek God to provide for us, knowing that God often provides in the very last minute.  “Give us this day our daily bread”

Our prayer is our means of survival on a minute-by-minute basis.  As an organization, we only occasionally ask for funds, allowing the Spirit to move people to give as He sees fit.

5.       We share all that we have

We cannot live without each other, because none of us have enough to live well on our own.  When one person has an excess, then he or she shares with others, so that we may all live in plenty.  When one is lacking in basic needs, they can go to others in the community to try to meet their needs, whether food, shelter or clothing.  “There was not a needy person among them because… they would lay good at the apostle’s feet who would distribute to all who had need.”

Our facilities are set up to be places of giving and receiving, where churches and individuals can drop off their excess so that we can give it to the needy throughout Portland.

6.       We sell nothing we are given

If we receive a donation as a gift, we do not sell it to receive the money from it.  Rather, we find those who could use the donation and give it to them freely.  “Freely you have received, freely give.”
All the clothing, furniture, food and other items that Anawim receives is distributed freely to the poor in the Portland area.

7.       We disobey any law that is in disobedience to mercy

If we come against an ordinance or law that commands us not to love or show mercy to those in need, we will try to go around the law, but ultimately we must openly disobey if that is our only option.  We will always obey the higher command to love.  “We must obey God rather than men.”
We will allow people to sleep on our property in emergency situation, even when that is in opposition to local camping or housing ordinances.

8.       We make peace

We go to where there is violence and create a community of peace.  We use peacemaking principles in order to subdue violent ways and create a community that not only is at peace with itself but will create peace in the community at large.  “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.”

We hold biblical peacemaking trainings for the homeless and for other churches.  We constantly affirm the principles of peacemaking throughout our shelters, offering a constant training of the mind of peace.  We prevent and mediate conflict among those who come to our facility.

9.       We seek to convert the violent and immoral

We are not content to have a community of peace, but rather continue to seek the criminal and the mentally ill and the violent in order to give them an opportunity of a new life of peace in Jesus.  “Eating with the sinners and tax collectors.”
We invite anyone to eat of our food, to take showers and to get clothes, only asking that they refrain from violence on the property.  Those who attempt to bring drugs to the property or who attempt to do violence we offer alternatives.

10.   We accept suffering as our lot

We recognize that our calling is not an easy calling, and we face violence and difficulty daily.  This long term ministry (which we have been participating in for twenty years) wears on us, and we struggle to persevere.  Our neighbors, the local governments and even some of those we serve attack us and make our burden that much harder.  But we seek the Lord to give us strength and endurance.  “Without many tribulations, no one can enter the kingdom of God.”

When we are yelled at, we do not yell back.  When we are threatened, we do not threaten back. When we are hit, we do not hit back. Rather, we seek God’s mercy for all.

11.   We seek to convert the church

The church is lost, focusing on doctrine, focusing on myopic communities, focusing on the wealthy, focusing on middle class values, focusing on comforts.  We seek to remind the church of the radical message of Jesus, calling us to radical lives not just scandalous words.  Ultimately, we seek to transform the church from an entity compromised with the values of the world to step out and be truly unique in the image of Jesus.  “Be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.”

We encourage and teach radical discipleship in our denomination, and on the internet.  We partner with local churches to join us in radical giving to the poor.

To see more about Anawim, please visit our website, Nowhere To Lay His Head

The Big Picture-- What is the purpose of humanity?

In the beginning, God created the ecosystem.

He made all things to fit together so that not a single aspect of creation loses out.  It’s described in Psalm 104:

He established the earth upon its foundations, So that it will not totter forever and ever….

He sends forth springs in the valleys; They flow between the mountains;

They give drink to every beast of the field; The wild donkeys quench their thirst.

Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; They lift up their voices among the branches.

He waters the mountains from His upper chambers; The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.

He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the labor of man, So that he may bring forth food from the earth,

And wine which makes man's heart glad, So that he may make his face glisten with oil, And food which sustains man's heart.

The trees of the LORD drink their fill, The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,

Where the birds build their nests, And the stork, whose home is the fir trees.

The high mountains are for the wild goats; The cliffs are a refuge for the wild goats.

He made the moon for the seasons; The sun knows the place of its setting.

You appoint darkness and it becomes night, In which all the beasts of the forest prowl about.

The young lions roar after their prey And seek their food from God.

When the sun rises they withdraw And lie down in their dens.

Man goes forth to his work And to his labor until evening.

O LORD, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all!

 (Psalm 104:5, 10-24)

The earth is one large community, working together to meet each other’s needs.  And human beings play an essential role. Human beings are supposed to be the fail-safe, the fix-it-guys, and they were supposed to improve on creation, filling it with creations of their own.  Mind you, humans couldn’t do it on their own.  They needed God’s guidance and power to make it happen.  But it was a good plan.

A community which is self-sustaining and meets the needs of all parts within it, both survival needs and social and security needs is a community of peace, it is Shalom.  God’s initial plan was for the world to have perpetual Shalom, and human beings were essential for that plan.

Of course, we know that this plan wasn’t fulfilled.

Mind you, humanity didn’t mess everything up, just enough for the whole planet to become ill, and every creature within it, including humanity, to be in a perpetual state of crisis.  Because we don’t really know what peace is, or how to achieve it.  We need God’s wisdom and power.

Okay, let’s do a huge fast forward.  To the end. If creation is the initial act of God, let’s see what the final peacemaking act of God is, how he completes his creation and what that says about humanity.  

At the very end, there is judgment.

No, that’s not fun to talk about.  Sorry.  No matter how anyone thinks it pans out, it involves separating humanity one from another, some will be a part of the ongoing process of maintaining creation and others will… not.  Or maybe they’ll get fixed, that’s not my place to say right now.

What I’m more interested is how humanity will be divided from each other.  How does God choose the good group from the bad?  The answer in the Bible is strangely uniform.  With all the differences in Scripture and the different wording and the different ideas, how humanity is judged is determined by one phrase used quite frequently:

Psalm 28:4—Requite them according to their deeds…

Proverbs 12:14—The deeds of a man hands will return to him.

Isaiah 59:18—According to their deeds, the Lord will repay.

Jeremiah 17:10—I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds. 

Jeremiah 32:18-19—The Lord of Hosts… gives everyone according to their ways; every man according to the fruit of his deeds.

Ezekiel 18:26-27—When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity and dies because of it, for his iniquity which he has committed he will die.  Again, when a wicked man turns away from his wickedness which he has committed and practices justice and righteousness, he will save his life.

Hosea 12:2—He will repay them according to their deeds.

Jonah 3:10—When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. 

Matthew 16:27—The Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay each according to his deeds.

John 5:28-29— An hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.

II Corinthians 5:10—We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 

Revelation 20:12-13—And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.

In the end, it isn’t how much a person believes, or how well they did on their doctrine, or what a great relationship they had with God… when the final test comes up, it all has to do with what we do.  The kind of actions matter as well.  For Jesus and the rest of the New Testament, it’s clear that if we are going to pass this final test, we have to do acts of kindness, helping the needy, supporting those who are in the greatest need.

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.  Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and it will be given to you.  Luke 6:36-38

So I said all that to tell you this.

I know what the purpose of humanity is.  And it is revealed in God’s first and last acts in the human story.  First of all, we are to create peace on earth.  We aren’t to wait for God to do it for us, we have to do it ourselves.  And secondly, we are to create peace by means of doing great acts of support for those in need.  It could be we are helping birds in need or puppies or children or homeless people or sick people… but we are to be the kind of people that can’t say “no” to a fellow creature in need.  Peace through compassion.  That’s what God wants of us.

Yes, God wants us to love Him.  No question.  Because without God we don’t have the wisdom or the strength to obtain peace or to keep loving.  Without God, we get confused about what love really means, mixing it up with our own self-interest. 

God is interested in us in propping up the system of peace He originally created and doing this through acts of great love.  And He wants to help us do it, which means we need to connect to Him.  That’s it.  If we can remember this, it will all work out.

Sure, we’ll argue about what peace really looks like and about how to get there.  But if we remember the basics—peace means that everyone’s needs are met, whatever those needs are.  And the method to peace is through compassion and mercy.  If we remember those things, we’ll be okay.  We just need to stick to the basics.

And dream really big.

A Brief Biblical Theology of Generosity

Biblical theology is the ideas that the Bible itself contains.  In every section of the Bible, generosity is commanded, lauded and displayed.  Rare is such an ethical theme so consistently and regularly upheld.  Here is a sampling of this theme, and some of the strong affirmations:

1.       Creation—Psalm 104

Psalm 104 is a text about the creation of the world that offer different details than Genesis 1 or 2, and so belongs in the conversation with these texts.  Here, a picture is given of God creating an ordered world, in which every creature—even the sun and moon—are given what they need, food, water and shelter.  Human rule is seen as working to sustain this order of providing and preserving creation.  The wicked at the end of the psalm are those who deny this order, who hoard and keep for themselves resources which were meant to keep all of creation running.  In Psalm 104’s ideal creation, every creature is a part of the natural order of sustenance and amble resources.

2.       Patriarchs—Genesis 18-19

Abraham is seen as the ideal man of faith, who obtains wealth because of his trust in the One God, the Most High, the Creator.  But this wealth is also tested.  In Genesis 18, Abraham sees three men (secretly messengers from Yahweh), strangers, passing by in the middle of the desert.  Abraham insists on giving them “a little bread and water”, which becomes a feast of mutton and loaves.  This hospitality is seen as Abraham’s regular generosity for strangers.

Sodom, on the other hand, abuses strangers, harming both the immigrant and the one who offers the stranger hospitality.  Sodom is therefore destroyed for their abuse.

3.       Law—Deuteronomy 15

The law had in place a regular system of forgiving debts, which included restoring land back to the original family to whom it was given.  A warning is given with this to be generous to the poor, even if the time of forgiveness was nigh.  Generosity is tied to economic prosperity for the whole nation, because if they are generous then “there will be no poor among you.”  Generosity is always an option, and always a character trait that one should practice, for “the poor will never cease in the land.”  Or is this the Mosaic recognition that the people of Israel will not heed the law, and so economic disparity will exist as long as people withhold help from their neighbors?

4.       History—I Samuel 25

Nabal (“fool”, possibly a name given the man in later retellings) is a wealthy man having an annual sheering feast with his men.  David, an innocent homeless man with his men make a polite request to take part of the feast, as he has been protecting Nabal’s livestock.  Nabal refuses, choosing to insult David instead.  David wants to take vengeance on Nabal, killing him and his men, but Nabal’s wife, Abigail, offers gifts and generous words to David, causing him to repent from his anger.  The next day, Nabal dies of a heart attack.  Refusing charity is seen as foolish and resulting in death.

5.       Prophets—Isaiah 58

The later Isaiah is speaking to a nation recently re-settled into the land.  They wonder whether they should continue their practice of fasting each Friday, to request Yahweh deliverance from their oppressors, and restoration.  Yahweh replies that their fasting is pointless as long as they continue to oppress the poor by not being generous to them.  Once they have granted justice and peace to the poor, then God will give their fasting and prayers due consideration.

6.       Wisdom—Proverbs 28:8, 27

Proverbs has a theme about poverty and giving to the poor running throughout its pages.  We can see one theme in these two verses.  The act of charging interest on debts is a way of gouging the poor, and those who use this practice of oppressing the poor, as well as any other oppressive practices, will be judged by God to be unworthy of their wealth.  Those who will be blessed by God are those who regularly generous to those who are in need, and they will receive the wealth of the oppressor.

7.       Wisdom—Job 31

Job, like Abraham, is seen by many as a righteous wealthy man.  But what makes him righteous?  His actions of treating his servants well, and especially his generosity to the needy.  He adopted orphans and would never have a meal without sharing that meal with the poor.  His great wealth was matched by his great generosity.

8.       Jesus—Luke 12

In a lecture that is collected from various places in Q and Luke’s own source, Jesus warns his disciples against  a variety of greeds.  He gives a parable warning that preparing for one’s retirement without equal generosity to the poor, can lead to a premature judgment by God.  Wealth is not the answer to one’s problems, but God himself. The normative disciple is to surrender his possessions to the poor, in order to obtain God’s storehouse of wealth instead.  And the disciple is to be generous, not worrying about where one’s basic needs would be met, for God would supply the disciple with all he needs, even as He provides for all creation.

9.       Jesus—Luke 16

Jesus gives two parables (from Luke’s special source), speaking of the relationship of the wealthy to the poor.  In the second parable, the rich man ignores Lazarus, the poor beggar outside the wealthy estate.  The wealthy man is punished because he did not share his comfort with Lazarus who was suffering horribly.  Rather, Jesus says that wealthy people should be like the unjust steward, who sees the poor and suffering as those who will obtain God’s favor, and so should make friends with them by freely surrendering their wealth, which is not theirs to begin with, but God’s.

10.   Acts—Acts 4:33-37

The natural response to Jesus’ teachings about economics, is for many of the wealthy in the early church to surrender their wealth to be redistributed among the poor of their church.  This is the cause of God’s great blessing on the church.

11.   Paul—Galatians 2:7-10

Although Paul did not support the law being given to the Gentiles to follow, he did agree with James that one law should be commanded of all disciples, Jew or Gentile, which was generosity to the poor.

12.   James 5:1-6

The wealthy among the congregation is seen as worthy of God’s judgment because instead of sharing their ample resources, they were hoarding them, not practicing “true religion” or obeying “the royal commandment” to love their neighbor as themselves.

13.   John—I john 3:17; 4:20

The elder encourages the church to give to the poor.  If we have the ability to be generous, but do not, then we do not display the kind of love God had for us, and so we do not have God’s love or grace.  God’s grace is on display in those who meet the needs of those around them.

Throughout the Bible, the choice is clear.  If we have some wealth, money, land, estate, connections, food, livestock or other resources, then it is natural and loving to give to those in greater need than we.  If we do not do this, we are outside the system of God’s grace, mercy and generosity and we will not be partakers of God’s grace, but rather the focus of His judgment.  Even as those who do not forgive will not be forgiven, those who are not generous to the poor will not receive the generosity of God.