Empire Crutch: An Introduction to Oppression

Oppression is the heart of every empire.  Without oppression, international political or economic rule could not exist.  It is not just that there must be sacrifices made to create a new establishment, but that there must be a class of people whose resources are tapped to create a power base and an economic support for some to live a utopic lifestyle who will not partake in that lifestyle.

There is always the ruling class, who have recently been named the “1 percent”.  They are the main beneficiaries of the utopic lifestyle, but they are also have resources that greatly outweigh their own personal use, and they make the determination who and what receives their power to create their ideal.  Then there are the mass of people who consider themselves the beneficiaries of a well-run society.  They consider themselves “normal” or “average” when really they live above the standards of the majority of the world. They support political, military and economic levers that allow them to keep that privilege.  In the ancient world, this “middle class” were the male land owners, the citizens for whom the laws were made and the land was protected.  An ancient civilization would only be counted successful or powerful if this citizen class was promoted and strengthened.

And then there are the mass of oppressed.  These are those who give to society with the idea of being a part of the middle class, but they never reach it because their resources are necessary to keep the middle class in their privileged position.  This would be the class of people for whom the laws do not apply, are not protected by the police, and are generally feared by the citizen class. This is the group whose employment is forced to seriously disrupt their home life, who must sacrifice themselves “for the benefit of everyone”, whose health is secondary to the health of the system, who even dies so that a greater ideal might be met.  These are those who are forced to do things they would never do or else they lose their ability to survive. They are also the servant class who are ruled, but never rule.  They are the outcast (called by Marx the lumpen-proletariat) who are never welcome into the life of the “normal” because of their social level.  They are those whose past actions forever haunt them.  They are those labeled as “criminals” although never guilty of a criminal act.  They are those who are too disabled, mentally or physically, to ever obtain a “normalized” status.  In some societies, they are women, they are certain races, or they are the poor and one of those societies might be our own.

But this is how empire has always worked and always will.  There must be a lower class whose resources support the citizen class. There must be those who will exchange some of the trappings of the citizen class for a life of servitude.  There will always be slaves, whether we call them that or not, who will work for less than what they need to survive.  And there will always be those who are disrespected, harassed, beaten, arrested, and killed because they belong to a non-citizen class.  These are the oppressed.

Oppression is not about individuals.  An individual can be harmed or be misjudged.  An individual can be murdered or martyred.  Oppression happens when a group or class of people are denied their rights.  That because they belong to a certain ideology, race, sex or social class, they no longer have the rights of “normal” people, or citizens.  That because they are a member of a certain group then certain protections of normal citizens don’t pertain to them.  If a citizen cannot be incarcerated without a fair trial, they are incarcerated without trial all the time.  If a citizen isn’t to be beaten, they are beaten.  If a citizen is a full person, the oppressed group are but a fraction of that.

Oppression does not mean having limitations, having one’s privileges revoked or having one’s rights restricted.  Every class has changes and debates as to what they deserve or do not.  That is part of life in any society.  Every single human being suffers.  Every human being comes up against a wall that prevents them from doing what they feel they ought.

Oppression is legal beatings, arrests for not participating in criminal activity, having no legal protection, suffering damage with no recourse.  Oppression is not being allowed in certain public spaces, being officially asked to leave a city, being escorted to the border and told not to come back.  Oppression is public hatred for no wrong doing, is being hurt for doing good, is official rejection because of a harmless opinion.

So a basic definition of oppression is: a group which is officially persecuted by a government, but not for criminal activity.

16 Verses To Summarize the Bible: Anawim Style

I really appreciated April Yamasaki’s post on 16 verses to summarize the Bible.   I agree with her caveats, that if we pick 16 verses, then we are cherry picking, placing our own interpretation on the text.  But it is still a useful tool to use when introducing someone to the main themes of the Bible.

I don’t have a problem with Chris Bruno’s original list.  It is a summary of the story of the Bible, really, and that’s great to start with.  April’s list is of a different nature, however, which explores significant theological themes of Scripture, almost an Apostle’s Creed made up of 16 verses.  I like that as well, orthodox, but taking a different viewpoint of Scripture.

In approaching this idea, I have to say that my viewpoint of Scripture is a bit different.  I believe the Bible wasn’t written for theologians or literary critics (sorry, guys), but for the oppressed of the world.  The Bible is intended to be for those who recognize that the world has nothing for them, but God offers both hope and deliverance.  And the Bible isn’t just written to those who feel spiritually cast down, but those who are truly rejected by the society they live in—rejected socially, economically, spiritually, and morally.  The very ones that are rejected by the world are welcomed and rewarded by God.  That’s the main message of the Bible, and we see that theme in every story, we see it in the law, we see it in the story of Jesus and the writings of the apostles. 

Again, I don’t want to disregard the previous lists, but I want to provide a different list, one that introduces one to the thematic heart of the Bible: God’s love for the Anawim.

Well, let’s get to it:

I.                   Hope

God is love—Exodus 34:6-7
"The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in faithful mercy and truth, who keeps faithfulness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin.”

This is the basic biblical creed, expressing different aspects of God’s love.  Fundamentally, the whole Bible speaks of God’s love and care, especially for those in need, not receiving justice.

God created an ecosystem, for everyone’s needs to be met—Psalm 104:27-28

“All creatures wait for You to give them their food in due season. You give to them, they gather it up; You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good.”

God creation was complete, providing for the needs of every creature, human, animal or plant.  There are enough resources to sustain all life.

Human leaders give to the few and oppress the many—Ecclesiastes 5:8-10

“Don't be surprised if you see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful and if justice is being miscarried throughout the land. For every official is under orders from higher up, and matters of justice get lost in red tape and bureaucracy.  Even the king milks the land for his own profit! Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!”

Human leaders, whether governments, business or religious leaders are seeking their own benefit, and will oppress as many as they can in order to maintain their own wealth.

God supports justice for the oppressed—Job 5:15-16

He rescues the poor from the cutting words of the strong, and rescues them from the clutches of the powerful. And so at last the poor have hope, and the snapping jaws of the wicked are shut.

God works for the needy, calling the oppressed his own and his is the judge of them.  He will make sure, in the end, that the oppressed have justice against those who oppress them.

The oppressed who cry out to God will be delivered by Him—Psalm 107:3-9

He has gathered the exiles from many lands, from east and west, from north and south. Some wandered in the wilderness, lost and homeless. Hungry and thirsty, they nearly died. "LORD, help!" they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress. He led them straight to safety, to a city where they could live.  Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.  For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

God is always listening to the cries of the oppressed, poor and hopeless.  If they cry out to him, he will help and deliver them from their oppression, despite the oppression of human rulers.

Human leaders that do not help the oppressed are cast down—Psalm 82:3-8

“Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. Rescue the poor and helpless; deliver them from the grasp of evil people.” But these oppressors know nothing; they are so ignorant!  I say, 'You are gods; you are all children of the Most High. But you will die like mere mortals and fall like every other ruler.'" Rise up, O God, and judge the earth, for all the nations belong to you.

God judges all the rulers of the earth, and sees if they help the poor and oppressed.  If they do not give justice to the oppressed, if they, rather, support the oppression of the needy, then God himself will come down and destroy the leaders who harm the oppressed.

The oppressed are given leadership—I Samuel 2:7-8

The LORD makes some poor and others rich; he brings some down and lifts others up. He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. He sets them among princes, placing them in seats of honor. For all the earth is the LORD's, and he has set the world in order.

 As God deposes the evil rulers who oppress, he will take some of those who are oppressed, and put them in the place of the evil leaders.  Those who have suffered will take leadership, so to support the suffering.

The oppressed are to carry out God’s love—Leviticus19:18

Love your neighbor as yourself.

All the oppressed, both before and after their deliverance, are called to love others, even as they have received God’s love.  They are to deliver the oppressed, they are to care for the needy, they are to forgive the sinners, even as God has done for them.

II.                 Deliverance

Jesus came as one of the oppressed—Philippians 2:6-8

Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.  Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross.

Jesus, the Son of God, the full image of God did not come on a throne or in power, but as one of the oppressed, suffering with all of us.

Jesus died as a rebel to human leadership, although innocent—Acts 22:22-23

God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know.  But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him.

Jesus only did good, but he died as a criminal, a rebel to human leadership.  Yet the only danger he posed was to those who wanted to sustain a system of injustice and prejudice against the outcast.  He assisted the poor and helpless, and so was commanded to die as an exile, unworthy of God’s presence.

God reverses the judgment of human leadership—Acts 2:31-32

God would not leave him among the dead or allow his body to rot in the grave. God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this.

God reversed the death penalty against Jesus, declaring Jesus to be free of all crimes, but also the true King of the kingdom of God.  Jesus has become the true emperor of God.

Jesus dismantles injustice and establishes his justice—Col 2:14-15

He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

If the oppressed would stand with Jesus, all their sins done under oppression would be forgiven, and we are given a new chance in a new kingdom under Jesus.  Jesus defeated all the human and spiritual oppressors, giving us a kingdom of freedom to live in.

Jesus promises a kingdom of well-being to the oppressed—Luke 6:20-23

Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.

 Jesus’ kingdom is for the economically, socially and physically oppressed.  All who stand with Jesus will be delivered from oppression and live in God, with all the blessings God has to give, including peace and rest and prosperity.

Jesus meets the needs of those who surrender to God’s kingdom--  Luke 12:22-34

Do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor.

Because we can be confident of God’s provision for us, if we would but follow Jesus, then we need not worry about how we will live or the basics that we need.  That will free us to do radical acts of love for the needy, even sacrificing our own need.

Jesus teaches us to live out God’s love—John 13:34-35

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

The law of Jesus is to love, to have compassion, to bring peace, to offer forgiveness, to restore to life.  Jesus doesn’t just tell us, he gives us a life to show us how to act.  And we are told that are mark of distinction isn’t doctrine or a religious ritual but acting out his love.

Jesus gives us the Spirit which creates in us love and peace—Gal 5: 22-23

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

To live in love is often too difficult for a human being to endure, especially the love of Jesus.  So Jesus also gives us his Spirit so that in our weakness, in the midst of oppression, in the face of those who despise us, we might love with gentleness, bringing peace. 

Delivery

You rest in your study and you hear a knock at the door.

The face before you is solemn, grave.

“What ails you, sir?”

 “The ailment, I fear, is yours, my lord.

Your mother was arrested in Holland but a month ago,

And they swiftly executed her.”

A cry rose, unhindered, from your throat, a wailing from your chest as you fall upon your knees.

In a moment, you realize, “How can this be?  The king’s command is to cease such executions.”

Your messenger bows his head and murmurs, “Nevertheless.

“Your mother wrote you a letter, and I am here to deliver it to you.”

“Please, let me see it!” 

  “As you wish.”

“Dearest Johan, my child according to the flesh, but Alas! Not according to the spirit.

I must leave you young.

May the Most High permit us to meet in the world to come.

I cannot leave you gold or silver or treasures of this world

For I took this not with me, rather I sought eternal riches.

I drink now the cup of the prophets and martyrs.

For Christ says, 'I have a cup to drink of,'

And his sheep hear his voice and follow Him.

Therefore, my child, heed the discipline and instruction of the Lord,

Bow your shoulders under His yoke and easy burden.

Wherever you hear that there is a rejected little flock,

Despised and cast out from this world, join them.

Wherever you hear of the cross of Christ, do not wander off.

Love your neighbor heartily and with a liberal heart.”

You weep, for how can anyone follow the bold heart of such a woman?

Maeyken van Deventer, put to death in Rotterdam, Holland in 1573, wrote a letter to her children who did not hold to her same faith.

Paraphrased from Martyr's Mirror, pages 977-978.

Exercising Compassion

I hear a lot about needing love for oneself before giving to others. It is true that if we are emotionally exhausted or overtaxed that it is all the more difficult to give to others with sincerity and love.

But I find that the most frequent block between us and loving others isn't lack of self love, but a lack of reaching out to others. Compassion is a muscle, and the less we use it, the less we understand it. We can build this muscle up, strengthen it and build it. But if we don't exercise it, force ourselves to build it up, then it will never come naturally. For many of us, our minds naturally gravitate toward judgment and feeling put upon. To remain in that place is simple laziness or ignorance.

Here are some compassion exercises we can do to strengthen our mind to be closer to Jesus':

-Every time a judging thought about another enters our heads, let's think of the suffering they endure, and how they can be healed.

-Whenever we feel put upon by another, let's consider how God might use that circumstance to build us up in love.

-If there is a person we feel disgusted by, let's think about their lives and how they might have ended up in that circumstance.

-For every person we want to punish, let's consider how love might change their lives.

-When we watch movies, rate it's compassion. See if the drama would be greatly decreased if love were more involved (which would make a poor movie, perhaps, but an easier real life situation)

-Give generously. Start with once a week, then increase it to daily until you find that it is a regular practice. 

-Think about what you have that you don't need. Then think about who could use it. Then give it to them.

-Be generous with your emotions. Laugh with people, thank people, compliment people. Practice with strangers, like store clerks, and then move on to people who ask you for money on the street.

Africa's Poor v. America's Poor

It is pretty easy to look at the homeless in the United States and say, "Yeah, they're poor, but they aren't as poor as the starving people in..." (name impoverished country, usually in Africa).

Certainly, if we are talking about physical depravity and lack of what helps us survive, those in the poorest countries in the world are worse off than the homeless.  The homeless are resourceful, and often live off the toss-offs of the wealthy country they live in.  A dumpster behind a single grocery story in the United States has better and more plentiful food than what is offered a whole city of beggars in a poor country.  In impoverished cities or nations, the problem is scarcity, and while some use that scarcity for their own advantage, the major problem is a universal one.

But if you look at the poor people of other nations, you can see a major difference between them and the poor of the United States:

Do you notice the differences?  The non-Americans were all obviously starving, that's one difference.  But the more obvious difference is that the non-Americans are with others, working with others, but the Americans are alone.  This is probably just a result of the style of the photographers, but it also reflects a reality both live with.  The poverty of Africa is a poverty of resource to certain communities.  The poverty of America is a poverty of community which results in scarcity.

The poverty of the homeless person or of the welfare mom or of the mentally ill is not a lack of food, but a lack of meaningful community.  Poverty is not primarily an economic reality.  Rather, it is a social reality that has an economic result.  The poverty of the third world is a poverty of a community.  The poverty of the United States is a poverty of individuals.

The poverty of the United States, which might also include starvation, but certainly includes dangers of hypothermia and dehydration and sickness due to stress and unsanitary conditions, but also has an added layer of daily rejection from society.  

Not only is a poor individual in the US facing a lack of their survival needs, but they also have people telling them how bad they are, forcing them to move on a regular basis, assumptions that they are criminal and people telling them how they are not doing enough.  They are rejected by a whole society, outcasts from community, forced to not only be poor, but to be isolated.

I am not sure which poverty is worse. 

Mending the Divide: Homosexuality in the Bible, Two Views

This blog post proposes to solve all the problems of homosexuality in the church.  After this, there will be no questions, no problems, and peace and harmony will rule and Jesus will return.  Well, maybe not.

The first issue is one I have long wanted to resolve: Which acronym should we use?  LBGTQ is usually accepted for those of an alternative sexuality, mostly because there are a variety of terms and issues involved in the community, and it seems best to include everyone, rather than exclude some.  Of course, some are excluded, even in this unwieldy and hard to remember acronym.  An alternative has been raised, which solves all of my problems: QUILTBAG (Queer, Undecided, Intersex, Lesbian, Transexual, Bisexual, Asexual, Gay).  This term not only includes almost everyone, but it is also much easier to remember.  And it has a sense of humor, which is helpful.

Below, I wish to suggest two valid interpretations of the Bible text, and three biblical conclusions we might draw from these interpretations. 

View #1: Traditional view—The act of homosexuality is a sin

We are only speaking about the act of homosexuality here, not any given orientation.  A person might be sexually attracted to puppies, and to act on that attraction would be a sin, but the attraction itself is not a sin, should a person resist that attraction.   (BTW, ew.)

The evidence of this is found in particular passages:

Leviticus 18: This passage gives a number of sexual taboos, including two men having sex, incest, bestiality, and having sex with a woman during her period.   The importance of this passage is not simply that it is a sexual law, but that it is the foundation of the idea of “fornication”. From this point on, especially in the New Testament, the word “fornication” or “sexual immorality” is used to summarize sexual sin.  This chapter summarized what “fornication” is defined as.  Thus, when Jesus condemns “fornication” (in Greek, porneia, for instance in Mark 7:21), he condemns all these sins, including the act of homosexuality.

Romans 2—Homosexuality as a judgment on society, a release of God to allow men give into sinful lusts.  Thus, the homosexual act is not only a judgment, but also a sin.

I Cor 6:9—Homosexuality in a list of sins which prevents one from entering into God’s kingdom.

I Timothy 1:10—Again, the homosexual act is in a list of sins, and is “contrary to sound teaching.”

Jude—Sodomy as a sin due to their fornication (sexual sin) and going after “strange flesh”, meaning not the opposite sex.

View #2—New View: New Testament Morality is Love, not bans against certain kinds of sex

In Bible times, homosexuality is used in the contexts of rape, pedophilia and violence.   Homosexual acts as a part of a loving relationship is new, and so not discussed in the Bible passages at all. 

Sexual immorality isn’t defined clearly and to apply Leviticus 18 to that word isn’t biblically necessary.  We can see that sexual mores have changed, even in Bible times.  From the beginning to the end of the Bible, monogamy, incest, and other sexual mores have changed.  In today’s mores, having sex with a woman on her period is common, and having sex doesn’t make one unclean (at least no more unclean that a quick wash can’t fix).   Thus, the term “fornication” changed from the OT to the NT, and it has changed with the times.  “Fornication” is never applied to a heterosexual couple before marriage, nor specifically applied to sex with children.  How we use fornication is different today than how they did in the Bible.  Clearly adultery is always wrong because it is an act of unfaithfulness.  But if two men or two women are faithful to each other, then they do not commit adultery, and they do not commit fornication, according to the definition we now use.

Paul specifically was speaking to a Roman context in which homosexuality was common between older , men and children whom they were tutoring.  Is it the kind of sex that is offensive, or the abuse and lack of love?  It is just as likely that the lack of love is the worse offense, as the objective act itself. 

The sexual mores of the NT all have to do with love.  The act of sex between two men or two women aren’t a sin in a faithful relationship, even as they are not in a heterosexual faithful relationship.  The importance of the NT moral code is that  of love and faithfulness, which both heterosexual and QUILTBAG relationships can have.

Abbreviated Discussion between the two views:

1. OT Law
New View: Leviticus is the Mosaic Law, which is set aside by Jesus
Traditional View: However, Jesus also rejects fornication (porneia) and this is based on Leviticus 18.
NV: Does Jesus also then reject having sex with one’s wife during menstruation?  Shouldn’t you also be decrying that sin, according to the definition of Leviticus 18?
TV: If we were consistent in our interpretation, I guess we would.

2. Romans 1
NV: Is Paul really making a claim against homosexuality himself, or is he making an argument from a judgmental point of view against Gentiles and then decrying it with his words in Romans 2: “Who are you to judge?”
TV: Even if Paul is quoting someone else (which there is no evidence of), then it doesn’t mean he disagrees with what is sin.  Yes, Paul speaks against judgment, but this means that anyone can be set free by the power of Jesus.  Paul speaks of judging under the law, which condemns one to death.  The lack of judging happens only under Jesus.
NV: But if we are freed of judgment, then how can we judge QUILTBAG Christians?
TV: We are freed of judgment, but, as Paul argues in Romans 6, we are also freed of participating in sin.
NV:Assuming that the homosexual act, in and of itself, is a sin.
TV: Yes, assuming that.

3. Jesus
NV: Jesus says nothing about the homosexual act, of either good nor ill, so it cannot be declared to be a sin.
TV:First, it is enough for us that Paul says it is a sin.  But we do not think that Paul said this of his authority.   Jesus spoke against fornication, which, we have shown, includes the homosexual act.
NV: But Jesus approves of marriage, and so if a sexual act is done in marriage, then it must be approved by him.
TV: But Jesus defined marriage as being between a “man and a woman” in Matthew 19: 4—“For this reason he made them male and female” in reference to marriage.

4. The term arsenokoitai
NV: I Timothy 1 and I Corinthians 5, in their vice lists, use the term “arsenokoitai” which is modernly translated “homosexual”.  However, it is better understood to be homosexual offenders, such as pedophiles and male prostitutes, not homosexuals in general.
TV: There is no evidence that Paul would have used a different term for homosexuals in general.
NV: Since the word and idea of “homosexual” is only used in the last two hundred years, I think we can.
TV: But the term certainly refers to men having sex with each other.
NV: But not two women, and the word “homosexual” implies both men and women.  Paul is clearly talking about a different idea than we have today.  And in his context of an almost universal practice of noble men having sex with their students, it makes sense that this would be what he is speaking of.  Not having a homosexual orientation and being faithfully married within that orientation.  That wasn’t even an idea.
TV: No, just the sexual activity was, no matter what the context.

Three conclusions:

a.       What we cannot agree on:  whether the act of homosexuality is a sin.

Since there are two interpretations, one based on strict textual analysis, and one primarily based on cultural context, both are viable interpretations.  Thus, we need to learn to live together with the two interpretations.  In the past, the church lived with different views of the divinity of Jesus, with different views of pictures of Jesus, different views of worship, different views of the last days.  We can live with two views of whether the act of homosexuality is sin or not.

Paul laid down the basic principles of how we live with different interpretations under Jesus.  First, that we do not judge each other.  We will have disagreements and different actions based on our different ideals, but we still must accept each other as believers.  Just because someone reads the Bible differently than we doesn't mean they are stupid, immoral or not listening to God.  They just disagree.

Second, we must not cause others to stumble.  This means that if we have the freedom to participate in an activity, that doesn’t mean that we should convince someone else to participate in that activity if they think it is a sin.  If a QUILTBAG person believes that participation in homosexual sex is sin, then they must not be convinced otherwise.

b.      What we must agree on:  That we must love QUILTBAGs

We have no right to judge or condemn those who commit the act of homosexuality.  We must love them and encourage them, just like every other person.  We should allow them to have rights and to have decent lives.  We have no right to persecute them or take away their rights, just like any other person.  We must welcome homosexuals into our churches, and treat them like God’s children, as they are.

If a church group or Christian chooses to condemn or judge homosexuals as somehow being apart from God’s love, or the love of God’s people, that is in opposition to the Bible, no matter what our view of homosexuality in the Bible is.

c.       What we need not agree on: How to love QUILTBAGS

If we think getting drunk is a sin, we will encourage an alcoholic to stop drinking.  That is loving and right.  We will not abuse the alcoholic, we will not gossip about them and we will not ask them to leave our church.  Rather, we will encourage them to love and good deeds.

If we think getting drunk isn’t a sin, but that people can sin while drunk like any other activity, we  will encourage moderation, but we won’t necessarily think that denial is the only option. 

If someone takes a different viewpoint on how to love a person based on their definition of whether something is a sin or not, that is to be expected.  The important thing is that both sides love, without abuse, in full gentleness and peace, in the best way they can. 

Living With Lepers

Blessed Francis, from the beginning of his conversion, the Lord aiding him, founded himself like a wise builder upon the rock: namely, the great humility and poverty of the Son of God, calling his Order that of the Friars Minor because of his great humility. From the beginning of the order he wished that the friars should live in leper houses to serve the sick, and there lay a foundation of holy humility.  For when gentle and simple folk came to the order, amid the other things which were announced to them, he tended to say that it was good for them to serve lepers and abide in their houses.  

So it was in the first Rule: “They are willing to have nothing under heaven except holy poverty, by this they may be fed by the Lord in this world with bodily and spiritual food, and in the life to come they will attain their heavenly inheritance.”  In this way he chose for himself and others a foundation on the greatest humility and poverty.  He might have chosen to have been a great prelate in the church of God, he chose and wished to be lowly, not only in the church of God, but also among his brethren.  For this lowliness, in his opinion and desire, was very great exaltation in the sight of God and man.

-Mirror of Perfection, Section IV, Chapter 44

Humility isn’t about seeing yourself as some invalid or monster.  Humility isn’t lying about yourself to seem more-modest-than-thou.  Humility is putting oneself in situations that lowers your social standing.  Francis wanted his Brothers Minor to live with lepers partly to assist the lepers, and to give them a better context in which to live.  But mostly he did it because he realized that if they lived with lepers, they would also be outcast from normal society.

Isn’t that the way of it?  If you hang around with the outcasts, the outcastness rubs off on you.  In the Mosaic Law, that was a bad thing.  You didn’t want to be separated from society, to be declared “unclean”.  But Jesus had parties with the outcast, and welcomed their attention.  He touched the leper who was not supposed to be touched.  He forgave those who should not be forgiven. And he loved those who should not be loved.

This is the true way of humility: loving those who “should” not be loved.  Surrendering your own reputation and personal well being to do so.  This is the way of Jesus.