I am a social justice Christian

Because the Torah repeatedly calls us to care for the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the alien. Because the prophets and the psalms and the wisdom literature all hold this out as a criterion of our faith. Because Jesus leads us in reaching out to outcasts and caring for the least in society. Because the epistles and the Apocalypse speak of it as well. In other words, the entire Bible calls us to pursue social justice.



And, because y'all know I won't resist, Glenn Beck is an ass. And a false prophet.

1 John 4.1

--the BB

Snippet from the Office

The Prophet Amos
from Wikipedia Commons

they sell the righteous for silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals
--Amos 2:6b

Pikers. They could take lessons from the investment bankers.

--the BB

Some days are like that

The graphic above encapsulates my prayer at some news.



I realize that life may well not be that different from what we have known but communication is much faster and more widespread. We are thus aware of the world's pain, and specifically of the pain of friends and those they love, in a more immediate way than was ever possible before.

It seems that bad news, unspeakably horrible news, keeps coming. The accidental death of a child, the isolation of those with terminal or potentially terminal conditions, the myriad setbacks on the journey toward justice, the surd agony of a planet.

Our initial take on the California Supreme Court's decision on Proposition 8 may well miss a larger and actually somewhat positive point that the name of "marriage" may be withheld but any attempt to deny the rights of domestic relationships would face a much higher hurdle and is not likely to be viewed favorably by the court. See Ann Fontaine's post at The Lead.

What really moves, angers, and appalls me today is the tragedy that Doxy shares with us today. Just read it. You owe this to yourself. It is tragic and infuriating. Through it all Terri-Lynn shines.

May she rest in peace and rise in glory.

[If you have not read Doxy's post, the point of what I append here will be obscure; if you do read her post it will be more than clear.]




[Note: Diverus is a variant of Dives in this folk song. "Dives" is Latin for "rich man."]

As it fell out upon one day,
Rich Divès made a feast,
And he invited all his friends,
And gentry of the best.

Then Lazarus laid him down and down
And down at Divès’ door:
“Some meat and drink, brother, Diverus,
Bestow upon the poor.”

“Thou’rt none of my brothers, Lazarus,
That liest begging at my door;
No meat, nor drink will I give thee,
Nor bestow upon the poor.”

Then Lazarus laid him down and down,
All under Divès’ wall:
“Some meat, some drink, brother Diverus,
For hunger starve I shall.”

“Thou’rt none of my brothers, Lazarus,
That liest begging at my gate;
No meat, no drink will I give thee,
For Jesus Christ His sake.”

Then Divès sent out his hungry dogs,
To bite him as he lay;
They hadn’t the power to bite one bite,
But licked his sores away.

Then Divès sent to his merry men,
To worry poor Lazarus away;
They’d not the power to strike one stroke,
But flung their whips away.

As it fell out upon one day,
Poor Lazarus sickened and died;
There came two angels out of heaven,
His soul therein to guide.

“Rise up! rise up! brother Lazarus,
And go along with me;
For you’ve a place prepared in heaven,
To sit on an angel’s knee.”

As it fell out upon one day,
Rich Divès sickened and died;
There came two serpents out of hell,
His soul therein to guide.

“Rise up! rise up! brother Diverus,
And come along with me;
There is a place provided in hell
For wicked men like thee.”

Then Divès looked up with his eyes
And saw poor Lazarus blest;
“Give me one drop of water, brother Lazarus,
To quench my flaming thirst.”

“O, was I now but alive again
The space of one half hour!
O, that I had my peace again
Then the devil should have no power.”

[text from here]

There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's Side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.' He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.' 'No, Father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'

--Luke 16:19-31

--the BB

Sad news from Curitiba

The Diocese of California has entered a companion diocese relationship with the Diocese of Curitiba in the Igreja Episcopal do Brasil. Yes, that Curitiba - of the Curitiba Statement that we endorse.

The Rev. Francisco Silva, at his blog Kantinho do Rev, recently announced acts of violence against the Church in Curitiba.


He writes:

In an act of extreme violence, employees of powerful landowners destroyed, among other buildings, the chapel of an Episcopal Church at the Primeiros Passos Camp, located road side of the BR 369, near the city of Cascavel.

The invasion occurred in the early morning hours of May 08, with the participation of tractors, excavators, retro-excavators and weapons of large caliber.

The intimidation occurred in a context of serious tensions between landowners and social organizations. The Episcopal Church and fellow Christian’s churches are firmly defending and supporting the Movement of Landless People in the west of the Paraná state. The Episcopal priest in the area is the Revd. Luiz Carlos Gabas, and he is supporting the families in build a school(also destroyed at the attack) for children and the chapel. The chapel was planned to be dedicated on May 18 and was built with great effort by the whole community.

The destruction of the chapel becomes even more symbolic because it represents a clear message from landowners against the Church.

In a clear example of doing the right thing, he notes:

The IEAB has been firm in defending the rights and dignity of small rural workers and especially the landless which lives in sub-human conditions along the roads and land occupied.

Read it all here.

This is living the Baptismal Covenant.

Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
I will, with God's help.

Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?
I will, with God's help.

Pray for the Church in Brazil.
--the BB

Christian people ought to be bothered

I am indebted to Grandmère Mimi at Wounded Bird for passing on word of the work of the Rev. Rex Reyes on behalf of the people being "disappeared" in the Philippines. Mimi shares passages from an article at the United Methodist Church website that recounts the problem and efforts to address it.

There are a couple of powerful statements from Reyes that I pass on here.

"Christianity is not just a social club," he said. "It is a movement primarily of people who are concerned that everybody should have abundant life. And clearly in our experience, the reason the National Council of Churches in the Philippines is howling is that its people are howling."

Protesters in Manila, in the Philippines, march on International Day of the Disappeared to denounce the disappearance of activists allegedly killed or snatched by security forces. (BBC Photo)

Reyes said the Scriptural teaching that all people are created in God's image is "not an empty statement for Christians. Christian people ought to be bothered when people are getting killed," he said.

That last sentence hit me right between the eyes.

How true.

And then we look at the world and our role in it.

'Nuff said.
Check Mimi's article here or the original (with additional photos and audio links) here.
--the BB