Cross-Cultural Experiece

Living in Parker, CO, we don't have a lot of opportunities for cross-cultural experiences. But, this weekend, we had the pleasure of dinner at one of my husband's co-workers homes. This family is Palestinian. The husband moved to the US quite some time ago, but his wife just immigrated to the US four years ago, immediately after marrying. It was an arranged marriage and each of the individuals is from the same small village.

I have to admit that I am utterly in awe of this situation. I can't fathom moving clear across the world with no support system and immediately starting a family and being completely alone. This family is truly amazing and were incredibly hospitable. We were treated to a traditional middle eastern meal (our kids, who tend to hate any unfamiliar food, did quite well). We had chicken and a dish called "upside down", which we were told anyone from the Middle East would be familiar with. It's a rice dish with eggplant, cauliflower, carrots and noodles. We were lavished with hospitality and there wasn't a single request our children made that wasn't granted (much to our chagrin at a few points).

Our conversation was really interesting, too. The guys talked about how they couldn't imagine staying home with the kids. Shahir said something I found interesting. Apparently, Muslims have a saying that "You can find God at the foot of a mother." It's a reference to the nurturing, from conception on, that a mother provides to a child. It's an image of the love of God towards people. What a lovely, provocative image.

Civic Duty and Immigration Reform

This week I fulfilled my civic duty for the year...the dreaded jury duty.

When I got to the court house, I found out that we were all potential jurors in a murder trial. I'm going to admit that I was pretty upset about the whole thing. I do a lot of driving around with the kids to school, preschool and stuff and finding people to take that over for the two week period required overwhelmed me.

Yesterday the jurors went through interviews by the prosecution and defense. I was far enough down the line that I wasn't asked anything. But I sure did watch and listen a lot. One of the first things I noticed was that the defendant was a Latino man who required translation for the proceedings. This was quickly a topic of conversation among the potential jurors, and not to the benefit of the defendant. The guy sitting next to me shared his pretty prejudiced views quite freely.

I could only take so much of this before informing him that my husband and his entire family are Mexican, some who came legally and some who came illegally. Just this last Thanksgiving, Eddie's mom shared their family story with us for the first time. Not even Eddie knew how his family had immigrated to the U.S. His grandpa was a migrant worker who moved from Juarez, Mexico up to central Colorado. After a few months, he came to church sobbing on a weekly basis, he missed his wife and 12 children so much. His pastor spoke to his boss, who then sponsored him and his family for immigration. They moved to El Paso, TX one day before their 13th child was born! Eddie's father came into the U.S. as an illegal immigrant and spent his first year in the U.S. in the basement of a business in Chicago without heat. He remembers never being warm enough and trying to mime what he wanted for food to local restaurant employees. Sometimes he would get food, sometimes not. A few years later, he was granted citizenship. (By the way, almost 40 years after immigrating, Eddie's mom still speaks broken English and his father is still somewhat choppy. It's hard to learn a new language as an adult)!

Julie over at One Hand Clapping has a great post that gives us a different look at the immigration debate. We would do well to consider this debate from the eyes of an immigrant.

For me, I feel the defendant in this trial is feeling first hand the impact of being an immigrant who is not wanted. Out of 120 jurors, there were two Asians and one Mexican...that's it. The rest of us were white. Two of those three were excused because they did not speak enough English and the other was excused for other reasons. I believe that the people on the jury will take their responsibility quite seriously, but I hope in the midst they can attempt to put themselves in the place of a different culture, put their assumptions aside and try to understand life from the view of a stranger. I think this is an important aspect to the immigration debate as well. I know that my point of view was significantly impacted as I sat listening to my mother-in-law tell their family story. It was no longer an arms-length away. It became part of my story.

123 Meme

Happy, at A Fundamental Shift passed on a meme to a mutual friend, Jemila, who then tagged me. The rules are…. “simple” and the results humorous:

Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more. No cheating!
Find Page 123.
Find the first 5 sentences.
Post the next 3 sentences.
Tag 5 people.

So, just so you all know, my laptop is on a little desk in my kitchen. I don't often keep my books (outside cookbooks) in the kitchen due to it several spills in the past that have left my books looking rather poorly. So, tonight, I found my husband's book, which should thrill each of you with it's profundity! ;-)

From The Guitar AMP Handbook: Understanding Tube Amplifiers and Getting Great Sounds:

"There are a lot of uses for the things, no doubt, and if you don't already own one, I'm sure almost every player reading this can imagine a situation in which a good attenuater would be handy.

They do, nonetheless, by the nature of their operation, have inherent...I wouldn't want to call them 'drawbacks,' but let's just say "elements of their function' that sometimes make your rig sound not exactly like a less loud version of the same amp. The first is that driving your speakers at different levels obviously makes them perform differently; any speaker's reaction and interaction to and with the amp is a big part of the amp's overall sound, and these speakers sound differently when driven hard than they do when driven gently."

So, there you have it. Guitar philosophy at its finest.

I tag:

Kate
Brad
Julie
Kathy
Tanya

(Kate, Brad and Tanya...this is just a reason for you all to put up a new post on your blogs)!

Freaky Weather

Last night was a totally weird weather night here in the suburbs of Denver. It started knowing and then it began to lightening and thunder. Shortly after that, we heard the pop, pop on the roof indicative of hail. Then it rained for a bit and went back to snow. It was all done in about the course of an hour.

So odd!

Good News and Relationship

For the last couple weeks, I've been thinking about what the term "good news" means. If you're interested, you can find my other posts here and here.

In Greek, the word "euangelion" means good news, or to evangelize. Growing up in Evangelical churches, the evangelize and good news were spoken of mostly in the context of preaching, handing out tracts and conversion. When missionaries came to visit, the success of their ministries were judged based on how many people had "come to know the Lord." As a part of a youth group, I remember being encouraged to bring my Bible to school and make sure I knew the "Roman's Road" so as to share with others their need for salvation.

In recent years, I've come to a different understanding of what it means to share the good news. I actually think that coming to know the Lord is about radical wholeness. We Evangelicals view this wholeness in large part within the soul of the individual who has come to a decision to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I think that wholeness, biblically, is larger than the individual and extends to community, society and the entirety of creation. The good news is inextricably tied to relationship. It encompasses social justice, care for creation and the responsibility of being an extension of God's shalom within our world. None of this happens without caring concern and fostering community and relationship. This reality came to me quite clear last week.

I received an e-mail from a co-worker of my husband's. He had received an e-mail claiming Muslims can't be good Americans. It was quite ridiculous, really. I sent him back my thoughts and opinions and in response I received this e-mail:

Thank You so much for putting in the time on this. I appreciate your points. I was telling Eddie that I respect his family’s views on Christian morals. That’s why I went to him with this. See I am actually an Atheist. Something I assure you my mom suspects, but doesn’t want to believe. I do however appreciate the Bible and the teachings of Jesus as a good framework for teaching children and family moral values. My main pet peeve in life however is Hypocrisy. That is my main reason for my belief structure. When I see the corruption and the hypocrisy going on in today’s Christian society it pains me and tends to make me lash out at Christianity as a whole. It’s people like you and Eddie that keep a thread of hope that Christian people will return to the morals of kindness and loving and leave the hatred and bigotry behind.

I don't share this as a pat on the back for us. Rather, an acknowledgment that people are paying attention. Eddie's worked with this guy for years and they've had lots of discussions about faith and he has been a pretty staunch Atheist. In that time, though, he and Eddie have developed a relationship that ultimately allowed us to share with him about our faith and how that looks played out in relationship. He's seen his share of Christians who share their faith in judgment rather than love. In the process, he's decided that he can't accept a god who looks like that. Wow. I was so touched by his response and in it his openness to God's working.

You know what's really odd? I showed up for jury duty yesterday and who came around the corner just a few minutes later, but this same guy. Isn't it amazing how God weaves the threads of life together into relationship? In the past, quite frankly, I would have been totally freaked out, thinking I had this huge responsibility to "convert" this gentlemen. It is so freeing for me to recognize that it is in ebb and flow of relationship that the good news of God is shared. I don't have to barrel in full force, but can walk the journey with the people whom God brings into my life.

Submission a Pre-Requisite to Evangelism?

I recently started re-reading Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster. In the middle of the book is a chapter on submission.

Foster's understanding of submission is critical for the practical application of evangelism, or the sharing of the "Good News". Per Foster, Jesus' radical statement, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." Mark 8:34 is the key to a biblical understanding of this spiritual discipline.

Before taking up a cross, Jesus says a person has to deny himself or herself. Foster goes on to say that denying ourselves, or submitting, is "simply a way of coming to understand that we do not have to have our own way." When we can admit that we don't have to have our own way, Foster states that we gain "the ability to lay down the terrible burden of always needing to get our own way." In fact, he states in another place that "Only submission can free us sufficiently to enable us to distinguish between genuine issues and and stubborn self-will."

It's the last statement that started a bunch of thoughts in my mind. I tend to like my own way. So, how does that self-centeredness point me toward my own stuff rather than genuine issues? What would it look like for me to surrender my need to defend myself, to protect myself, to serve myself? What would it look like for an entire community of believers, to do that? As I ask these questions, I think of Jesus' response to the teacher of the law in Mark 12:30-31 regarding which of the commandments was most important "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

If each of us is able to deny that natural self-centeredness and submit...to God, to others...what type of issues would we be able to rally around? In what way could we accomplish God's mission on earth which is hindered when our own issues are allowed to take the forefront.

I think it is at this spot we realize that submission is a key requirement for the sharing of the good news. Without it, the good news is easily tainted with with our own stuff.

*"Submission" is a word with tons of social baggage. I highly recommend reading Foster's book, specifically the chapter on submission and in particular, his analysis of the limits of submission."

The Feet that Bring Good News

How beautiful on the mountains 

are the feet of those who bring good news, 

who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation, 

who say to Zion,
"Your God reigns!" Isaiah 52:7

My mind has been churning since a conversation last week. One of the guys involved in this conversation has roots in the LDS (Mormon) church. A few years out of high school, he felt there were questions he had of his faith that could not be adequately answered. He explained the process of moving from confusion the point of coming face-to-face with God and finding peace. Looking back, he was able to recognize the working of God in his life from a very young age. As he shared his story, I felt as if I was being given a glimpse of a sacred process and I couldn’t help but think of the people and events that influenced him along the way.

I started thinking about what it means to “evangelize”. Someone who evangelizes is one who brings good news. It’s interesting. Some scholars hypothesize that there were different men assigned to bring good news and bad news Old Testament times. Important information needed to get from point to point and without easy access to modern technology, it fell to messengers who ran between those points. An example of this is in 2 Samuel 18. The watchman sees a runner coming and identifies him as Ahimaaz, son of Zadek. When the king hears this, he says, “He’s a good man…He comes with good news.” 2 Sam 1:27. Sure enough, the king finds out he has been delivered by God from his enemies.

In Isaiah 52, God is speaking to his people that he has recognized their distress and is preparing to rescue them from the hand of their enemy. The references to peace, good tidings and salvation have to do with safety, the end of war and the return of God’s people to the promised land. It is celebration of peace and wholeness, the shalom of God. Just as in 2 Sam, this scripture recognizes the moment when the messenger is recognized upon the horizon, running to share the good news. The whole idea of “good news” is actually quite compelling and runs throughout the Bible. It deserves much more than I can give it in a blog post.

This imagery captured my imagination. I believe strongly that the good news we have is more than a moment of decision and the hope of heaven. It is also very much about the restoration of freedom, peace and transformation in our lives now. It’s about the restoration of all of creation to God.

So then, I have to ask myself if I am someone who, when people see me coming, know that I’m bringing a message of good news. Do my actions and words radiate wholeness and peace? What exactly does that look like? I’m going to tackle that question in more detail this week.