March 11, 2011
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Friendship at the Margins, Pt. 3
Mutuality in Mission:
“We were caught off guard when some of the kids warned us about an other Christian group. They explained to use how the group leveraged food for faith, and readily described the techniques the group used to get the Christian message across. We hadn’t expected our young friends to be insightful and articulate about evangelistic methodology. But they translated back to us how they perceived Christian efforts in mission and created for us another layer of accountability. Allowing friends who live in the margins to inform us about how they experienced some approaches to social ministry and mission helped us recognize what was off-center in our own work and when our attempts at love might come across as manipulative or misinformed. “
“Many of these folks dwell in what have been called the “over-evangelized, under-Christianized” communities. They have heard lots about Jesus, but they haven’t often seen him. When communities have been saturated with missional activity but the good news has not been embodied by a consistent presence of love and concern, folks know that they have been targets of one more program. And most of us resent being “targets,” no matter how well intentioned the effort might be.”
“When our relationship with God is so compelling to us that we invite others to experience the same kind of life-giving relationship, we are in mission…It’s not that words are insignificant, but when detached from relationship, they can be quite difficult to hear and comprehend. In situations where persons have been brutalized or have suffered at the hands of others, words of comfort, hope, and promise—unaccompanied by presence and action—are small comfort indeed.
“We need the poor more than the poor need us.” –Mother Teresa
“When we start fiddling with the notion that resources don’t only flow in one direction, when we find grace and wisdom and gifts in persons who are poor and/or non-Christian, it is disorienting. It forces us to think a little more fully about the image of God in all humanity, about our own neediness and incompleteness, and about how God saves and transforms us… Making sure that each person has a place in community and an opportunity to contribute is important for all of us”
“We will never believe we have anything to give unless there is someone who is able to receive. Indeed, we discover our gifts in the eyes of the receiver.” –Henri Nouwen
What to do:
A. Do it and then say it. Faith without works is dead.
B. They can “read” you well. Be sincere. Don’t try to put a band-aid on a severed hand.
C. For every need there is a person who needs to give to that need. The relationship is reciprocal.
D. Ask yourself these questions: Could I invite my friends who are poor into my home and lifestyle and have a good time with them? Would I be ashamed of my comforts or expenditures? Is the embarrassment I feel an expression of my conflicted commitments and divided loyalties?
