The Way Up Is Down by Marlena Graves

Author:Marlena Graves
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Kenosis;poverty;Richard rohr;falling upward;backwards kingdom of god;repentance;downward mobility;true self;false self;contemplation;contemplative;contemplative activism;activist;Christian contemplation;Christian activist;Christian contemplative activist;Puerto rico;Puerto rican Christian activist;Puerto rican American;immigration;social justice;social activism;church fathers;saints
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Published: 2020-05-27T12:51:01+00:00

BEHOLD, OUR TEACHERS!

Throughout our lives God has placed many teachers, learned ones, we pupils have much to learn from. Lazaruses. Angels—messengers of grace. Agents of salvation, delivering the most essential and important life lessons. Like what really matters and what will last. They teach us how to live. And they teach us we’re not as good or as great as we think we are. Humility. Some of them are far better human beings, far better Christians, than we may ever be—full of the fruit of the Spirit while we are mostly full of ourselves. They teach us God has a lot more work to do in us and in our churches and our systems. They teach us that even the best of our churches and systems aren’t as holy or as just as we once believed them to be. They are eye-openers. They teach us to see injustices we were blind to.

When it comes to love, sacrifice, and bravery, they show us the ropes. They demonstrate hard work. They teach us that outside forces, circumstances, systems, not laziness or a lack of will, frequently are why many are in their position. They help us understand and see with God’s eyes. They show us that we are the ones who are poor and wretched and that we should be sitting at their feet, at their gate, at their cardboard box, detention center, in their nursing home room, or cell, if you will.

Most of the time though, we refuse to see our Lazaruses as God’s messengers because they don’t suit our notions of a teacher or of angelic beings who are full of grace and wisdom and good tidings for us or anyone else. In fact, we don’t consider them worthy of our time, attention, or respect. Maybe not even our money. It comes out in seemingly little things like our attitudes toward people like my brother Marco, whose skin is much darker than mine and who has faced small and great indignities alike. These range from coworkers refusing to call him by his name and instead calling him Pedro in reference to a movie, to being harassed at the northern border on his return from a family trip to Niagara Falls under suspicions of being a terrorist. Our small attitudes and behaviors turn to atrocities when we unsee and dehumanize others instead of welcoming them as gifts. We erase others from our vision.

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