8 Words That Broke My Heart

Having traveled through numerous Arabic speaking countries in the past few years, Janny and I have grown to enjoy the language and culture.  A couple months ago we drove to El Cajon, about 30 minutes east of San Diego, for a doctor’s appointment and noticed that all the signs were in English and Arabic, rather than the usual English and Spanish.

As we sat in the waiting room I couldn’t help but overhear the conversation of the couple next to me.  It was a conversation I would have rather not heard and it broke my heart.  They were complaining about the signs including Arabic and the more they talked the more heated they got.  At one point, the wife said, “First it was Mexican, now it’s Iranian sh*%.” She went onto say even more “colorful” stuff that I won’t include here.  I couldn’t believe my ears and I was torn between tears and rage.

San Diego is a Sanctuary City which offers a home and fresh start for international refugees.  El Cajon has the second largest Iraqi refugee population in the U.S. as they host tens of thousands of people who have been displaced by the current war. The neighborhood adjacent to us is home to an equally large number of refugees from war torn parts of Africa.  In fact, numerous people who we serve with in NieuCommunties have walked alongside these families for 2 years to teach them English and assist them in integrating into a very new culture.  Just a couple weeks ago, Janny and Ruby (my wife and daughter) spent the day playing games and running relays with the refugee kids in this neighborhood.

These are God’s children and they have gone through stuff that I can’t even imagine. Many have lived in slums trying to escape death and persecution for 20+ years waiting for approval to move to the U.S.  They haven’t experienced a day of peace in their lives.  Once they get here, they have 8 months of assistance and then they are on their own.  Not knowing the language and culture, the odds are stacked up against them and many end up homeless.  The last thing they need are the prejudices of those like I ran into in the doctor’s office.

When we employ such polarizing rhetoric, we not only violate American ideals (other than Native Americans, we were all immigrants at one time), we fracture God’s dream for humanity.  When we understand Jesus’ attention for the Samaritans (Israel’s unwanted “half breed” after Assyria took the Northern Kingdom), we see that if He were on earth today He would be sitting at the dinner table with these modern refugees.  Reality is, in the lives of His followers, Jesus is on earth today and we are to take a seat at the table.

Are we going to sit at the table or remain in a bubble that only drifts farther and farther from the heart of God and the model of Jesus?

Thinking back, I mainly feel sad for the couple at the doctor’s office.  I am sad that they are aren’t sitting at the table and enjoying the feast of God’s diverse Kingdom.  And honestly, I know I have prejudices of my own I need to work on before I can point fingers at them.

Pic: Picture we took of a stop sign in Casablanca, Morocco.

A Day in the Life of a Palestinian Revolutionary

I have enjoyed and been challenged by reading Burnside Writers Collective for the past 5+ years.  BWC is “a Christian magazine presenting an alternative to franchise faith.“ It has Donald Miller roots and this past week I had the honor of having written the feature article. The article tells the story of one of our days in the West Bank/Palestine this last summer and of a Christian Palestinian couple that has chosen to give their lives to instill peace and reconciliation in the youth of the Middle East.  Below is the first paragraph, followed by a link to the complete article on BWC. 

“Even though my wife would be seven months pregnant by the time of our return, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to study at Jerusalem University College this past summer.  As a guy who is captivated by the ways in which context and story are central to the Biblical narrative, our time was an incredibly academic and historically insightful experience.  More than anything, we were captivated by the way God’s Story is still being told today through the lives of his people, specifically the Palestinian Christians in the West Bank.  Walking alongside both Israeli’s and Palestinians opened our eyes to the brutal tensions on each side of the tragic Separation Wall and instilled in me a deep conviction to tell the story of those who are often forgotten by those of us in the West.  One such story is found in the lives of a revolutionary Palestinian couple in the West Bank…Click for complete article.

Thin Places: Today’s Celtic Spirituality

My friend Kenny and I get to hang out pretty often (The story behind our first meeting is pretty amazing: read about it here).  It is usually a random gathering as I see him sitting up against his favorite telephone pole as I walk to my favorite coffee shop.  Sometimes I act busy and just say hello, ask a few questions and keep walking to the coffee shop.  Other days, I slow down, sit up against the garage door next to his telephone pole and have some quality conversation. Kenny is brilliant and always remembers the content of our previous conversations, so it’s not hard to get into some meaningful dialog.

I don’t know where Kenny sleeps at night (he makes it clear that he doesn’t tell anyone), but he sits at the base of the same tree every morning and at the base of the same telephone pole every afternoon.  He and I have an informal “book study” going on, but he usually just wants to share a couple stories and show me the best coupons in the local newspaper.

St. Columba was a Celtic Monk who while living on the island of Iona off of Scotland would climb to the top of a nearby hill and pray a blessing over his brothers and over the land.  He called it a “thin place,” meaning heaven and earth were only thinly separated. Further, he had visions of all being restored to God’s original order.

When I sit with Kenny, I experience a “thin place.” When I choose to see clearly, I can see the face of Jesus in his eyes and I hope he can see Jesus in mine.  I picture the day when his fractured reality is restored and he not only has a roof to keep him from the soaking rain, but when his inner being filled with the Spirit.

I hope to seek out “thin places” in my daily life.  It is less about location and more about being open to participate in the in-breaking of God’s Kingdom as inaugurated in Jesus. It is about living into God’s ultimate vision of restoration in my life and in all Creation.

Living a Life of Hope in World of Violence

In recent days, violent acts have seemed to pervade my reality.  I think of the Pakistani Governor who was killed and my friend who is currently living/serving among that population.  I think of the two people that were killed at the checkpoints between Israel and the West Bank and our friends who cross through those checkpoints every day as they serve the youth of the region.  I think of the tragedy in Arizona.  Finally, I think of my neighborhood that has endured two murders and one stabbing in the past week.

These incidents have the potential to further breed a culture of fear and anxiety that puts us in a posture of defense and removes us from the redemptive vision God has for humanity.  Thankfully we have a hope. It is a hope rooted in the life of Jesus.  He did not run from violence, instead he embedded himself right in the middle of it.

Lord, may your Spirit lead us away from fear and into your Shalom (peace, wholeness, salvation).  A peace that not only physically slows violence, but a peace that pervades our being so we can be salt and light in the midst of such violence.

This makes me think of St. Patrick.  He was the first (I believe!) missionary to extend past the Roman Empire and step into one of the most fierce, violent and fear driven people groups on the planet.  He stepped forward in faith that the Jesus he chose to follow and share was one that called him to move into the places others weren’t willing to go.  Here is a portion of one of his timely prayers:

  • Be Christ this day my strong protector:
  • Against poison and burning
  • Against drowning and wounding,
  • through reward wide and plenty . . .

  • Christ beside me, Christ before me;
  • Christ behind me, Christ within me;
  • Christ beneath me, Christ above me;
  • Christ to right of me, Christ to left of me;
  • Christ in my lying, my sitting, my rising;
  • Christ in heart of all who know me,
  • Christ on tongue of all who meet me,
  • Christ in eye of all who see me,
  • Christ in ear of all who hear me.