This Is My Beloved Community/Where Is The Justice? (Week 4)
May 31, 2011
(Make sure that you’re caught up with prior week’s questions & conversations before posting here!)
Because we read Chapter 4 together and had some good discussion I would like to focus mainly on Chapter 5. However, I think there are some things that we can still keep in mind from Chapter 4.
To begin with, the very first story in chapter four is a great example of people learning from one another. This is a huge part of community…people learning from you and you learning from others. Having a mentor, such as Amy and Duffy in this story is a way for this to be accomplished. Do you have a mentor in your life? If not, I would encourage you to think about who you could ask to walk with you and challenge you and you could ask questions of. Your small group leader or even your C2 leader could be good places to start.
In Chapter 5, what story most stuck out to you? Why did this story stick out to you?
Justice is a central theme in the Bible. The basic principle of justice is pursuing things to be as God designed them to be. Where there is inequality, God desires equality. Where there is brokenness, God desires healing and wholeness. Where there is discrimination, God desires unity. Throughout the Scriptures, God says that more important than the worship rituals we perform is the way we live our life by coming alongside the poor, the broken, the immigrant, the orphan (Proverbs 21:13, 29:7, Isaiah 1:17, 58:10, Psalm 82:3-4, Deuteronomy 10:18, Luke 4:18, Matthew 25:35 and I John 3:17-18 just to name a few).
As I read through this book, I can see, especially in this chapter, these principles coming to life through the stories. And each chapter has a way of challenging me each week. I hope that you are also having this experience as you continue to read.
Read a few (2-3) of the verses listed above. What do they seem to say about God’s heart?
From these two chapters, can you think of some ways that our team could model or become a ‘beloved community?’
the story that stuck out to me most was “Where is the Church.” I liked it because it talks a lot about why jesus came and died for us. It mentioned things like: jesus died for me in spite of me. and other things like: jesus died for my garbage because he loves us soooo much that he doesn’t care about our past he just wants us to be with him.
The verses above tell me that God’s heart is very caring. He wants to help us and it is almost like he is hospitable. From the verses I read you can tell that God always wants the best for you and always wants to help you along the way.
I thnk that our team could just care about each other, and help them when they need help. We could always be by each other’s side and always offer ourselves to the peole we are blessing that week.
I agree with what you say about how God wants what is best for us.
A lot of times I wonder why there is so much sin and disaster in the world but like you said God will work all things out.
i like how you said that we can offer ourselves to the people we are helping this week. I think that if we do that, it would show we really care about what happens to them and we want to help them in any way we can.
I do have a couple mentors in my life and in the past they helped me out a lot.
I liked the story called Jesus is here. I liked how it said that Zach saw Jesus admist the brokeness and how he really begin to see Jesus making a difference in the city he was in. Zach wasnt making the differnce it was God working though him.
I think on way our team can show beloved community is by getting to know each other. Not just what people show on the outside but their heart- what makes them tick. To see each other as God would see them.
From this book I realized that I never gave justice much thought before and that their is injustice all around us.
The verses I read gave me an image of the poor and the broken in spirt crying out for help and then God comeing out of the sky with arrows shooting down their problem and saving them from thier situation. Because God will do that if we let him.
Jess- I like how you said that Zach wasn’t making the difference, it was God making the difference through him. It reminds me of the story of Joseph in the Bible where he says that he cannot interperet the dreams but God will do it for him.
*Jess,
I would have to agree with Katie as well about the part where Zach wasn’t making the difference, it was God working through him. It is really cool in my perspective to think that it really is God who is behind all of the things we do to help others.
The story that stuck out to me was A Single Garment of Destiny. The part that really stuck out to me was when he said “If there is poverty in this world, no man can be totally rich.” It stuck out because this is something that I believe is true.
The verses tell me that God cares for all of us. He will help us when need be and he wants to help.
Our team can be willing to help each other. We can go out of our way to do more for the other members than we have to. We should care about each other and learn to get along as well as we can.
The story that stuck out to me “Jesus Is Here.” I think it stuck out to me because I could relate to the writer. I often think of myself as someone whose got it all together and it is incredibly hard for me to face my shortcomings. It gives me an extreme feeling of peace to know that Jesus is around even in the greatest time of need. When my world feels like it is falling apart, He is still there.
These verses seem to say that God has a heart of service. He wants us to reach out and calls us to those less fortunate than us. He has laid upon us the duty of reaching out and serving.
I think our team could model beloved community by simply caring for each other. In the simplest ways, we can show appreciation and love for one another.
I like what you said about when the world is falling apart God is still there. He is our refuge.
*Leah,
I like how you said you can relate to the writer in that story. I’m sure many others have felt like they are all good and have it all together, and then have a time when they are in a really dark place in there life. Luckily, as you said, we have Jesus there for us at any moment we need Him.
The story that stuck out to me was,Black on black. The part that stuck out to me was in the YMCA when the adult african american yelled at the trhee young boys, he did a “act first think second” thing. I admit i do this thing alot I act first then think later.
I think our team could use the think first act second. Think about what we will do to help and act on whatever needs to be done
The story that stuck out to me is Environmental justice, and how many more colored people die from being hit by cars, all because we are too ignorant to build communities around the people living there. Instead of learning about the problems and working together to fix them.
Our team could Become a better more beloved community just by taking some time learning about the real problems that face our community and doing something to make things better
What most stuck out to me was the part about enviromental injustice. It said that as Christians we need to care for the enviroment because it affects other people. I believe that means that many Christians’ views on taking care of the enviroment are horribly mixed up. Christians think they should be focusing on people and not the enviroment, and sometimes it seems like a sin to believe in global warming. We need to remember that what we do to the enviroment will affect other people in the end.
These chapters tell us that God cares especially for people who are defenseless. I think within our mission trip group this could mean looking out for each other and helping whenever someone needs help.
Great observation about how God cares for people that are defenseless. Several passages in the Bible talk about God’s love for those who cannot care for themselves. I think God wants us to learn to think in a mindset that puts the needs of the defenseless first.
The story that stuck out to me the most was “Black on Black” it shows how twisted the world can be. Considering how the man at the desk didn’t even think to put himself in their place before just getting mad at them. It especially freaked me out how the couple waiting said that he “handled the situation properly” that’s just terrible. The young boys couldn’t have learned anything about themselves except maybe think they’re lower to everyone else since the man pretty much smacked them left and right with horrible comments about them. The man doesn’t know them, he has no idea what’s going on in their life and he has no right to say things about them.
The verses I read is that God is an example of a neighbor. He wants to take care of us, and wants us to be happy.
Our team should get to learn people first and not make assumptions on who people are, and what they’re like, when we have no idea who they are. God wants us to be happy in life, I think we should take the love and happiness we’ve gotten from Him and reach out to others and show him that love so they can be happy also.
I think that learning more about each other and not making assumptions is really important. You could meet someone and make an assumption that could be totally untrue.
Several of the sections really challnged me this week. I am ashamed to admit the when I read “Black on Black” my intial thoughts were “This does not apply to me.” Then I thought about is more and realized that I can be guilty of the same sort of hate in different ways. I suppose we could talk about “white on white” prejudice (though I recognize it would not be nearly as powerful or demeaning for many reasons), and I would definitely would be guilty of that kind of judgment (injustice). But my other thought turned to the realization that it is my responsibility as a a Christian to be concerned about all forms of injustice, not just the ones that I am a part of or the ones that I think I could influence for change. The section “Environmental Injustice” was also powerful, because I have lived in the country my entire life. I have never had to think about some of the things that are brought up in the section. A lot of change needs to occur if we are going to give all people the opportunity to live long and fulfilling lives. I also was challenged by the section “Jesus is here” because it mirrors my life life to an extent. I have a lot of head knowledge of the Bible, because my life has been filled with the Scriptures since I was born. But most of the time I discover I am in over my head. Literally. I find that my head knowledge of Christianity is not what will help most people. I need a heart that is prepared for service to others.
I think that the Bible passages show us a lot about what is important to God. Human priorities are so often aligned to value things that are so shallow and vain, where God cares for all of His creation and His children.
“Where Is The Church?” is the story that stuck out to me the most because i like how it tells about why Jesus came and died for our sins and also how perhaps people forget the message of the church: Jesus dying for our sins.
I think our team can become a beloved community by listening to one another and caring about what they have to say.
I think the verses above tell us that God cares about us and our happiness and wants to be in our life and help us.
I agree that sometimes people seem to forget the whole point of church. Sometimes we focus only on helping others or having fun and eve though those are both awesome things if we forget about the whole reason why we are doing it things are rather pointless.
I agree that listening to one another and caring about what everyone has to say makes our team a beloved community. That is what I see in the beloved communities in my life, and I feel like it is a great way to make our team stronger.
The story that stuck out the most to me in ch.4. is enviromrntal justice. This stuck out to me because I never realized many people were really affected by the enviroment. Then he talked about how this could discourage people to go to church give them the wrong view on god.
When I view gods heart I see it as forgiving and loving. If you the poor and needy god will consider you righteous. If our team shows care and respect to others they like us and maybe become stronger in faith and with god if they already have not
black on black…..it was the best story and it stuck out simpleeeeeeeeeeeeeee
I agree garrett black on black was a cool story i liked how it shows how twisted the world can be
I think that Black on Black shows the true nature of human beings. At times, we can be very hurtful, and surprisingly enough, there are times when that hurt and hate are directed at people that we should be able to understand the most. The section is very eye-opening.
The story that stuck out to me was “Jesus is Here.” I liked it because it’s saying that Jesus will always be there for you no matter whats going on in your life or what you have done.
The verses tell me that God’s heart is very caring toward us and he is always there for us. We can always go to God whenever we need help.
I think that we can use the example that Jesus is always there for us by as a team being there for each other whenever we need it.
The story, Environmental justice really stuck out to me for a number of reasons. I don’t think about the environment much in my day to day life, and this really shows just how bad it’s gotten. People like to say that their being environmentally friendly by driving hybrid cars or by recycling, and while these things do help, it’s not enough. Like it says in the story, the reason that lots of people are getting hit by cars is not simple a coincidence, it’s due to the crappy design of our city’s. We need to be more open to see the problems that are staring us in the face. We as Christians are responsible for the environment because God made the earth, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t appreciate the way we’ve been taking care of it.
I understand what you mean when you don’t think of the environment much and that it is getting worse everyday.
“A Single Garment of Destiny” stuck out to me the most in this chapter. My favorite part was in the quote by Martin Luther King Jr. Within the quote, it says ” Strangely enough, I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. You can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be.” I liked this part the most because it brings out what justice is. The right of equality within everyone in a congregation. It explains, that in order to be something, someone else has to be something too.
In the few verses I read, I would say that God’s heart is open to all of us, and is there for us in a time of need or healing. His heart is open to all of us, and is always there.
From these two chapters, our team could become a ‘beloved community’ by taking the time to listen to others and really pay attention to what they have on their mind and heart. We could also go out of our way to lend a helping hand, in any giving situation, whether it is helping carry something, or simply holding open a door.
I like how you said that to become a beloved community by helping each other. I think that that would just spred good feelings and help us not getting frusterated or angry with somebody.
The story that stuck out o me the most was “Black on Black”. This story stood out to me the most because I feel like everyone argues about everything. Every issue out there is debated and instead of uniting together to change that issue we just fight about it.
I read Deuteronomy 10:18 and Matthew 25:35 and both of those verses are God saying everyone is the same and equal. And God gives them what they need, and so should we.
I think our team could become a beloved community by not arguing with each other. Even if it is just for this one week, we all need to unite together so we can focus on what is going to get done and we can accomplish more.
I like the story Jesus is here it I saying u don’t need to be scared or stuff like that buy he will ALWAYS be there for u V. The verses that I read are talking about how careing our god is