Do you remember having to bring in a current events clipping to your class and writing a short essay on it? We did that- I can't remember if we shared them out loud, although I feel like we did- we must have. I loved that assignment. Maybe I didn't- but I do now. I most likely was not daring enough then and found articles on the accidental burning of a local restaurant and wrote "this is too bad, I used to eat here." But now, now it lights a fire in me.
I am currently attending a Sunday School class that does just this- pulls current events and opens the floor for discussion. The curriculum is an online source, with study questions and discussion starters. My class today decided that the current event and questions were a little too tame: the topic was on the American rescue of Iranians from some ship/pirates, etc. The questions were about whether or not to do a good deed if you wouldn't get a return on it. Um, really? This is not typical, but we totally passed on this ridiculousness. We pulled out some articles and information surrounding the MLKjr weekend. One article was a letter from a local (Hyattsvile) pastor of an AME church who was not so sure that having MLKjr in stone (alluding to the new monument in DC) was all that great. Before you judge him- he had an excellent point. (I believe the article can be found in the Saturday faith edition of the Washington Post) He said he far preferred the living, breathing voice of MLKjr that challenged the status quo, said no to war and violence, etc. Basically- a monument makes a happy image of a strong man we all like. But if MLKjr were still with us today (oh man, what would that look like?!), less people might like him than we think. He might still be pushing buttons and pissing people off.
Our class was interrupted, hijacked, poorly insulated and even a baby (mine) crashed the party. It was still the best Sunday School I've been to. Why? Because we were putting flesh on scripture. Here are stories happening rightnow- and we need to talk about them rightnow as Christians. None of this Jesus is the answer stuff- we're trying to actually follow Jesus- figure out what our faith speaks in this context- where we fit- why we think the way we think. The cool thing about this concept is you can do it with any context of history... the problem is that I think we spend too much time using stone monuments as our current event stories. MLK was a great man who fought for equal treatment of people with color. Unless you are embedded in racism, this is an easy right and wrong story. I like getting dirty with details and nuances. I like exploring the mud for what we're really made of. What are the stories that we aren't separated and commentaried on so much that we have collectively decided what is right or wrong?
For example, a friend of mine from seminary posted his opinions on the recent outrage over the marines' urinating on the dead bodies of our "enemies." The link (I have GOT to get more savvy about linking) here: http://faithhopepolitics.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/detachmentandoutrage/
I think it is definitely food for thought. This is digging deeper. Of course it's not right to urinate on a corpse! But let's get past the easy part.
Now you would think- a class with current events, a truly open dialogue (for me anyway) would be an instant hit. No. I was the only student per se. Two teachers and moi. I wonder why that is? Are we so afraid of talking current events in such a politically charged location (near DC)? I'm sure there are lots of reasons beyond my perception.... but my thought is that many of us just don't want to open pandora's box. We don't want to think about things. This described me for a long time when it came to the news. It depressed me so I shut it out. I'm serious! I didn't watch the news, read the paper, and avoided clicking on news links that were posted. Now that I'm a fabulously isolated stay at home Mom, I ran out of options and started branching out for sanity's sake. I'm addicted. I need, want, have to know what we as a human race are participating in. Do I still avoid the starving children and crying puppy videos? Yes. I'm no saint, I have a baby at home and... well- I don't want to send my soul over a cliff- I'll ease into those news stories. I'm addicted to learning about how we tick, how we think, how we relate. I think that's why I'm addicted to this blog- it's my space to think with the possibility of getting a response. I'm addicted to Facebook- it is a space to relate and share stories. I'm addicted to reading the letters by my Grandfather, because he was doing the same thing- taking his world and processing it, with his bride to be and his friends who would engage in dialogue with him. He didn't expect everyone to agree with him, but he hoped for a conversation.
Let's keep talking. Let's keep working through the muck and mud together- and really think about what it means to be human. For those of us who have faith as our guide- let's talk about where our guide would have us go.
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