It's Good Friday -- the day Jesus hung naked on the cross.Being raised Catholic I have been revisiting some of the teachings I knew as a child. Of everything we were taught in Catholic school, holy week and the month of May (Mary) were the most compelling. These have been what have driven me to be a social justice activist.
What are you doing today to bring dignity to those who have been stripped? What can you do for the children of Aida?
In reading Lo Fi Tribe’s Via Cruces 2006, I came across this blog . Both are outstanding.
Station IX - Jesus Falls for the Third Time
Extreme poverty is utter devastation. It is having absolutely no hope of even making it to a subsistance level without some assistance. Even Jesus had Simon to help him carry the cross part of the way -- these people have nothing.
Jesus falling the third time is the face of Christ in the children of Northern Uganda, who flee nightly for their lives lest they be captured and sentenced to a life of kill-or-be-killed. It is the face of Christ in the people of Darfur, who sit starving in virtual concentration camps waiting for bands of janjaweed to come and rape and murder them. It is the face of Christ on the people of the Congo, where the tales are so terrible and the cover of darkness so great that the reports of what horrendous evil takes place there are sketchy at best.
Station X -- Jesus is Stripped of His Garments
The children of Aida have no control. They are pawns at best and targets at worst. Like all refugees, they have no home, no freedom from anxiety. They are virtual prisoners. And in the midst of it, there are people who are trying to bring a sense of hope. There are people who are trying to give Jesus back his clothes so he can stand with dignity.
When Jesus talked about clothing the naked as a way of serving him, he wasn't just talking about meeting a level of Maslow's hierarchy. He was talking about what we say in our baptismal covenant -- respecting the dignity of every human being. You can't respect dignity without working to restore dignity where it has been taken away.
Again....
It's Good Friday -- the day Jesus hung naked on the cross.
What are you doing today to bring dignity to those who have been stripped? What can you do for the children of Aida?
1 comment:
Wow, I can almost... ALMOST... see becoming a catholic again, if more of them actually practicied that sentiment. Of course, I shouldn't be looking for them to stand up, but instead should be standing on my own to encourage them... sadly, I'm not a hottie christian, so they aren't paying attention. maybe if I go streaking through church...?
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