Tag: Flourish For All

5 Ways Fort Wayne Can Be For Those Who Suffer in the Holy Land

Sometimes we wonder: what can we do in the face of such overwhelming sorrow? Does the distance compel us to indifference or to make a difference? We wonder: Does our solidarity matter? Do our prayers matter? Does personal holiness matter? Does forgiveness matter? War has a way of clarifying your spirit: either you’re ready with courage to enter the fray, or you’re gonna need help to keep believing, to not look away. We wonder in wartime: will we put down deeper roots to love in the face of catastrophic violence? Or will we succumb to being numb, to apathy, or even hate? So what can we do?

This reflection is my attempt to clarify for me what I can do from Fort Wayne, through the YMCA, as a Christian, for my friends, strangers and “enemies” in the Holy Land. If it resonates with you as well, may God take what we offer up in our spirit and make of it what He will for our brothers and sisters in the city where Christ Jesus our Lord loved, was crucified, buried but then resurrected on the third day: “I am the way of resurrection, the truth of love, the life that suffers.”

1 Way: Be for “your people” – be in solidarity with those you know in the Holy Land (realizing everyone there is suffering).

By “your people” I’m also stating the obvious: If you are Jewish, be for all your people who suffer in the Holy Land, if you are Christian, be for all the Christians who suffer in the Holy Land, if you are Muslim, be for all the Muslims who suffer in the Holy Land, if you are Secular, be for all who are Secular and suffering in the Holy Land.

This is not a negation of being for others, but it takes serious being for “one another” in your spiritual family as a necessary step of integrity and credibility to being for neighbors, strangers and “enemies.”

Way 2: Be for a nonviolent resistance to evil as a response to vengeful violence in the Holy Land.

We know scientifically, sociologically, anthropologically, militaristicly, religiously, spiritually, economically, humanly, etc. that retributive violence ALWAYS begets more violence, it ALWAYS foments antagonisms, it ALWAYS breeds revenge.

As we have learned from Jesus of Nazareth and a few other brave historical souls, being “for” your enemy, for their “transformation” unto love, that they might ultimately be saved from the darkness of injustice and brought into the light of peace also rescues your own soul from the corruption of violence.

Way 3. Be for listening to the cries of injustice, to the pleas of mercy, to the begging for peace and let it upset your soul.

Let it disrupt your spirit, let it break your heart, let it stir your mind to seeking understanding, let it motivate you to get wisdom instead of numbing yourself to the horror, instead of tuning it out and turning away indifferently or out of fear.

Hear with your heart. Keep your eyes open to reality, stand firm in the truth, be brave and and strong for those around you who suffer. Let love be your motive for listening, seeing, standing, and understanding.

Be willing to accept and experience the sorrow that comes with knowledge, be willing to keep listening and going forward in wisdom even though the grief becomes heavier.

Way 4: Be for a vision of flourishing for all that takes geography, religion, culture, politics, power, love, the sacred, history, hurts, memories, dignity, honor, hope seriously.

What’s it look like for complicated realities to live in harmony amongst the most holy place on Earth? It’s not for the weak in spirit or faint of heart. Only the most wise and courageous would attempt to lean into this envisioning of an alternate reality that has existed for the briefest of moments in world history.

There are many Jews, Christians, Muslims, Secular and more striving for a vision of flourishing for all. Join one. Or several.

Consider joining the YMCA of Greater Fort Wayne as we walk towards a future with the Jerusalem International YMCA, East Jerusalem YMCA, Nazareth YMCA, Gaza YMCA – a flourishing future we can barely see, like through a darkened glass, but a future we yearn for sustained by faith, hope and love.

Way 5: Forgive those who sin against you in Fort Wayne, in Indiana, in the USA.

Without real and raw experiences in the gritty work of forgiveness, what wisdom will you have for global work of truth and reconciliation?

If you are Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Secular, look to your wisest of leaders who teach with the most credibility on overcoming evil with good, of atoning for sins with love, for acting justly with compassionate mercy and humility before the Divine.

Within the Hebrew Scriptures and New Testament are enduring and searing experiences regarding forgiveness and the pain of humanity, our cries to God, and our caring prayers for one another. The way of forgiveness is radical, it is grounded in fundamental realities of humanity; it is often the stone over which we stumble, but if we look up, and see the Light of Love, He can become a cornerstone with us for building a new way forward.

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.”

A Psalm of David, 22‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.”

the Prophet Isaiah‬, 61‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

The Gospel according to the beloved apostle John‬, 1‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”‬‬

the apostle Paul’s letter to the Christian church of the Colossians,‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬-‭14‬ ‭NIV

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”‬‬

Letter from James, brother of Jesus, and Bishop of the Jerusalem church,‬ ‭1‬:‭22‬-‭27‬ ‭NIV

Experiencing the YMCA Christian Principle of Equity & a Healthy Spirit For All

Whatever the future of Christianity in the YMCA can look like, I’m hoping it is one where we experience a religion sustained by the Same Spirit of Christ that makes equity and justice a reality.

For Christians in the YMCA, our principles are personal; not just that they mean a lot to us and we take them personally, but that they are Personal – that they are birthed out of a Real Person, out of the Way, Truth and Life of Christ Jesus.

Equity is a central Christian principle because it is central to the life and teachings of Christ.

When Jesus announced his “personal mission statement” to family and friends in his hometown synagogue of Nazareth, he declared a salvific message of justice and healing, of equity and liberation, of righteousness and goodness.

He wasn’t just stating the principles he would be putting into practice, Jesus was putting forth the way the Spirit of God was present in the world: with the poor against the rich who rob them, with the captives against their enslavers, with the blind against the gougers, with the oppressed against the elite who erode their freedoms.

“Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.

He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom.

He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him.

Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.””‬‬

Jesus of Nazareth, Gospel according to Luke, 4.14-19 NIV

Christian theologian Michael Gorman remarks on the obvious:

These words became the substance and shape of Jesus’ ministry. More precisely, then, Jesus, filled with God’s Spirit, embodied biblical justice, especially in his concern for the weak and marginalized; the evangelists bear witness to this…. It was integral to his identity and mission. We might even say that Jesus not only proclaimed the good news to the poor…but he also became the gospel. And like the God of Israel’s Scriptures, Jesus expected those who walked with him to do likewise….”

Michael Gorman, Becoming The Gospel, 216-217

It was this atoning Same Spirit of God that was upon George Williams and his eleven Christian friends when they started the Young Men’s Christian Association in 1844 London England.

It was this Same cruciform Spirit of God that was upon Anthony Bowen when he courageously started a YMCA in the USA.

And it’s been the Same Spirit of Equity, Justice, Righteousness and Love which has animated the best of the YMCA since 1844; it’s also the Same Spirit that critiques and convicts us when we fall short of the glory of God and sin against one another.

Christians in the YMCA have an opportunity in every generation to powerfully experience the redemptive Power of God through their participation in the Gospel of Christ – and this mostly happens when we faith-fully participate in actions of justice and mercy, in sowing seeds of equity, in hungering and thirsting for righteousness.

The spirit of the YMCA must be renewed every generation.

The Same Spirit which was upon Jesus of Nazareth is the Same Spirit upon every follower of Jesus in the YMCA who is Born of the Spirit, upon everyone who bravely trusts in Christ, it’s for all who will humbly imitate him in love and equity by His Spirit.

When Christian’s in the YMCA get it wrong, when we perpetuate injustice and inequity, when we are guilty of unrighteousness, when we are convicted in our spirit by The Spirit of our sins against our neighbors, we know what we ought to do:

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our injustices, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our inequities and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.”

The beloved apostle John, adapted from his first letter, 1.8-10 NIV

How serious is Jesus about those who follow him, who bear His Spirit, to speak truth in love to each other when we sin, when we are at fault for inequity, injustice, and unrighteousness?

“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you.

If they listen to you, you have won them over.

But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’

If they still refuse to listen, tell it to your assembly of fellow followers; and if they refuse to listen even to them, treat them as you would an unrepentant and hard-hearted enemy.”

Christ Jesus in the Gospel according to Matthew, adapted, 18.15-17, NIV

The YMCA was started by Christians that we now revere, and it’s been built up and sustained almost eighteen decades by millions of Christians with the Same Spirit of Jesus upon them. Hallelujah! What a glorious reality for our communities and world!

But alas, all of those same Christians have never been without sin, each of us, as Alexander Solzhenitsyn says, experiences: “the battle line between good and evil runs through the heart of every man and woman.”

It shouldn’t be a shock when Christians in the YMCA commit injustices, rather it ought to produce sorrow and righteous anger, especially when it gets denied, goes unrepented, and unhealed; truth is crucial for reconciliation to flourish.

Whatever the future of Christianity in the YMCA can look like, I’m hoping it is one where we experience a humble religion sustained by the Same Spirit of Christ Jesus that makes equity and justice a reality.

Christians in the YMCA can strengthen the presence of Christ, they participate in the gospel of Jesus, they become the Good News of God when they “act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our Lord.”

Wherever there is a cry to experience equity, wherever there is a protest against injustice, wherever unrighteousness darkens a soul, we ought to as followers of Jesus keep his Nazareth manifesto at the front of our minds, at the tip of our fingers, at the center of our spirit.

In the YMCA, may we who are brothers and sisters in the Lord, always strive to put Christ’s personal principles of equity and peace, of justice and love, of righteousness and mercy into practice everyday, that together by the Spirit of the Lord that is upon us, that has called us, we build up a healed spirit, a mind liberated by good news, a body released from oppression, that there would be flourishing for all.

Discover & Read the First Nations Version :: an Indigenous Translation of the New Testament

Join the Morning Watch – an enduring YMCA invitation to start reading a fresh and inspired First Nations translation of the Bible in a way that will build up a healthy spirit and reinvigorate your faith, hope and love.

Been awhile since you read the Bible?

Sensing a call to renew your spirit?

Not sure what to do different with fueling your faith?

You are invited to start reading a fresh and inspired translation of the New Testament in a way that will build up a healthy spirit and reinvigorate your faith, hope and love.

In the YMCA we call it The Morning Watch, a call to disciplined action for Christians to start their day early and in God’s Word.

The First Nations Version Translation (FNVT) Council has given the world a refreshing and illuminating experience with the New Testament, written in a culturally relevant way, in the traditional heart language of over 6 million English speaking First Nations people of North America.

Click here to learn more about FNVT!

Consider this invitation: to hear the call of the Great Spirit and pledge to keep The Morning Watch for at least one month – two if you’re open to it.

  • Use the first 30 minutes of your day in the FNVT of the NT.
  • Begin and end that time with silence, gratitude, confession and repentance, forgiveness and commitment.
  • Have a plan for how much you will read each morning and what you will doing with it – journal your reflections or mark up the text or create artwork or memorize verses etc.
  • Trust that the 30 minutes will fly by!
  • Believe that these are the best 30 minutes of your day – and the most essential – for connecting with the Great Creator of the Heavens and the Earth – the Source of Courageous Faith amidst insurmountable challenges, of Enduring Hope amidst pervasive despair, and Reconciling Love amidst a broken-hearted world marred by evil but hand-crafted for Good.

Why is the FNVT compelling to me?

Though born in Indiana, and a resident now as an adult since 1992, I grew up as a child in Ontario, next to Lake Huron, and attended school with Chippewa Indian classmates. While both Canada and the USA have disgusting and inexcusable and wicked legacies for their treatment of First Nation communities, Canada is ahead of the USA regarding the core values of honesty and responsibility, respect and caring – and it’s noticeable – or lack of, here in Indiana.

The impulse and experience of the FNVT for me regrounds me, but also displaces me – upends my familiarity with the text, and opens me up to a world and culture of a people oppressed in the name of God – the same God who originally died for them. Oh the irony. Oh the complexity of the story. Oh the faithfulness of the Great Spirit and the reconciliation by the Chosen One.

It’s a simple invitation: buy a copy of the First Nations Version and pledge to keep The Morning Watch. Your YMCA, your church, your family, your community will be grateful.

Click here to learn more about FNVT and how to purchase your copy.