The Image of God

Why are we here? What is our purpose, our reason for being? While this can be, and really must be an essential personal question, it is also a question that can, and should be asked of the entirety of humanity. Why are humans even here? In fact, I believe that before we can really answer that question in it's personal, individual form, "Why am I here?" we must first tackle the question from the broader perspective, "Why are we here?" For answers I believe we can turn to the sacred texts of the Jewish, Muslim, and Christian traditions. The Tanakh, Qur'an, and the Bible each understand humanity as the result of deliberate, intentional creation by an intelligent, all powerful God. The names may be different, YHWH, Allah, or just God but the creation story is essentially the same in either account.

In a time when there was no physical realm, as we have come to know it, this relational God decided to create a world and populate it with all types of living creatures, humans among them. The Christian Bible records the event this way,

"God said, "Now we will make humans, and they will be like us. We will let them rule the fish, the birds, and all other living creatures."    ²⁷So God created humans to be like himself; he made men and women. ²⁸God gave them his blessing and said:   Have a lot of children! Fill the earth with people and bring it under your control. Rule over the fish in the ocean, the birds in the sky, and every animal on the earth.    ²⁹I have provided all kinds of fruit and grain for you to eat. ³⁰And I have given the green plants as food for everything else that breathes. These will be food for animals, both wild and tame, and for birds." (Gen. 1:26-29, CEV)

I find it most interesting that the charge and challenge to the newly created being was not, "Praise GOD!". God does not say to the men and women, newly created, "I have created you for My praise". God does not put emphasis on a vertical relationship between humans and God that already existed by virtue of the act of creation itself. As beings created by God, humans are naturally going to seek relationship with God, the creator. What God wanted to emphasize to the newly created men and women is the relationship to the creation.

Many of us already know the pain and heartache that comes from not developing a relationship with the God of creation. We can feel the emptiness of a void that just cannot be filled with anything else no matter how we try. As the One who created us God knows that we will have to come into relationship our creator if we are to live truly fulfilling lives. It is our relationship with one another that God wants us to be intentional about. Notice that the command that God give the newly created men and women is to, "have a lot of children! Fill the earth with people and bring it [the earth] under control. Rule over the fish in the ocean, the birds in the sky, and every animal on the earth."

It has been well noted that the text here says, "So God created humans to be like himself". Books have been written about the fact that we are created in the "Imago Dei", the image, or likeness of God. In what sense are we the image of God? In what way can it be said that we are the image of God? We need look no further than the creation account here cited for answers to this question. Traditional western theological thought puts emphasis on rule and dominion here. I want to suggest that God gives the example of what He has already done to demonstrate what he expects from His creation. God says, "I have provided all kinds of fruit and grain for you to eat. ³⁰And I have given the green plants as food for everything else that breathes." This God who is powerful enough to speak a world into existence, who by the power of His might and will caused all things to be, does not give a demonstration of His dominion and power. Rather God demonstrates who He is by highlighting His care!

Care for creation is the image of God, not rule and domination which has lead to injustice, war, hatred, and the most hideous acts of man's inhumanity to man. (Isa. 5:7) God in essence says to us that it is in how we care for one another, for our earth, and the other creatures that inhabit it that we demonstrate the "imago dei" Understanding this brings clearer meaning to the parable of The Good Samaritan. It is how we care for one another, both individually and collectively as a society, that will ultimately determine the extent to which we display the "image and likeness of God". When we call other human beings "illegal", or "illegitimate" we do not display the image of God. When a few get rich at the expense of the many, we do not display the image of God. When we say that some people are not worth a living wage, we do not display the image of God. When quality healthcare is reserved for the well, the well off, and the wealthy we do not display the image of God.

From the very beginning of creation God has made it clear that our responsibility to display the "imago dei" means not only looking inward and upward, but it means looking outward, to the left and to the right, in front and behind. Our challenge and responsibility is not just to love God, but to do so by following the teaching of Jesus to, "Love your neighbor as yourself". We live in the image of God when we reach out to others and . . .

Make A Difference . . . For Life ! !

My Name Is Nehemiah

My name is Nehemiah and I have heard the plight of my people I am a Metro-Nashville government custodial worker:

During the month of Chislev ^[a] in the twentieth year that Artaxerxes ^[b] ruled Persia, I was in his fortress city of Susa, ^[c] 2when my brother Hanani came with some men from Judah. So I asked them about the Jews who had escaped ^[d] from being captives in Babylonia. I also asked them about the city of Jerusalem. (Neh. 1:1-3, CEV)

During the month of March in the third year that Karl Dean ruled Nashville, I was in City Hall and some of my colleagues came from the schools in the district. So I asked them about those who had escaped from being laid off, the ones who have worked without a pay increase for the last four years, who have had to deal with increases in electricity, gas, food, and housing prices without a single increase or adjustment in pay.

 ³They told me, " Those captives who have come back are having all kinds of troubles. They are terribly disgraced, Jerusalem's walls are broken down, and its gates have been burned."(Neh. 1:3, CEV)

They told me, "The custodial workers who have stayed are having all kinds of troubles. The Director of Schools has written them out of the budget, and the school board has approved that budget to go before the Mayor and the council. The custodians have no protection from losing their benefits, getting lower pay, or even losing their jobs altogether."

⁴When I heard this, I sat down and cried. . . . and I prayed:

⁵LORD God of heaven . . . please have mercy on me and answer the prayer that I make day and night for these people of Israel . . . ¹⁰Our LORD, I am praying for your servants--those you rescued by your great strength and mighty power. ¹¹Please answer my prayer and the prayer of your other servants who gladly honor your name. When I serve the king his wine today, make him pleased with me and have him do what I ask. (Neh. 1:4-5)

When I heard this, I sat down and cried and I prayed: "Lord God of heaven, please hear my prayer for these custodial workers, who are considered the least. As I go about my duties for the Metro-Government let the Mayor appreciate, and value the work of custodians, and have him do what we ask.

⁷Then I asked, " Your Majesty, would you be willing to give me letters to the governors of the provinces west of the Euphrates River, so that I can travel safely to Judah?  "⁸I will need timber to rebuild the gates of the fortress near the temple and more timber to construct the city wall and to build a place for me to live. And so, I would appreciate a letter to Asaph, who is in charge of the royal forest." God was good to me, and the king did everything I asked. (Neh 2:8, CEV)

So we ask, "Mr. Mayor, would you be willing to give direction to the School Board so that the jobs and welfare of the custodial workers will make it safely through this budget process? The schools will need enough appropriation to make this a reality, so we would appreciate that you would make this plain in the budget that you send to the council for their approval.

Nehemiah was willing to get out of his comfort zone, stand up, and make a determination that, regardless of personal consequences, he was not just going to let things go on without speaking up, and speaking out.

The question for those of us who preach "good news to the poor" is, "Are you willing to get out of your comfort zone? Can you speak up, and speak out without regard to personal consequences?

Will you be a Nehemiah?"

Make A Difference . . . For Life ! ! !

True(ly Just) Preaching

I attended the Garnett-Nabritt Lecture Series at American Baptist College last week. The theme of the series this year was, "Between Faith and Freedom, a College in the Middle of a Movement". This year's series commemorated the 50^th anniversary of the Nashville Sit-ins of 1960 that desegregated the lunch counters of downtown Nashville, and began the process of non-violent peaceful protest that ostensibly ended "Jim Crow" in all of Nashville. I say ostensibly because, though there is the appearance of integration, it is only a fascade, and even worse equality has still not been achieved. Inequality exists on several levels not only in Nashville, but through out the entire nation as well.

The idea that we truly have an integrated society is a fallacy. A truly integrated society would be one in which differences would be accepted, not just tolerated, but truly accepted as equal parts of the society and the conversation. What we have today is a society which accepts people to the extent that they are willing to become a part of the dominant culture. Differences in religion, lifestyle, styles of dress, even language, are tolerated, but they are not generally accepted as equal partners in the society. When the Muslim U.S. Representative from the state of Minnesota wanted to be sworn into office using the text which he holds sacred, the Quran, there was a huge public outcry. In those very same halls of congress are several "closet" homosexuals who fear exposure. Most of these people are stalwart, productive, valuable members and leaders in their communities. If it became public knowledge that they where homosexual however, it would be as if they no longer had any value, or voice in the community. Of course some might point to Harvey Milk and Barney Frank, but they are exceptions rather than the rule. Consider the baggy pants wearing rappers, like Tupak, and Biggie, or even Eminem, whose voices and message are pushed to the margins and considered good only for "entertainment". The proliferation of "English Only" and "English First" initiatives seeks to further marginalize those who for one reason or another, in one way or another, do not assimilate into the dominant culture.

In 1954 the majority opinion of the Supreme Court of the United States in "Brown v. The Board of Education" stated that separate is inherently unequal. While this may be true, our experience over the last 56 years has been that the opposite is not necessarily true. Integrated is not inherently equal. Ten years into a new century and there are still major disparities in the education of minority children and white children. Dropout rates among children of color, especially males, continues to outpace their ratio of the population. There are still disparities in the quality of teachers, and resources between schools in the same school district but in different sections of town. Minority children are still treated differently than white children, in the same school, as regards suspension, and other forms of discipline.

It is against this backdrop that American Baptist College used the 53^rd Annual GNL Series to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the Nashville sit-ins. Many of the leaders of that movement, and the Civil Rights Movement of which the sit-ins where but a part, where students at American Baptist College . John Lewis, the late Dr. James Bevel, Dr. Bernard Lafayette, and Dr. C.T. Vivian were all students. These young men had responded to the call of God on their lives to the ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As they learned more about that Gospel, and that call they became aware that there was an inescapable connection between service to God, and service to humanity. They came to understand afresh the real meaning of Jesus' words in response to the question of which was the greatest commandment:

Jesus answered:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. ³⁸This is the first and most important commandment. ³⁹The second most important commandment is like this one. And it is, "Love others as much as you love yourself." ⁴⁰All the Law of Moses and the Books of the Prophets ^[a] are based on these two commandments. (Matt. 22.37-40, CEV)

For them there is a reality to the words we learned to pray as children; "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven". These young preachers learned that how we live in relationship to one another right here, and now cannot be separated from how much we say we love and honor God. They learned this, not apart from the gospel of Jesus, but in the context of that Gospel. In the light of the words of Jesus himself as quoted above, and also Jesus' own theme scripture for his ministry and work among us as recorded in Luke chapter 4:

¹⁸"The Lord's Spirit has come to me, because he has chosen me to tell the good news to the poor. The Lord has sent me to announce freedom for prisoners, to give sight to the blind, to free everyone who suffers, ¹⁹and to say, `This is the year the Lord has chosen.' " (Luke 4:18-19, CEV)

These young preachers realized that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is necessarily a social gospel, it cannot be anything other. They further realized that ministers of this Gospel cannot be content to simply go along with a status quo that is in direct opposition to the principles of this gospel that is social in nature. This is the reason they marched, sat-in, rode busses, went to jail, and yes, preached. They preached, and still preach, the same Gospel that Jesus preached. They preach a gospel that challenges the status quo. They preach a gospel that said then that things, as they are, have to change. Inequality, and injustice are not of God and we cannot stand idly by , saying and doing nothing.

The circumstances of their time and ours are not dissimilar. Today we face inequality, and injustice in our communities, on our jobs, and in our schools. We are given the choice to assimilate or be pushed to the margins and silenced. This is not loving "your neighbor as much as you love yourself". Just as the social climate of inequality and injustice has not changed over the last fifty plus years, neither has the nature of this Gospel to which a new generation of young men and women have been called. Now, as then, the challenge for ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, this clearly "social" gospel, is to stand up, speak out, and say that things, as they are, have to change. We may have to march, we may have to demonstrate, we may have to go to jail, and we will definitely have to preach, not only in our words, but in our living and action as well. "The Lord's Spirit has come to me . . ."

Make A Difference . . . . . For Life ! ! !