Seeking Justice Together

The state of Australian political parties is rather pathetic. The international aid and development industry is rife with bureaucracy and greed. The Christian church is as much a breeding ground for hypocrisy, fear and hate as any other community.
These aren't the most hopeful of conversation topics, but in the last month I have blessed by time spent with good friends discussing these very issues at length. I have found great encouragement in fellowshipping with others attempting to combat the apathy and confusion we see around us and within us everyday.
Having spent the last few years studying for a BA in Development Studies and Cultural Change, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the lack of understanding and concern in the wider community around me. Concern for justice, integrity and compassion in our government, the global community and our churches. I struggle to understand how Christ's followers, the very people who should be the voice of revolution and hopeful justice, are so often lacking in compassion and action.
The Jesus I've met in the gospels was a voice of hope, justice and compassion throughout his life and ministry. But to be honest, I haven't met this Jesus much in current Christian culture. I've had some very lonely times wondering if maybe I was alone in my experiences, wondering if I had got this Christian faith all wrong. I knew there were writers and thinkers out 'there', but did anyone in my communities feel or think the same way as me?
Thankfully, I've discovered the answer to that last question is yes! I'm blessed to have met other Christ followers studying development, working with churches to advocate for the powerless, using their creativity to bring attention to poverty; people seeking change and justice in whatever situations they find themselves. This gives me hope... and challenges me to make some noise as well. And the more I talk with others wrestling with the same issues and questions, the more I am energised to seek solutions.
We don't often seem to find answers. Things continue to depress us. We raise more questions. People criticise us. But in meeting together and sharing our burdens and passions, we catch a glimpse of the community Jesus described and the way of life he lived on earth. It is for this reason we must not give up talking and asking questions of each other. It is only in beginning to seek justice together that change can begin to happen.
My prayer is like Leunig says:

"God help us to change. To change ourselves and to change the world. To know the need for it. To deal with the pain of it. To undertake the journey without understanding the destination. The art of gentle revolution. Amen"

And I'm so grateful to Laura, Alex, Bron and all the others who are seeking justice with me....

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

– Martin Luther King Jr.

It is one thing to be passionate about social justice and global issues, to read vigorously about many ideas and think you want to change the world.... a whole other idea to actually move to make a difference. While I am completing a university degree that will give me skills to work in the international development sector, I also need to be consistent about speaking out and acting on the issues that I consider important.
Do I actively tell people about the injustices I know about? Do I critique, analyse and make judgments consistently about what I see, learn and read? Does my lifestyle reflect what I believe about justice, simplicity and the environment? Am I so moved and passionate that I can’t help but be vocal to all I meet about the things that matter? Unfortunately, most of the time the answer is no. Why is that? And why do I find it so hard to be vocal about my faith, when God has made such a difference in my life and the hope I have could change so many lives?
I find it easy to condemn others ignorance and apathy, but the reality is that I am often just as apathetic. In fact, if I have knowledge am I not more responsible to act than those that do not know? My life is so comfortable, I am so blessed, that it is hard to get up and move beyond my comfort.
But I must.
One of my goals for this new year is that I move more and make more noise about the things that matter. I want to live up to the old African proverb that says, ‘when you pray, move your feet.’ I want to do this because I see injustices. I want to do this because there is hope. I want to do this not out of guilt, but because I know I’m blessed. I am grateful for all I have but I want the gratefulness to move me.
So this year I will commit to asking the hard questions of myself and those around me. I will commit to challenging my apathy and lack of passion.
I will commit to doing something!