The Power of Changing the Subject

"The Ann Arbor News crime column reported that a man walked into a Burger King in Ypsilanti, Michigan, at 5 a.m., flashed a gun, and demanded cash. The clerk turned him down because he said he couldn't open the cash register without a food order. When the man ordered onion rings, the clerk said they weren't available for breakfast. The man, frustrated, walked away."

The Power of the Thumb

So, I'm a fool like everyone else, and would much prefer to read an article on the lives of celebrities and their ridiculous lifestyles, than the ridiculous way lives are being lost in African Nations to disease and genocide.

I am part of the problem when it comes to what news media outlets choose to consider "news." I was awakened to this recently when Condi Rice went to the Sudan and the government guards roughed up some reporters. This was the lead story on CNN and Fox news that day. "CNN, Fox, and NBC camera crew get manhandled in Sudan!"

What was not the focus was the genocide taking place in that nation. That was the after thought: "oh, yeah, this is why Rice is even in the country. Here's some shots of her with women who have been repeatedly raped by soldiers and are now in a camp for protection. BUT did you see the way their guards pushed OUR camera guys out of the office when we started asking questions?!?! Don't the Sudanese know about the First Amendment?"

This is part of the problem for our post-modern culture: what is valuable is determined by us, by our tastes, by our channel changer.

And when we do not have a taste for being informed of the real horrors of Africa--detail by detail--it is no longer "newsworthy." So sad. It is an incredible power that we possess to simply change the channel, and deem such atrocities irrelevant.

Capitalism is based on demand, and unless we long to here raw, awful things from around the world, such events will not be news. Instead, Tom Cruise's opinion of anti-depressants, or Michael Jackson's seduction techniques will capture our headlines.

It blows my mind that talk of reparations for slavery has been covered more extensively by politicians and (especially) by university classes and journal articles than the current slave trade in Asia of little girls. Making the descendents of slave owners pay for things their great, great grandfather did is obviously worth more of our intellectual energy than actually freeing slaves (some of whom make Americans rich through the lavish porn empire and 'hot_asian_hoochies.com' or whatever).

Christ followers need to be at the front of demanding that human pain be front and center from our journalists. It is not pretty, but only by seeing what is tragic can a communal desire for justice arise. When moral issues (like the Terri Schivo circus) grab headlines, things get done. That's how a democracy like ours works: its design makes it reactive. This is why the American Media, not any president or court, hold the most power on earth. They can tell hundreds of millions of people each day what is real, and through there words can determine what our congress and president must react to. We must pray for such folks, and encourage them as Brian McLaren does in This Article.

Case and Point

On CNN, Larry King recently interviewed five Christians listed in a recent Time magazine article as "the most influential evangelicals" today.

Notice who King feels comfortable arguing with and pushing to extremes. Notice the ideas King is prepared to berate. Note the predictable dose of condescention when certain topics and opinions appear. Note the ignorance of what language the world speaks, which phrases invite ridicule.

But notice how when a generous, healing answer is given, things move on. Notice that when someone articulates a self-sacrifical position and says I'll walk that path with hurting people, how the interlocutor must move on. There' s really no controversy when someone gives an answer that focuses on loving other people. Best for King to find the sword swinger, so he can improve Ted Turner's ratings.

Here's a command that's not found in the 18th chapter of Leviticus, but ought to be forefront on the mind of any Christian stepping in front of a TV camera: "I am sending you out to be sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." (Mt. 10:16)

We need more hissing from those who say they speak for our community.

Kindness and Other People

"Always be kind, for everyone is involved in a great battle."

This was wisdom past on to me recently which challenged how I was treating some folks in some very difficult discussions. The proverb was reaffirmed when I saw this video today by Seether.

Now you may be a MTV buff, but I don't frequent video channels. In fact, I find 'the painful death of MTV' a worthy prayer request (some corperations are appropriate targets of our swords, and should be hacked to pieces...or can such institutions be redeemed? Maybe I'm too hasty). Thankfully, I really liked this song, could not find it anywhere for 99 cents, and went googling for it.

I found the images in this video powerful. I long for you to see them and comment.

Who's Malchus?

There's a story told in all four of the Gospels in which a large crowd armed with swords and clubs comes to arrest Jesus. This is a scary situation, and Jesus' followers are obviously anxious and do not know what to do. One of them reacts violently. In order to save his teacher and friend from being arrested, he is willing to draw his own sword and start swinging. He hits a man named Malchus, who is a servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Malchus obviously approves of arresting Jesus, may even know that Jesus will be killed the next day, and he's there to report to his bosses what happened.

He is one of the many different faces who oppose Jesus in their own way.

In reaction, Jesus stops the violence, picks up Malchus' ear, and heals him. Instead of reacting against Malchus and the others in this crowd with a show of force ("my daddy can beat up your daddy" (Mt. 27:53)), Jesus chooses to restore the world. He chooses to "drink the cup" his father has given him (Jn. 18:11).

The restoration--the breaking in of the Kingdom of God into our world--takes place in a small way here with the healing of Malchus. Instead of reacting against violent men in a violent way, Jesus offers something else. This is a better way in a world full of swords.

What does this mean for us in our world? What swords do we swing when we're scared? How can we, instead, assist God in bringing restoration to our world?

What does it look like for me to heal Malchus?

Welcome

This is a site built to empower us to bring the healing Jesus offers to our world, instead of bringing reactive words, tension, and divisiveness.

Jesus offers Restoration, but often we choose to react to opposition in the same way we are being opposed. In short, we hit back. We long to defend our territory and our dignity. We hold fast to "Eye for an eye. Tooth for a tooth." Too often Christians feel justified in assaulting the fallen world, for being the fallen world.

But there are rumors that perhaps our territory and dignity do not need to be defended (even with six legions of angels at the ready).

There are rumors of a better way.

Perhaps we can find it together.