Last week I was involved in a two day workshop and staff training led by Ric Matthews, Executive Minister of Community Life. Ric is from South Africa and has amazing insight from his experiences in the dissolution of Apartheid. He shared a Zulu greeting that sent excited shivers down my spine. If a Zulu were to greet me, he would say in his language, "I see you, Ross." My response would be "I am here." If we met later, the greeting would be the same rather than just another possible hello as in Western culture. A basic sense of belonging and identity is to experience being seen or visible. Most words that follow "I am" are statements of identity. Not belonging or dislocation of identity is at the roots of addiction.
Marginalized people are outside the margins of those we would categorize as mainstream or normal. Society tries to "fix" the marginalized, assuming they can be rational. If this doesn't succeed we "contain" them (low income housing, mental hospitals or incarceration). Those outside this marginalized group are the most troubled, disturbed and irrational. These are the homeless and addicted that First United serves in the Downtown Eastside (DTES).
Why this Zulu greeting gripped me so strongly was remembering a woman in DTES writing "how she would like to be acknowledged with a glance, a nod, a smile or even swore at which would be better than being ignored." Research from neuroscience has shown that many in society have learned to ignore the marginalized so successfully, that blood doesn't even flow and activate the empathy centers of the brain when they encounter them. Thus the marginalized become "invisible."
The gospel (good news) is so much more than the discussion of salvation, and describes the full life, death, resurrection, ascention and intervention of Jesus’ ongoing work on our behalf. To this marginalized population we need to "be the gospel"! Nowhere in the Bible does it indicate Christians doing triage, that is just working with those we think most likely will survive. How do we communicate to the marginalized "that we see them?" Consider seeing the damaged child in them.
To read some short personal stories of those living in DTES click Stories and then again on Stories in the top toolbar and then click on each photo.
Being 'invisible" is a tough pill to swallow for most of us. So much more so for those who feel that there is no way out, or that they aren't worth to be seen.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly enough, there are many native greetings in the world that reflect the harsh realities of existence. One that I have encountered is a Wolof tribal response to a simple greeting. When you greet them in their tongue (roughly translated - "It is good to see you today!"),they respond, (trans. "I am not dead yet!").
Is it enough for us to know that others "aren't dead yet?" How can we acknowledge the values of lives made in God's image, caught in the consequences of their choices, (or possibly just a culture that denies God's power, presence, and provision)?
Thanks for your thoughts Mike. I think your last paragraph was rhetorical, but I would like to respond nevertheless. The solution must be grounded in an intentional (skilled and prepared), inclusive, gospel driven community that replaces the broken cultural / social elements that characterize the etiology of the marginalized. I am so thrilled! Last week I learned that First United will include me in a “Faculty” that will offer on hand training to groups and churches interested in addressing the needs of the marginalized. This brings a missional focus to "church" and is the focus of the workshops I have been offering.
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