Ideas for Action

I remember the excitement I felt when our refugee friends walked into the waiting area at O’Hare. The little group from our church did not know how to speak to them, but we had attempted some signs in Arabic and brought small gifts and flowers to try to show them a warm welcome.

From the very beginning of God’s walk with his people, the blessings they enjoyed because of their relationship with God were meant to overflow. “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you,” God promised Abraham.

Welcoming refugees has galvanized the Christian Reformed Church for decades. On both sides of the border, churches have stood in the gap for people fleeing persecution, whether by sponsoring refugees, supporting community organizations that address refugee needs, welcoming refugees to their churches, or sharing a cup of chai. In some churches, the list of the countries of origin of the refugees they have sponsored reads like a history of the world’s conflicts of the last 50 years: Vietnam, Cambodia, Eastern Europe, Colombia, Congo, Central African Republic, Iraq, Syria.  

In keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where justice dwells.

—2 Peter 3:13

In the face of injustice, it can be easy for us as Christians to become so overwhelmed by the scope of sin that we fail to do anything at all. But there are a number of ways that God’s people are called to respond to the injustices we see around us. When we look to God, and to God’s vision for us, we find an invitation to remember, pray, and advocate.

An earlier post described my journey of coming to recognize the privilege I have unwittingly enjoyed all my life. A second post invited people to read two books that might help them better recognize their privilege.

This is the last post in our Justice and the Reformed Confessions series. View the other posts in the series here. 

This is the forth post in our Justice and the Reformed Confessions series. Subscribe here to make sure you don't miss a post and to view the other posts in the series. 

Jesus’ Sabbath Troubles

Have you ever noticed how often Jesus got into trouble on the Sabbath? The gospel accounts point out numerous times that Jesus was frequently accused of breaking the Sabbath. Consider some of these examples:

We, as the church, exist in the midst of a present darkness--a struggle, not just against flesh and blood, but against rulers, authorities, and powers in the spiritual realm. We are also called to be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power equipped with the full armor of God --standing firm in its truth, righteousness and peace, being always protected through faith and salvation and armed with the sword of the Spirit, the word of God (Ephesians 6).

In September 2016, the Government of Canada launched a ‘National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’, after decades of advocacy from Indigenous groups. Its mission is defined by three goals: finding the truth; honouring the truth; and giving life to the truth as a path to healing. These goals parallel the power of Biblical stories that reveal the truth of human relationships, demand that the truth be honoured, and call humanity to healing through repentance and justice.

November 11, 2011 was a critical day for the Egyptian Church.

Following months of revolutionary activity, and the blood of many political martyrs, and coming on the heels of almost a decade of faithful prayer for their country, 70,000 Christians of many denominations drew together in a night vigil of worship and prayer at the famous cave churches in Mokattam, at the heart of Cairo, calling to God, to bring transformation, hope, and renewal to the church and the people of Egypt and the Middle East. (The image above shows one of the cave churches.)