Each Wednesday during lent, an odd dozen or so gathered to eat, study, and be together. We read George Williamson's book, Radicals! An Anabaptist Manifesto to the Current World Crisis. Our discussions stirred up questions:
What does it really mean to be free? Is it the ability to buy whatever you want, when you want, to drive what you will, to consume whatever you want when you want? Is this freedom? Is freedom the opposite of slavery? Occupation? Fascism? Communism? Terrorism? Are these the opposites of freedom? What do we know of God and freedom – what does scripture teach, what does Jesus say about freedom? As we read it, God requires us to seek justice and love mercy, Jesus tells us to know the truth, for the truth will set us free. Jesus teaches that whatever we do (or don't do) to the ones who have nothing, the ones many think are nothing, however we treat those are how we treat God. How can you claim to love God, who you can't see, while abusing your sister or brother, here, who you can see? Put your money where your mouth is. For everyone to have enough, some need more, while others need to give up and share out what they have. This is freedom – living beyond the mastery of possessions, beyond reductionist labels, beyond the fear of death, into real lived life. True freedom is for all to live as God intends, this is heaven come to earth. We all must work together to make it. How do you insist and create this freedom for all?
The government promised all citizens $300 - $600 tax rebate checks beginning in May. Politicians hope the economy gets stimulated before the elections, and tell us this ought do the trick. We wondered how buying new plasma screen tvs would really help people do better. Someone present challenged us to put our tax checks somewhere really useful, to really stimulate the economy, and further, to boost the community by giving our money to someone who really made a difference. Render Away from Caesar. We talked about community gardens, microlending, putting in a playground in a peace park in El Salvador, all work rooted in justice. We decided to pray on it, and see where the Spirit led. You better be ready when you make that your prayer. We told the rest of the church. The ideas kept coming: job training programs for women coming out of abusive places, Habitat for Humanity, Doctors without Borders, solar cookers for women in refugee camps in Chad. It became clear that there was no way to make this about one thing.
Not all can give $600, but everyone can pray and pay attention to where their gift could really make a difference. Some can give $30 for a cooker, others may sweeten the $600 pot with more to give.
Right now, the list gives ideas of where all our tax monies could go (think of it as your opportunity to allocate public funds).
Around June 1, assuming the checks really are in the mail, we'll begin posting where it all went, and where it keeps going. And growing.
