9 March 2005

Again, Walter Brueggemann from "The Prophetic Imagination."

We continue with some comments about the guerilla warfare in which the poet fights on the side of the oppressed.
For example, witness the black churches and civil rights movements or the liberation resistance in Latin America. The cult may be a staging for the inversion that the kings think is not possible. It is the inversion that the grim royal middle class among us does not believe in and it is the inversion that surprises people who are powerless. Inversions are not easy, not without cost, and never neat and clear.

Remember that those who claim to hold power cannot see that anyone else is able to muster enough power -of any kind- to be a threat to the status quo. And yet, with the wealth of liberation language and imagery we have in the Church, there is a power that has been used against oppressive and controlling powers throughout the generations. It is interesting to see in our own country that religious language - specifically some elements of the Church - have been using, what I would call a holy poetic language, in order to be an part of the cohort of control and power. Somehow, we need more poets who remember back to how Isaiah and Jeremiah and Amos and Jesus, were so powerful in language that the powers seemed threatened to them - even to the point of wanting to get rid of them.

Connection: It is good to listen to the words of the powers that be through a bias. Think of it as merely tilting your head and asking "Who benefits from this?" For example, I just heard that the house and senate of the State of Ohio passed a campaign finance bill that allows individuals to now contribute up to $10,000.00 to a candidate (that's up by quite a bit). But even more amazing, is that it is for residents 7 years old and above. Tell me what 7 year old....but maybe parents...maybe parents with a lot of money...parents who want to use that money to have things go in their favor. Now tilt your head. Who is losing out here...who is winning - big time?!?

Liberating Lord, the day is too full of all the ways the powers of the day try to keep or gain more power for themselves even if it is at the expense of others. What are we to do? How are we to act? We need you liberating presence to lift up our minds and our voices to serve all people. Amen.