Journeying for justice

It was a vibrant and powerful weekend at International Justice Mission's Global Prayer Gathering. I have been a big fan of IJM for about 7 years, ever since I first heard about the organization while at SPU and read Gary Haugen's book Good News About Injustice. The organization's distinct mission to secure justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression is incredible. We live in a culture where working in the field of sexual exploitation and trafficking has become kind of "sexy." Saving lives has become sexy. If you have invested or even dabbled in this field very long, you know what I'm talking about. IJM rises above this all too familiar trend and does not shy away from the rawness of pain, suffering, and injustice. They uniquely deal with reality and invite others to taste some of the darkest parts of this kind of work, but they press forward with immense hope. IJM's professionalism is something that I've rarely seen elsewhere, which is evident not only in the presentation of who they are, but also in their fourfold methodology: victim relief, perpetrator accountability, victim aftercare, and structural prevention.
This weekend was a time for people to come together in prayer and lift up the work and faces of IJM. I heard countless stories of people from all over the globe and their battles with injustice; some had happy endings and others did not. With the details of many of these stories you could feel the heaviness that evokes feelings of hopelessness in a broken world. The complete evil and opposition that so many face all over the world is just unfathomable when you really let yourself absorb what you hear.
Despite this, I found complete hope in my experience this weekend. I was reminded of God's power to overcome injustice. And as I found myself surrounded by people that have touched my life in all of the major life stages of my adulthood (college, grad school and now DC), his presence in this work hit me and broke down barriers that had grown all too familiar to me.
He has not abandoned us in this difficult work. He has not left us to fend for ourselves and figure it out as we go. He advocates for us and he campaigns for those we seek to serve. His ears hear and his eyes see. He weaps with us and yet offers us a hope and joy that we cannot comprehend. On the opening night of the conference Gary asked us to write down three specific things we wanted from God that weekend. On Sunday as we were closing out the weekend, he asked us to look at what we wrote down. I kid you not, these three areas were the exact areas where he broke down walls for me. That was his gentle (or not so gentle) reminder that he walks with me in this fight against injustice. I read about cases of oppression that effect the poor every day in my work and often times I become numb to the depths of its pain, but God reminded me that it's okay to weap for the oppressed. In our weakness his power is made perfect. In our vulnerability and cries out to God for justice, he reminds us that he is still fighting. He fights with us...in fact it is us partnering with him, not the other way away. He began the fight not us. Because of his commitment to justice and goodness, we join in that and press on.

"Be joyful in hope, patient in suffering, persevering in prayer" ~Romans 12:12

Sunday night when I got home I received a call from my oldest friend Jolleen. We've known each other since we were in preschool, but have been separated by distance since 5th grade. Even though we don't talk or see each other all that often, we have always loved being part of each other's lives. Her out-of-the-blue call was the perfect way to end the weekend. Jolleen had come across a six-page letter I had written her when I was 15 years old that spoke of my first real encounter with poverty and injustice. I had just come back from my first "mission" trip and knew that God had called me to commit my life to working for the marginalized and poorest of the poor in the developing world. Her kind words brought it full circle for me and really encouraged my heart. It's been 11 years since that summer he put this call on my life and he has been so faithful to walk with me and lead me in this journey. My heart is grateful and filled with joy for the break-throughs of his loving goodness.
Let me close by leaving you the lyrics to a song that has meant a lot to me this weekend:

Mighty to Save

Everyone needs compassion,
Love that's never failing;
Let mercy fall on me.

Everyone needs forgiveness,
The kindness of a Savior;
The Hope of nations.

Savior, He can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to save,
He is Mighty to save.

Forever, Author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave.

So take me as You find me,
All my fears and failures,
Fill my life again.

I give my life to follow
Everything I believe in,
Now I surrender.

My Savior, He can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to save,
He is Mighty to save.
Forever, Author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave.

Shine your light and let the whole world see,
We're singing for the glory of the risen King...Jesus (x2)

My Savior, He can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to save,
He is Mighty to save.
Forever, Author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave.

My Savior, you can move the mountains,
You are mighty to save,
You are mighty to save.
Forever, Author of Salvation,
You rose and conquered the grave,
Yes you conquered the grave.

Lenten Reflections

We are now a week and a half into the Lenten season and I just wanted to take a few brief moments to reflect upon its significance. Although my family and the church I grew up in never celebrated Lent, every year I am finding it increasingly vital to my understanding of who Christ is. This year is no exception. For those unfamiliar with Lent, it is a time aside for prayer, fasting, abstinence and reflection, all in anticipation of the joyous celebration of Easter. This Ash Wednesday I saw the importance and meaning of the ashes in a new way.
"...for dust you are and to dust you will return." ~Genesis 3:19
Although the ashes symbolize atonement and contrition, they are also a reminder that God is gracious and merciful to those who call on Him with repentant hearts. His divine mercy is of utmost importance during the season of Lent, and the Church calls on us to seek that mercy during the entire Lenten season with reflection, prayer and penance.
"Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity." ~Joel 2:13
The liturgical use of ashes developed in the Old Testament times. Ashes symbolized mourning, mortality and penance. Mordecai put on sackcloth and ashes when he heard of the decree of King Ahasuerus to kill all of the Jewish people in the Persian Empire (Esther 4:1). Job repented in sackcloth and ashes (Job 42:6). In relationship to the prophesy of the Babylonian captivity of Jerusalem, Daniel wrote, "So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes" (Daniel 9:3).
The Church adapted the use of ashes to mark the beginning of the season of Lent, when we remember our mortality and mourn for our sins. In today's liturgy for Ash Wednesday, the ashes used are made from the burned palm branches distributed on the Palm Sunday of the previous year. As followers of Christ, we must remember the significance of the ashes we have received. We mourn for our sins. We again convert our hearts to the Lord, who suffered, died, and rose for our salvation. We abstain from certain distractions or valued pieces of our lives or commit to a specific type of discipline, all so that we lean into Christ and take the time to focus on who He is. We renew the promises made when we first received God's grace, when we died to an old life and rose to a new life with Christ. Mindful that the kingdom of this world will pass away, we strive to live the kingdom of God now and look forward to its fulfillment in heaven as we embrace the "already but not yet" of the Lenten season.
Some will say this doesn't make sense to them as they claim, "Christ already rose from dead. He's already conquered death so what's the point of putting yourself through a season of penance and mourning?" This question misses the point and chooses to ignore that faith requires a deeper reflection of the Biblical narrative and the choices we have made, both collectively in our humanity and as individuals. This question and its mentality implies an artificial understanding of God's grace misses the complexities and sorrows that fill life. Furthermore, it also misses the opportunity to understand a little bit more about the pain and sorrow that the Triune God endured through the Biblical narrative and throughout modern history as we have turned our backs on God over and over again. In past seasons of Lenten I have tasted that sorrow and become more aware of the sorrow my decisions have put upon the One that longs to know me most.
Embracing the season of Lent is not a self-righteous journey; again this misses the whole point. We participate out of our response to know God and to enter into our humanity while also moving away from our humanity through selfless sacrifice.
May this Lenten season bring you hope as you anticipate the coming of Christ.