The Sustainist

Feeding of the Multitudes

In the village of Jobra, Bangladesh in 1976, Muhammad Yunus was shocked to discover that 42 very poor families had borrowed a total of 856 taka (roughly $27 U.S. dollars) from the moneylenders, who virtually enslaved them with high interest and unfair condition imposed on the loans.  He wrote in his book, Building Social Business, “To free these forty-two people from the clutches of the moneylenders, I reached into my own pocket and gave them the money to repay the loans.  The excitement that was created in the village by this small action touched me deeply.  I thought, ‘If this little action makes so many people so happy, why shouldn’t I do more of this?’” 

So, he tried for several months to convince local banks to lend money to the poor but they all refused on the ground that the poor were not creditworthy.  He then offered to become a guarantor for the loans to the poor and was successful in getting the loans from the bank. Acting as an informal banker, he came up with a few simple rules “such as having people repay their loans in small weekly amounts and having the bank officer visit the villagers rather than making the villagers visit the bank. These ideas worked.  People paid back the loans on time, every time.”  

After encountering more difficulties in expanding the program through existing banks, he decided to create a separate bank for the poor. This was the beginning of Grameen Bank or “village bank,” in the Bengali language. Today, Grameen Bank lends out over $100 million a month in collateral-free loans, serving the poor in every single village of Bangladesh. The bank is actually owned by the borrowers, who, as shareholders, elect 9 of the 13 members of the board of directors.  Grameen Bank even lends to beggars. In 4 years since the launching of this program, over 18,000 have quit begging. Grameen Bank offers affordable loans for children of borrowers to go to school. More than 50,000 students benefited from these loans pursuing education in medical schools, engineering schools and universities. Grameen Bank is financially self-sustaining with all of its funds coming from deposits. The borrowers are required to save a little bit every week and their collective savings amounts to over half a billion U.S. dollars. Grameen Bank and Muhammad Yunus are the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. 

Christians are familiar with the story of the “feeding of the five thousand.”  (Matthew 14:13:21)  I call this one of the first sustainist stories on how to “do more with less.” It goes like this: the disciples asked Jesus to tell a hungry crowd to go way and buy themselves some food to eat. Jesus said to them, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat." They replied, "We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish." Taking the five loaves and the two fish, Jesus blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

We called this a miracle because we could not understand how 5 loaves and 2 fish can feed 5000+ people and still have 12 baskets of leftover. But after knowing the story of the Grameen Bank, such miracle could happen and is still happening. Muhammad Yunus responded to the call to do something about the poverty (“you give them something to eat”) by offering $27 worth of loans for the poor people of Jobra. In 35 years, this meager amount has multiplied into wellness for uncountable individuals, families and communities with plenty of extra left-over. There are Grameen-type programs in almost every country in the world including the United States. Grameen America opened its first branch in Queens, New York in 2008.  Its mission is to provide “affordable micro-loans to financially empower low-income entrepreneurs.”  Its vision is “to help create a world free of poverty. We predict a market where any individual with a dream can receive affordable financial products regardless of income, previous credit history, education, or business experience. We envision a world where burgeoning entrepreneurs are empowered to lift themselves out of poverty through hard work and determination to forge better lives for their families and future generations.”

How will you respond to Jesus’s challenge, “you give them something to eat” today?

Invite members of your community to study the story of Grameen Bank just by reading what is on Wikipedia. Gather the community for a time of dialogue on how they “invest” their money for a sustainable society. Invite participants to form small groups of 6 and write down on chart paper: a. A list of values and assumptions about people and economics from which the Grameen Bank operates. b. How might these values and assumptions about people and economics be different from the banks that are operating in your neighborhood? Invite each group to report. Invite participants to reflect on the following question:  If we were to embrace the values and assumptions about people and economics that the Grameen Bank uses, how might we change the way we use our financial resources?

Reflection Questions for Proper 13 (Year A): Genesis 32:22-31    What did you learn from this story about your need to be blessed? Psalm 17:1-7, 16   What does it mean for you to see the face of God? Isaiah 55:1-5   What did you learn from this text about creating a sustainable community? Psalm 145:8-9, 15-22   What does believing in compassionate God mean to you? Psalm 119:129-126   How does God’s word give light to your life? Romans 9:1-5   How do you stay connected with Christ? Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52   How will you respond to Jesus’s challenge: You give them something to eat?

Eric H. F. Law
Kaleidoscope Institute
For competent leadership in a diverse changing world
www.kscopeinstitute.org

It’s not too late to register for the upcoming Kaleidoscope Training Institute in June and July at Cathedral Center of St. Paul, Los Angeles, California July 28-August 1 Media and Faith: Creating Audio Visual Electronic Media to Build Inclusive Community Also August at the Rainbow Lodge, North Bend (outside of Seattle), Washington August 15-19 Models and Processes for Community Transformation and Missional Ministry in the Grace Margin

Mustard Seed, Yeast and Pearl

A woman putting yeast in bread dough Someone planting a mustard seed in a field A man spending his fortune buying a pearl A merchant burying a treasure in a field he would buy Images of the realm of the Divine Start out small, almost invisible Journey to search Shape with care Give time to grow Time to transform Recognize it when it is ready Cherish its worth Moment to decide Moment to place a stone to mark where the treasure is in the field Processes of the realm of the Holy Beauty-pearl-wisdom Expansion-yeast-bread-sustenance Emerging-developing-shelter-mustard tree-grace Community-field-grounded by a treasure-love Substances of the realm of Blessings What is so valuable that you would give time to search, nurture and shape that you would give up all to buy? Dreams of beauty Wholeness that illuminates Round like a pearl Shines like the moon by night Wisdom so bright Mercy so great Graciousness so wide Justice so fair Grounded with love so pure Unconditional All are fed All have room to live To love Sustaining, sustainable Worth giving up everything for The realm of the Sustainer.

"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." (Matthew 13:31-32) "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened." (Matthew 13:33) "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matthew 13:44) "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:45-46)

 

Invite members of your community to gather for a time of value exploration. Invite participants to write down individually on a piece of paper: –to 5 things that they would consider giving up everything to obtain or support. Invite them to further reflect on the question:  –What are the values behind these things that are so important to them? Divide participants into small groups and invite them to:  –Share their reflections.  –As a group, write down the values that emerge out of their sharing on flip-chart paper. Invite each group to report. Invite the gathering to consider the following question:  –How might these values impact our community’s ability to be sustainable?

Reflection Questions for Proper 12 (Year A): Genesis 29:15-28    What did you learn from this passage about tradition and individual desire? Psalm 105:1-11   What does it mean for you to continually seek God’s face? Psalm 128   Why is it a blessing to “fear” God? 1 Kings 3:5-12   How do we attain wisdom to discern what is right? Psalm 119:129-126   How does God’s word give light for you? Romans 8:26-39   What does it mean for you to know that nothing can separate you from the love of God? Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52   What is your parable of the realm “kingdom” of God?

Eric H. F. Law
Kaleidoscope Institute
For competent leadership in a diverse changing world
www.kscopeinstitute.org

It’s not too late to register for the upcoming Kaleidoscope Training Institute in June and July at Cathedral Center of St. Paul, Los Angeles, California July 25-27 Fundamental Skills for Building Inclusive Community July 28-August 1 Media and Faith: Creating Audio Visual Electronic Media to Build Inclusive Community Also August at the Rainbow Lodge, North Bend (outside of Seattle), Washington August 15-19 Models and Processes for Community Transformation and Missional Ministry in the Grace Margin

Darkness Is Not Dark

Last Wednesday, I went to a book discussion at the Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena, CA where the featured speaker was historian Thaddeus Russell speaking on his book, A Renegade History of the United States. Rather than crediting the standard textbook icons such as John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller, Thomas Edison, Franklin Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy, etc., “Russell demonstrates that it was those on the fringes of society whose subversive lifestyles helped legitimize the taboo and made America the land of the free.” The summary on the book cover continues, “In vivid portraits of renegades and their ‘respectable’ adversaries, Russell shows that the nation's history has been driven by clashes between those interested in preserving social order and those more interested in pursuing their own desires—insiders versus outsiders, good citizens versus bad. . . He introduces a fascinating array of antiheroes: drunken workers who created the weekend; prostitutes who set the precedent for women's liberation, including "Diamond Jessie" Hayman, a madam who owned her own land, used her own guns, provided her employees with clothes on the cutting-edge of fashion, and gave food and shelter to the thousands left homeless by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake; there are also the criminals who pioneered racial integration, unassimilated immigrants who gave us birth control, and brazen homosexuals who broke open America's sexual culture.” In other words, those whom we considered “bad” and “outsiders” in society are an essential part of the development of many of our most cherished liberties.

But the contributions of these renegades were never appreciated by the formal political leaders of their time. Russell in the first chapter of his book recalled John Adams writing to a friend complaining that “the corruption which is prevalent in so many American hearts, a depravity that is more inconsistent with our republican governments than light is with darkness.”

Darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day;
darkness and light to you are both alike.
(Psalm 139:11)

Now I understand why Jesus spent his time with the outsiders of the society of his days – prostitutes, tax collectors, those considered unclean and outcasts, etc. Perhaps religious and political leaders of the time also considered Jesus a renegade. Hanging out with the fringes of society, where most would consider “darkness” was where the seed of radical hospitality can be planted. 

In fact, Jesus wasn’t the first renegade who was raised up as important figures in the Bible. For example, Jacob, who stole his twin elder brother’s birthright and had to run away in fear of his brother’s retribution, was the one God appeared to in the famous dream, popularly known as “Jacob’s Ladder” with angels ascending and descending on it. (Genesis 28:10-19)

In one of the parables of the kingdom of heaven that Jesus told in which the workers discovered that there were weeds growing among the good seed, the wheat, they had planted, they asked if they should remove the weeds right away.  But the owner said, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest . . .” (Matthew 13:24-30) Perhaps the good seeds and the weed needed each other before harvest time. By allowing the weed and the wheat to grow side by side, the harvest that we gather in the end will be enriched and more inclusive. Perhaps, the things we were taught as good may be the bad things that are blocking us from growing and changing. Perhaps, we might even discover that the things that we believed to be weeds and undesirables may actually be the very essences of what we need.

A sustainist withholds judgment on what is good or bad, right or wrong immediately, but take time, a gracious period, to let the seemingly opposing ideas, principles, morals, beliefs to coexist.  Furthermore, a sustainist facilitates constructive dialogue amongst people with their differences. A sustainist reaps from the constructive dialogue the wisdom of understanding and truth that will continue to nurture a socially sustainable community.

Invite members of your community to take a tour of their neighborhood. As they move through the different parts of the neighborhood, invite them to keep track of their reactions and feelings toward the people and places that they see. After the tour, gather them for a time of dialogue. Post 2 large pieces of chart paper on the wall. On the top of one page, write “Good and Desirable” and on the other page, write “Bad and Undesirable.” Invite people to go up and write what they saw in the neighborhood according to the 2 categories. Divide people into small groups and invite each group to discuss: a.  What can we learn from those we considered “bad and undesirable” about the needs of our community? b. How might the “good and desirable” block us from seeing the truth of what is needed in our community? Invite each group to report.

Reflection Questions for Proper 11 (Year A): Genesis 28:10-19a    What does it mean for you to have a God who will not leave you until what is promised you is done? Psalm 139:1-11   How is your darkness not dark for you? Wisdom of Solomon 12:13, 16-19   Why is it important that the righteous must be kind? Isaiah 44:6-8   How are you a witness to God? Psalm 86:11-17   What does it mean for you to relate to a God who is full kindness and truth? Romans 8:12-25   How do you groan together with Creation? Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43   What can you learn from this parable about the relationship between good and evil?

Eric H. F. Law
Kaleidoscope Institute
For competent leadership in a diverse changing world
www.kscopeinstitute.org

It’s not too late to register for the upcoming Kaleidoscope Training Institute in June and July at Cathedral Center of St. Paul, Los Angeles, California July 25-27 Fundamental Skills for Building Inclusive Community July 28-August 1 Media and Faith: Creating Audio Visual Electronic Media to Build Inclusive Community Also August at the Rainbow Lodge, North Bend (outside of Seattle), Washington August 15-19 Models and Processes for Community Transformation and Missional Ministry in the Grace Margin

The Good Soil

The Ultimatum Game is a famous experimental economics game first tried in 1982 by Werner Guth, Rolf Schmittberger, and Bernd Schwarze at the University of Cologne. It has been repeated countless times around the world in many different cultures. The game goes like this:  two players:  a proposer and a responder. The proposer is given 10 dollars and instructed to decide how he/she would like to split the money between the two players.  Once the proposer offers the amount to be split, it cannot be changed. The responder has the option to accept or reject the offer. If the responder accepts, both players get to keep the proposed division of the 10 dollars. If the responder refuses, both players get nothing.

Neoclassical economists would predict the “rational” outcome of this game as follows:  the proposer will keep 9 dollars and offer 1 dollar to the responder; the responder will accept the offer because he/she will be a dollar better off than if he/she refuses. However, in reality, time and again in many different cultures, the proposer typically offers between 4 and 5 dollars (about 50:50 split), which the responder generally accepts. When the proposer offers lower amounts (especially below 20%), the responder typically refuses, costing both the participants any monetary gain. The lower the amount offered, the greater the likelihood of refusal. Since the introduction of this experiment in 1982, it has become one of the most popular of the standard experiment in economics often as a prime show-piece of human “irrational” behavior.

How blind are we to how humanity really works if we think this behavior is irrational?  What theories and assumptions do we have about human motivation that causes us to think this is irrational? Who is defining the term “rational” anyway? Perhaps it is actually rational for people to be fair. It is rational for people to treat strangers as neighbors as if these relationships really mattered, because only through relationships, which form community, can we survive together and build sustainable communities.

The repeated results of the Ultimatum Game around the world demonstrate that human beings are by nature social and relational. We have the capacity to put ourselves in the other’s experience, and through that common connection, we innately want to be just and fair. Furthermore, we also want to punish those who are selfish and unfair even at the cost of our own gain, in doing so, upholding the value of fairness in relationship.  

Our capacity and motivation to be just and compassionate is written in our hearts. It is coded in our social DNA. We are created to relate to each other with respect as equals.   We act collectively in community to uphold this standard sometimes by giving up our own potential gain. This is the good soil in which sustainist seeds can be sowed, and with the right conditions – water and sun/means and opportunities – these seeds will bear fruits creating sustainable communities.

Justice and compassion is the good soil of sustainable community. When we stray from it, our community becomes unsustainable. When we stop treating our neighbors as neighbors, when we block ourselves from letting compassion be our guide in our encounters with others, we break this basic commandment written in our hearts and cause our community to eventually become unstable – like sowing seeds on beaten-down paths, rocky ground and thorns.

We need to recover our good soil on which our community can be rebuilt with justice and compassion. When we do that, we will notice why our community is not bearing fruits.  We will notice the injustice caused by greed and selfishness. We will discover where the re-circulation of money and resources are blocked. We will find ways to unblock and restore the dynamic sustainist flow of power and resource sharing that will refresh and rejuvenate our community.  

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
 and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty . . .  (Isaiah 55:10) 

 

Gather your community for a time to reflect on the Preamble of the Constitution of the United States: (This process is designed for communities residing in the United States.  If your community is not part of the U.S., replace the text with a key portion of the text of the constitution of your own country or community.) Invite someone to read the Preamble out loud. We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common Defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. Divide the people into 6 groups. Give each group one of the six phrases of the Preamble (i.e. group 1 will have the phrase “form a more perfect Union,” group 2 will have the phrase “establish Justice,” etc.) Invite each group to discuss and arrive at the following:  a. List at least 3 ways in how our community has lived up to the ideal captured in this phrase of the U.S. constitution. b. List at least 3 ways in how we can do better in living up to this ideal. Invite each group to report. As a large group, reflect on the following question:  As a result of this conversation, what are we called to do or change as a community residing in the U.S.?

Reflection Questions for Proper 10 (Year A): Genesis 25:19-34   How does the struggle between Esau and Jacob connect with your won struggle? Psalm 119:105-112   How do you apply your heart to fulfill God’s commandments? Isaiah 55:10-13   In what ways has God’s word rejuvenated you like water refreshes the earth? Psalm 65:9-14   What does this text say to you about your relationship with the earth? Romans 8:1-11   What does it mean for the Spirit of God to dwell in you? Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23   What/where is the good soil of your community?

Eric H. F. Law
Kaleidoscope Institute
For competent leadership in a diverse changing world
www.kscopeinstitute.org

Register now for the upcoming Kaleidoscope Training Institute in June and July at Cathedral Center of St. Paul, Los Angeles, California July 25-27 Fundamental Skills for Building Inclusive Community July 28-August 1 Media and Faith: Creating Audio Visual Electronic Media to Build Inclusive Community