Sustainable Things to Do in a Powerless Time

I feel like I have been living in exile this last week. The government is shut down and there is nothing I can do about it. Thousands of federal employees are out of work with no pay. I live in a land whose leaders care more about winning against each other than the wellbeing of the people they represent. The country I live in does not feel like the country I know and believe in where “all people are equal” and have the “unalienable rights” to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”  I feel like an alien in a foreign land with little power.

“Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. . . . ; multiply there, and do not decrease.” (Jeremiah 19:5-6, Hebrew Scripture appointed for this upcoming Sunday) This is the advice that God gave to her people who were in exile.   When you are powerless and have no control over the oppressive system, do the basic sustainable things that are basic to life - build a house for shelter, plant a garden for food, build up a family, and increase your currency of relationship.  

I am in Austin, Texas this week and doing workshops on Holy Currencies for church leaders in the area.  On Sunday, someone came up to me and said, “Originally I wasn't going to be able to make your workshop but because of the federal government shut down, I don’t have a job to go to, so I am coming to your workshop!”  This person, instead of sitting around worrying, she decided to do the sustainable thing, go to a workshop, meet some new friends and learn some new skills.

So, for those who feel like aliens in this time, take God’s advice; do the sustainable things around us, in our community where we have control - plant a garden, visit your family and friends, gather with others to improve your homes and your neighborhood.  In the process, we regain our sense of worth and power and we recapture our faith in our own ability to create a sustainable community in spite of the system that causes us to be powerless.

Reflection Questions for Proper 23 (Year C) Jeremiah 29:1,4-7    What are we called to do when we are powerless? Psalm 66:1-11  What does this psalm say about our relationship with God? 2 Timothy 2:8-15   What did you learn from this text about how to share the Gospel?     Luke 17:11:19   What did you learn from this text about having faith?

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