Riches to Rags

In the 1980s, authors Waterman and Peters set out to discover success in American business. They asked the question in their book In Search of Excellence, “Is anyone doing it right and are they doing it right here in America?” Today, we ask the same question, but with a new twist, “Are any Americans following the Lord in His call to serve the poor and are they doing it right now?” A resounding yes! Sister Antonia Brenner rocks.

Sister Antonia Brenner (photo) was born into an Irish-Catholic family and was baptized Mary Clarke. She was raised in the exclusive community of Beverly Hills, California. Her father was a very successful businessman and provided well for his family. After twenty-five years of marriage and after most of her seven children were out of the house, her life drastically changed. In a period of just a few years she found herself divorced as well as house and possessions sold. She began to serve full time the prisoners at La Mesa penitentiary in Tijuana, Mexico. A place where the most notorious and hardened criminals are housed.

At the La Mesa penitentiary, she lives in a 10’ x 10’ concrete room with a cot as her bed, and with a Bible and Spanish dictionary nearby. Prisoners know that daily roll call is not complete until she shows up in the line right along side them. Mother Antonia provides not only spiritual guidance to the guards and inmates, but she also helps with basic material comforts for prisoners such as blankets, toiletries and medicines.

After over three decades of service, Mother Antonia Brenner calls Tijuana her home. She condemns crime, but loves the sinners and the victims. Her love and guidance for the poor and the forgotten have made a difference at the prison and as a result many who were imprisoned there have sought a better life.

Do you know of anyone that's doing it right? Share your thoughts!
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Ruthlessly Hawked

NEWS: AFP writer Justin Cole reported yesterday that US mortgage lenders targeted minorities and people with low incomes in recent years as the "best candidates" for subprime home loans, with devastating economic consequences, a report claimed Tuesday. The report by the United for a Fair Economy (UFE) advocacy group said subprime mortgages, home loans issued to Americans with scant finances, were "ruthlessly hawked" and that a "solid majority of subprime loan recipients were people of color."

The report's authors said many blacks and poor Americans were deliberately targeted by lenders marketing a range of money-making home loans that were sometimes confusing for borrowers to understand.

"Hungry for new and different products, the financial services industry added features to these loans -- exploding adjustable rates, balloon payments, penalties for early re-payment -- that hobbled their recipients financially and made it unlikely that they would be able, after a brief honeymoon period, to repay the loans at all," the report said.

COMMENTARY: The social injustice of the poor in cases such as this is not the fact that there are poor or weak people in the world. Those we will always have with us as Jesus said. But, it is the reality that in our society we actually treat badly the humble, the weak and some of the most honest persons among us.

Unjust business practices that prevent families from keeping their homes contribute greatly to the problem of homelessness. The prophet Amos describes the evil this way … “You trample on the poor and force him to give you grain… You oppress the righteous and take bribes and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts. Therefore the prudent man keeps quiet in such times, for the times are evil.” (Amos 5:10-13).
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More on the Internet:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080115/ts_alt_afp/uspropertyfinanceminority

Changing Wretch-filled Lyrics

Regarding changing hymn lyrics to conform to our modern culture of self-esteem and the post, Question? (see Wednesday, January 9, 2008) M.D. comments ... "That's a difficult question, which should not be answered without some thoughtful consideration of the hymn's author and its theology. The lyrics of that hymn are somewhat of an autobiography, since John Newton was truly a moral "wretch," having been involved in the slave trade and indirectly responsible for the misery and death of thousands of souls. John Newton sang of the amazing unmerited favor that effected his own redemption and moral transformation.

"Changing his lyrics to correspond to our modern spiritual understanding of ourselves would be analogous to rewriting the Old Testament to have the Hebrews come into Canaan by peaceful persuasion and not by warfare. No matter how discordant the Hebrew conquest of Canaan is with the understanding we have about God from Jesus, we really don't have the spiritual or intellectual right to change the scriptures to suit our own theology. The scripture is what it is, and the same can be said for John Newton's hymn.Moreover, the theology of John Newton is really not far from the mark in reference to all of us.

"Certainly, none of us has been involved in the culture of slave trade. But, we have allowed ourselves to be carried by the culture of ruthless capitalism, or totalitarian socialism, or chauvinistic Americanism, chauvinistic Catholicism, chauvinistic Protestantism, chauvinistic Judaism, chauvinistic feminism, pagan environmentalism, etc. Each of us has fallen under the condemnation that comes from living under those cultural "powers and principalities" that stand against God's own rule or Kingdom. Each of us, therefore, is a slave to some "ism" or other and a "wretch" in his or her own way. We all stand condemned and in need of moral transformation, or redemption, just like John Newton."
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Looking for God?

Many say, "there is no God." Yet others say, "where is He?" But God is revealing Himself to us constantly, just not in the ways that we would like to believe. The prophet Isaiah in chapter 57 tells us that God lives in three places:

1. "On high I dwell ..." (just look into the night sky or Google Images "galaxies")
2. "And in holiness ..." (check out people like Mother Teresa and the lives of the saints)
3. "And with the crushed and the dejected in spirit ..." (photo, see Gregory living behind the Valero gas station at Alameda and 5th in Los Angeles or see a prisoner - a widow - the abandoned.)

Isaiah continues ... "To revive the spirits of the dejected, to revive the hearts of the crushed. I saw their ways, but I heal them and lead them; I will give comfort to them and to those who mourn for them." Isaiah 57:15-18

So, God is not elusive after all as some may think. We have immediate places in our world that we can go to see Him. Why not check God out in all three places and see Him in full Force?
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Hell is "No Exit"

The problem of moral evil (when bad things happen because of human actions) has been a long-standing philosophical debate. Responding to "Hell is Others?" (see Saturday, January 5, 2008) Anonymous said... "From what I remember from Existentialist studies, Jean Paul Sartre actually said "hell is other people," meaning that others make our lives a living hell. The reference is from the play "No Exit." I personally believe that Sartre is right. Hell is other people. People can make our lives a living hell. I don't believe it has anything to do with being self-centered or with the sins that you've mentioned. It has more to do with how people treat us."

In response, another Anonymous said... "Most of Sartre's plays are richly symbolic and serve as a means of conveying his philosophy. The best-known, Huis-clos (No Exit), contains the famous line in French, 'L'enfer, c'est les autres.' Literally in English it translates as 'Hell is others' or 'The hell is the others.' However, it is usually translated with the implied meaning, 'Hell is other people'."

Concern for the Wealthy

In reference to Saving Wretches Like You and Me (See Part I & II, Monday, January 7 -Tuesday January 8, 2008) M.R. expresses his concern for the wealthy and encourages compassion for them as well as the poor... "I know already that the poor will inherit the earth and that many of them, while lacking faith in men, keep their faith in God. But often times, there are also the rich who lack in spirit. Christ says it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Yes, I think that may have to do with the pressures of the material world and what wealth brings to the rich person in the form of responsibility. There is a great need to minister also to the rich. Of course, my feeling is that, by ministering to the rich (spiritually), we can meet the material needs of the poor."

Epiphany

MEDITATION

Among the wonders worked by Jesus Christ, can any match the healing compassion He showed to lepers? Somehow the wretchedness and horror of their condition represent everything about our lives that express our brokenness and poverty, and yet, nothing is impossible for God. When the leper approaches Christ filled with faith, an entire life is changed in an instant. The on-going Epiphany of Christ through the ages makes that very offer available to each one of us.







PRAYER

Lord, open our eyes that we may see You in the poverty of our brothers and sisters. Lord, open our ears that we may hear the cries of the hungry, the cold, the frightened, the oppressed. Lord, open our hearts that we may love each other as you love us. - Blessed Mother Teresa
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Project 50

J.F. sends in a story spotted in the LA Times January 8, 2008. It is reported by staff writer Susannah Rosenblatt ... "A recent survey counted 471 people regularly sleeping in encampments on 5th Street’s skid row in downtown Los Angeles. Fifty of the most "at risk" transients have been identified and will receive special consideration for housing by the county Board of Supervisors. They are scheduled to vote soon for the three-year, $5.6-million pilot program called Project 50, which is designed to provide immediate housing and services for the participants.

"The 50 categorized as most at risk had been homeless for at least six months with at least one chronic ailment, such as HIV or liver disease, or recent emergency room visits or hospitalizations. The members of that group visited emergency rooms 120 times in the previous three months and had lived on the streets an average of 9 1/2 years, according to the survey.

"The process of moving someone from the streets into an apartment could take as little as a day or up to six months, said Beth Sandor, Los Angeles field director for Common Ground, a New York City nonprofit group that is helping coordinate the L.A. effort. Common Ground launched a similar, largely successful effort to house homeless people living in Times Square."

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More on the Internet:

http://www.latimes.com/

Question?

Keith Drury (Associate Professor, Indiana Wesleyan University) contributed over the past two days a compelling commentary on John Newton’s song, Amazing Grace. (See Saving Wretches Like You and Me, Part I & II, Monday, January 7 -Tuesday January 8, 2008). And so the following poll begs a response:

Is the term “wretch” only for the poor, homeless & addict? Should Christians take liberty to change lyrics making songs more palatable in our culture of self-esteem? Substitute Amazing Grace, God “saved a wretch like me” for ... “that saved and set me free?”

Please scroll down and vote!

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Saving Wretches Like You and Me

Part II

Today’s blog brings to a conclusion Keith Drury’s compelling commentary on John Newton’s hymn, Amazing Grace (see Saving Wretches Like You and Me, Part I, Monday, January 7, 2008). He writes, “Self-esteem theology teaches us we’re deserving. Being basically good we expect basically good things to happen to us. We expect God to provide money for our new house, college tuition, and funds for our latest adventure in missionary tourism. We expect good health and a fulfilling life and good grades and pretty girlfriends and a husband that meets the criteria on the list we made at youth camp. We are entitled to these things. So why be grateful when we get them? We abhor sacrifice and suffering for ourselves and only love the idea when the stories are about people far in the past or far away on the planet. Being fairly good people we think we deserve a fairly good life. Even heaven is nothing to get excited about—after all, God has such a crush on us—where else could he send us? This is why we tune in to preachers who will tell us how good we are and how much God is totally absorbed with blessing us with material possessions, fulfillment in our careers and really great sex lives. Is the reason Christ died—for cars and promotions and good sex?

“Of course, there are occasional sour notes in the choir. They usually come from some conservative reminding us of our total depravity. These guys take Romans 7:24 seriously—they believe that we all are wretched. They string verses like Job 25:4-6 and Psalm 22:6 with the Romans verse to make a necklace of wretchedness and wormlyhood. They claim that even our good deeds are besmirched by sin. You were bad before you were saved and you are still bad now. Nothing good lies within you. You are wretched and poor and blind and naked. You are a worm! It is only by God’s grace that you are set free—so be grateful!

“The rest of us just sing louder and drown out these sour notes. There are far more choir members singing songs of self-esteem than conservatives singing songs of total depravity. Since we’ve already rejected their “worm theology” we just ignore their warnings. We continue to preach a happy face doctrine of self esteem. People like it. Which is why so many on Sundays have changed the lyrics of Amazing Grace. We might think John Newton [along with the homeless, addicts, jobless and all other losers] was a wretch and worm, but not us, thank you very much. We’re far better than that.”

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