Infant Impact

Luke 1:46-55

46 And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
⁴⁸ for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
⁴⁹ for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
⁵⁰ His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
⁵¹ He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
⁵² He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
⁵³ he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵ according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’

Rules and power. . .

Hey, you gotta love this. . .

Empire and power

Those who want to do only theology, whether conservative or progressive, and those who seek to be faithful to Christ at the religious level alone will have to face the uncomfortable truth that they might be drawn into the force field of empire unconsciously, without being aware of it. The deep-seated and well established force fields maintained by empire must not be underestimated. Christian theology that seeks to stay true to the alternative and challenging inspiration of Christ… will have to find new ways of dealing with the influences of empire.

Christ and Empire:  Form Paul to Postcolonial Times by Joerg Rieger (Minneapolis: Fortress Press 2007),
( p. 313).

Grassroots Democracy

We live at a time when the dominant culture, including the media, elected officials, and corporate advertisers, herald individualism. The stories we hear in school focus on the heroes and heroines of history, rarely on the collective power of organized groups. Although it is true that good stories rely on strong characters, promoting individuals helps those in power to play down the stories of how mass movements, collective struggle, and community-based campaigns have moved resources, shifted power, and improved the lives of many people. (p. xiv).

When you set out to build the power of a community – particularly a politically marginalized community – you are explicit. You propose that the community can build power in addition to winning on issues, and you are strategic about establishing a team of community leaders who can drive the process of doing so on their own behalf. You include training and political education and get agreements on fundamental goals and principles for how the community will use collective action as a way of achieving solutions to its problems. … You take action. You do not wait for people to come to you. You find partners, go out, listen, learn, and build a network of public relationships. (p. 1).

From Tools for Radical Democracy: How to Organize for Power in Your Community by Joan Minieri and Paul Getsos (foreword by Peter Edelman). San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (Josey-Bass: A Wiley Imprint--2007).

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Power's fundamental mistake

Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak, and that it is doing God's service when it is violating all His laws.

John Adams