Bearing fruit. Watered with a fire hose
Grand successes can be measured in terms of joy. Happiness should never be trusted as an indicator of divine favor. Wherever happiness is in short supply, however, faithfulness can produce experiences of joy that give new meaning to the gospel. At our First Church of the Brethren Block Party last month, Stocker Avenue was the focal point of a gathering of a few hundred neighbors who came together to have fun, cool off with the help of a fire hose, and learn more about ways to muddle through the water crisis.
What was most special about the block party is that it proved to be a unique vehicle for dispelling most all of the myths that folks so often believe regarding stereotyping people who are different. It is never just about black, white, and Latino; but about class, gender, and faith as well. It is about gay and lesbian neighbors, old-timers, and folks who never make it outside. It is about the neighborhood drunks and opiate addicts getting some food and thanking you thirteen times for putting a party on so they can hang out with folks who are generally avoiding them. Diversity is about everyone of all kinds being together on the hottest day of the year and shrieking at the surprising cold of water being sprayed by Deacon Jones from the top of an old fire engine, and not caring about who it was that they ended up hugging when it was over.
William Hammond of First CoB remarked that anyone who said people couldn’t overcome differences would have had to change their mind had they been at the block party. I agree whole-heartedly with Bill’s claim, but there is more to it than proving people wrong about race and poverty. Worship is a verb, and the actions are not limited to hymn-singing, praying, and preaching.
In order to get folks to come to the block party, we had to go find them. Sure, we put out flyers in the neighborhood, and yes, we did some other promotional activities. But when all is said and done, you have to go out and prove to people that you want to spend time with them. At First CoB in Flint, we make it a point to embody the parable of the grand banquet. We invite all of our friends and family to come spend time eating with us, or playing with neighborhood kids, or to distribute water. But often, our friends have busy schedules that prevent them from joining us for a weekly messianic banquet.
Yet the parable indicates to us that if those who are invited don’t come, we are to go out into the road and invite strangers. We do that on Tuesday Nights for a simple meal, and I did it Saturday morning before the block party. If I saw somebody drinking beer on the front porch at 10 am that morning, I told them to come to the party. If someone was sitting on the corner strung out, I invited them to the party. I made a special point to go to the dope house and tell the young men about the free food and that we were really hoping they could make it. They did.
Don’t mistake this for grace. Please don’t mistake it for simple kindness. Recognize the gospel command to be with sinners because, not only are we all in sin, but we are all liberated from our sin in the work of Christ. The church does not judge people on their past or present, but according to the persons they will become being perfected in Christ. When the church is a non-threatening presence, the most threatening of neighbors will share in the joy of simple togetherness in Christ’s name.
This is worship as an action – it is doing church. That is what must be done if we are to make the claims of salvation in Christ credible to those who are most in need of divine favor, if not joy, in their lives. It is good to go to church on Sundays, be with family and close friends, and hear the gospel preached. We want to share in the body of Christ, and spend the rest of the day in anxiety-free restfulness. We rest after Sunday worship to prepare for worship during the week – the worship that invites the same drug dealers into the church on Tuesday Night to share fresh fruit instead of closing the door when we see them walking down Stocker Avenue. When people spend their whole day being judged and avoided, it just may be that the old white folks at the crazy church offer at least ten minutes of compassion and respect in the midst of uncertainty and pain.
In Flint, in the midst of the water crisis (and now the garbage hassles), the block party not only fed folks, provided fun games and a dj spinning the best dance music. It allowed all and sundry from a very diverse neighborhood to come together and share similarities and relationship-building joyfulness. The fact that we will not be a happy people this month, or next, or maybe even next year should never be the measure of successfully sharing the gospel. The successful sharing of the gospel acknowledged the pain and distrust and uncertainty in our world with a response drawn from the pages of the four disciples.
Doing church means sharing our resources, eating with “sinners,” doing away with distinctions, and providing an alternative means of being together in the midst of brokenness; and then, repeating as necessary. Block parties are not a solution to sin or brokenness. They are an indicator of what human relationships can look like when we stop fighting for a moment to rejoice in Christ’s name. American’s tend to value political power and aggressive assertion of rights. Christ brings us together to re-evaluate the means of truth-telling and justice-seeking. It is not meant for everyone, only for those who believe, as it calls for the non-violent sacrifice of privilege and physical strength in the midst of the violence of execution and dominance. Yet, if the people who claim Christ cannot provide examples of this gospel response to injustice, how will people know they have the option?
