April 13

Feeding the Hellenistic Widows

            Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food.  And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task,  while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.”  What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

Acts 6:1-7

           

            This is a simple little story that carries an immense depth of meaning and implications.  The church was brand new, only a few weeks old at this point.  They were swept up in sharing the good news that Jesus had died and risen.  Every day new converts joined their ranks.  They would share their food with each other and if any of their members needed anything, the believers would sell their possessions to pay for it.

            However it was not a perfect system.  When the food was distributed, there was one segment of their population who was consistently skipped, the Jewish women from Greece who had no husbands to advocate for them.  Did the other believers hate these widows?  No, of course not.  The system that was in place to distribute food simply did not have allowances in it to accommodate people who were exceptions.  There were gaps in coverage that the Hebrews did not see because they were not affected.  This is systemic racism; there are no intentional acts of injustice, but there are victims who are suffering nonetheless. 

            The Hellenistic Jews complained and the church faced its first big crisis.  The church could have easily had its first split right here.  The Hebrews could have been insulted that the Hellenists accused them of wrongdoing.  The Hellenists could have given into frustration and claimed that they were always ignored and treated as second class citizens.  The Hellenists could have left and founded their own church that would care for their own people.

            Instead the Apostles called everyone together and laid out the situation.  The Church appointed seven men to preside over the food distribution.  Putting faithful leaders in place is a great step in getting rid of institutional blindness…but it went even further than that.  The seven listed names are all Greek.  Allow that to sink in.  The church chose to give the power of this vital ministry to representatives of the community that had been wronged and ignored.  How do you defeat systemic injustice?  Empower faithful representatives of the afflicted communities and trust that they will have the experience to see where the gaps in coverage are and the character to act with grace and mercy.  The rest of Jerusalem saw how the church dealt with this and were so amazed that many, many more believed including several among the religious leaders who saw what it looks like when a people put their faith in God into action.

            Our world is filled with systemic injustices.  No one hates the disabled, there are just lots of other funding priorities that are more popular and so IDD spending and IDD donations get cut repeatedly…not from malice, there are just gaps that the same community falls through over and over again.  As a parent it can be frustrating because there is no enemy…no one to yell at and fight against.  The government employees apologize every time we come in.  They are overworked and under-resourced and will get to our case file as soon as they can.  Local politicians, state politicians, national politicians will shrug their shoulders and say that they will see what they can do but they are just one voice in the midst of a large system.  Throughout the community we hear that these are “challenging economic times,” and that we should check back when there are more resources available.  The runaround can be maddening when all we want is a ramp so that our kid can see a movie or medicine that does not bankrupt us.

            What do we do when we are faced with injust systems? 

• ·         Speak the truth so that others see the gaps. 
• ·         Hold on to hope.  If you can see a better world, that vision can become a reality.
• ·         Resist bitterness.  No one is going to benefit if we are just angry and resentful all the time, our children included.
• ·         Find Partners.  Community is the single greatest weapon that there is against faulty systems.
• ·         Pray.  Pray for faithful representatives of the IDD community to be empowered to address the gaps in this system.

           

A moment to reflect:

What are injustices that you see?