December 8th

Sentinels

          For thus says the Lord God: Long ago, my people went down into Egypt to reside there as aliens; the Assyrian, too, has oppressed them without cause.  Now therefore what am I doing here, says the Lord, seeing that my people are taken away without cause? Their rulers howl, says the Lord, and continually, all day long, my name is despised.  Therefore my people shall know my name; therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here am I.  

                How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”  Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices, together they sing for joy; for in plain sight they see the return of the Lord to Zion.  Break forth together into singing, you ruins of Jerusalem; for the Lord has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem.  The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

Isaiah 52:4-10

            The job of the sentinel is to watch.  They are stationed high above the ground, always looking out at the horizon to see what is approaching.  They could be watching for enemies.  They could be watching for allies.  They could be watching for storms.  They watch and then call to the rest of their people with their report.  They tell what they have seen; above all else, they must be accurate for the information is only beneficial if it is accurate and if it is utilized.

            We are invited to be sentinels.  We are invited to look at our world and report on what we see.  The sentinel’s job is not to explain why things are happening.  The sentinel’s job is not to take the information and devise a strategy.  We are only to report what we see.  As the parent of a child with special needs, I see things differently than others.  As a follower of Jesus, I see things differently than others.  Allow me to tell you a few things that I see:

·         I see a culture that is drunk on power.  Social media, politics, military might, the love and pursuit of wealth…these are all vehicles that we use to build ourselves up and tear our opponents down so that we will be strong, so that we will be powerful, so that we will be safe.

·         I see a culture that does not know who they are or why they exist and so they fight as that conflict gives their life some definition.

·         I see a culture that values “I” at the expense of “we.” 

·         I see a culture that equates your resume and what you can produce with your value.

·         I see a culture that is scared to be quiet and scared to be alone and scared to be still.

·         I see a culture that does not value men and women with disabilities even though the IDD community holds the answers to many of the things that the culture is lacking.

·         I see a church that follows an incomplete gospel that could be filled out by embracing the poor and the disabled and the “least of these” that Jesus counted as His people.

·         I see us, struggling through each day, wondering when this gets easier and consistently  surprised when new roadblocks pop up.

That’s what I see.  Will anyone listen?  Will anyone do anything with that?  Not my job.  But here is what I am becoming convinced of: we don’t need charity.  We don’t need sympathy; we need community.  And community needs us. 

A moment to reflect:

What do you see as you look out at the world?