by Nils von Kalm

http://soulthoughts.com

“The gospel deals with the whole man, not only his soul, but his body; not only his spiritual well-being, but his material well-being … Any religion which professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not concerned about the social and economic conditions that scar the soul, is a spiritually moribund religion only waiting for the day to be buried. It well has been said: ‘A religion that ends with the individual, ends.'”

– Martin Luther King

The events of last week in Canberra were life-changing, and I’m not talking about that dramatic night when the Government brought down its own Prime Minister. I am talking about the annual Micah Challenge Voices for Justice conference. I first went to this event in 2008 and I said then that it was the best conference I have ever been to, as it was a perfect combination of learning and teaching, and then putting it all into practice. So it was with much excitement that about 320 of us made our way to the nation’s capital to lobby our nation’s leaders on behalf of millions who have no voice.

The main asks of Voices for Justice this year were for the Australian Government to increase its overseas aid giving to 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) by 2015, and to increase action on climate change. The Government has already committed to spending 0.5% of GNI on aid by 2015. This is a commendable move, but it is not enough to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which Australia, along with 190 other nations, has committed itself to. And climate change is a poverty issue and cannot be separated from other aid and development work. If not dealt with soon, it promises to wind back 50 years of good work done in aid and development. With no legislated commitments on climate change to 2020, and with our commitment to only a 5% emissions reduction by then, there is simply no way Australia can currently claim to be a global leader on this issue. We have a moral responsibility to do alot more than we currently are.

The first two days of teaching and learning were not simply about policy and messaging, but about the reason we were actually there in the first place, which is to play our part in helping to bring in the Kingdom of God. Dave Andrews was one of the speakers this year and he was, as he always is, an inspiration with his passionate delivery and moving stories. One of the pearls of wisdom he gave us was that “when lots of people do lots of little things, big changes are possible”. It reminded me of the first disciples, 12 “unschooled, ordinary men” (Acts 4:13) who led a movement that turned their world completely upside down and let to half the Roman Empire claiming allegiance to the Man from Nazareth a few centuries later.

Dave’s main message was on the Beatitudes, those wonderful words of Jesus from Matthew’s and Luke’s Gospel. It’s interesting how almost every Christian would be able to say they know of the 10 commandments, but not many would be able to say how many Beatitudes there are (there are 8, depending on how you define them). Dave told us that the Beatitudes talk about justice and then about mercy, reminding us that the Kingdom is not just about justice but about mercy as well. Many people who are into justice are merciless, and this is something I need to be aware of as well. Justice, compassion and mercy can never be separated.

Further to the call to be merciful is the call to be humble. It has been said that those of us with an activist mindset are good at doing justice but not so good at loving mercy and walking humbly with God. So it was with great solemnity that, on the Sunday night, we held a public service of repentance on the front lawns of Parliament House. Earlier in the day we had all made pledges to repent of behaviours and attitudes in our lives that were damaging to the poor of the world. Invariably they had to do with our Western lifestyle. We wrote these pledges on little flags which we then pegged to a giant map of the world laid out on the lawn. A number of Christian leaders then came forward and declared what they were now committing themselves to do to live out the call of Micah in their own lives. It was a very moving time. In this type of work we need to be constantly reminded that if we do not live out this way of life ourselves, we have nothing worthwhile to say to those in power.

On the 3rd day of the conference, we started doing the practical work of visiting our MPs to give them our asks of increasing Australia’s ODA from 0.5% to 0.7% of GNI by 2015, and of increasing action on climate change.

Early that morning, the then Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, and Leader of the Opposition, spoke at what was quite literally our signature event – signing the Micah Call – a statement pledging to support the aims of Micah Challenge – something that 112,000 other Australians have signed. Created in the spirit of William Wilberforce, who, in the film Amazing Grace, rolls a scroll down the floor of Parliament House, showing the enormous groundswell of support for the anti-slavery movement, this scroll had the same purpose – to show our nation’s political leaders that tens of thousands of Australians care about poverty and injustice. It was an honour to be there as part of a movement of Christians seeking social change going back to Jesus himself and the prophets before him. Surprisingly to me, it was Tony Abbott who made the most profound comment of the morning when he said, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, that we are nags and that people in power need nags like us to keep them accountable. Whether he intended it or not, his words described our prophetic engagement with the powers of the day.

One of the pleasant surprises that jumped out at me at this event was that our times of worship were so much more meaningful in the context of what we were ultimately there for. Over the first two days we spent a bit of time singing songs of praise to God for who He is – a God of justice, mercy, and compassion. And it meant so much more than just words, as we were in the nation’s capital to put into practice the words of the prophet Micah – to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8). The worship was not just a feel-good session of empty praise. I was so glad and moved to be part of a movement where we can put into action on a large scale what we all have a deep conviction about – that God hates poverty and commands us to work to alleviate it as our life’s calling.

Another deep encouragement to me this time was seeing so many young people involved. The majority of the 320 people at Voices for Justice this year would have been in their 20s. As someone who is now in his 40s, I was very buoyant about seeing young people with such energy, conviction and passion for following Jesus on the journey to live out Micah’s call. One person in the group said they were there to get out of their comfort zone. How impressive is that?! In a society that values comfort and ease above all else, we need more people who will live out the call to a discipleship that means taking up our cross and following Jesus regardless of the cost.

One of the many highlights of Voices for Justice this year was some creative performances from poet Cam Semmens. Here are just a few of his words of wit and wisdom:

a.. “We see the homeless sleeping in the bus shelters of our apathy, lying in the laneways of our indifference.”
b.. On asking how different we really are from the poor and how we tend to ‘other’ them: “Between black and white, there are shades of grace; between 3rd and 1st I’m having 2nd thoughts.”
During the times when we were not busy visiting our MPs, various workshops were held on the biblical background as to why we were at this conference. One workshop I attended was about the Old Testament prophets and political engagement with politics and society. The panel included Dave Andrews, Deborah Storie, and Phil Ireland. The discussion was opened with the point that the prophets of the Old Testament were primarily spokespersons and not fortune tellers (which is pretty much the opposite of what I was taught when I first became a Christian in my teens).

The prophets often performed strange symbolic acts. Ezekiel 4 is a good example of this. Generally, the prophets were into what you might call ‘shock and awe’, unlike the people in the Wisdom books of the OT (Job, Psalms, Proverbs and others like these). The message that a prophet carries is a burden to them. But the point that really challenged me was that, as mentioned above, a prophet embraced the Word, that is, they lived out what they spoke. Some examples of prophetic actions from the OT are as follows:

a.. Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 19)
b.. Ezekiel (3:1-3, 4:1-3, 24:3-13)
c.. Jeremiah (chapter 19)
d.. Zechariah
e.. Jeroboam and the prophet Ahijah (1 Kings 11)
f.. Isaiah (chapter 20)
g.. Micah (1:8)
One of the questions Jeanette raised about this is about whether or not there is room for such prophetic action today. Dave Andrews made the point that prophetic action needs to be colourful and creative, designed to engage people, as opposed to angry. Anger is to be a last resort. My first thought on hearing this was that Jesus expressed prophetic anger at times, particularly in turning over the tables in the temple. But Dave emphasised that this was one of Jesus’ last acts and it got him killed.

Following this, Phil Ireland mentioned that one of the most prophetic acts that anyone can engage in today is to participate in a church. And he emphasised the word ‘participate’. It is about being active in a church, not being a pew-warmer. His point was that participating in a church community dismantles the individualist ethos so prevalent in our culture. He followed this up by saying that our primary prophetic actions need to be through the church, as people in the church can inspire each other. Dave added that the most effective acts are often the most unseen ones. The most important thing is to live the prophetic life.

Another point that Dave made was that a distinguishing characteristic of the prophets was their sympathy with God. And in following the example of Jesus, who was strong in relating to the powerful and gentle in relating to the powerless, the prophet is to do the same. Deb Storie reiterated this in saying that prophets always treat people as human beings – as people with dignity, especially the people they are prophesying to. We need to remember what we are wanting to draw people to. Deb also reminded us that we need to respect the non-Christian prophetic voice. God does not only work through Christians. God can and indeed does work through anyone he wishes.

We were also reminded that not everyone is called to be prophetic, and similarly, sometimes to be prophetic is to make space for others to do the prophetic acts. Prophets also see the world through the eyes of God. It is also pertinent to remember that often, people in the OT thought the prophets suffered from mental illness. Even Jesus’ own family thought this of him. But we need to remember too, that if they do have a mental illness, then that is fine. Dave mentioned that Michael Leunig is a great example of this, as someone who has been public about his own struggles.

It is panel discussions like this that stay with me for a very long time. A colleague mentioned to me afterwards that it was dialogues like this that made her want to go back to the Bible. That of course can only be a good thing. We sing a song at our church sometimes which talks about being a prophet of hope. The term ‘prophet of doom’ has widespread use, so the term ‘prophet of hope’ sounds somewhat of an oxymoron. I think the prophets were both. They sounded warnings of judgment as well as the hope of what a future with God can be like.

Voices for Justice is a prophetic movement of Christians who are seeking to do all they can to bring in the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. It is inspiring, creative, moving and joyful. When I first attended in 2008, someone told us that history belongs to the dreamers. Back in 2000 when Australia and many other nations signed up to the Millennium Development Goals to halve global poverty by 2015, it was considered by many to be an impossible task. Ten years later, the dream is on its way to becoming reality. There is much work to be done, but Australia’s commitment to giving 0.5% of GNI in overseas aid by 2015 is the result of much pressure by millions of people around the world. There are MPs in both major parties who are personally committed to increasing this to the 0.7% that is required of all rich nations. We need to pray for these MPs as they seek to influence their parties to do what is right and heed the call of Micah to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God.