The Least of These

Have you ever looked at the list of Jesus’ relatives in Luke 3? Most of them were nobody in particular.

Like Heli, Jesus’ grandpa. Who was that guy? He was the grandfather of Jesus Christ and we don’t know a lick about him. Did he ever lead a religious rebellion or serve as governor or do anything noteworthy?

Probably not.

Probably he was just nobody in particular.

… worked hard, loved his family, enjoyed his friends, and screwed up on occasion.

The Taize community in France has an interesting history of hospitality. They are a Christian community founded on worship, prayer and reconciliation. As Nazi armies advanced in the 1940s occupying France, this community, on the free side of the line of demarcation, became a refuge for Jews and others fleeing the Germans. After the war they became a voice for mercy for war criminals, caring for German prisoners of war interred in a prison camp nearby, drawing the ire of many French who suffered under Nazi occupation.

I’ve been to a number of red-light districts in the past few years. My friend Kerry Hilton of Freeset led me through the largest sex district in Asia – Sonagacci, in Kolkata, India where 10,000 women stand shoulder to shoulder for sale. I’ve also spent time with students praying through Patpong and Soi Cowboy, a couple of the red-light districts in Bangkok where the women have numbers around their necks like Value Meal items to be ordered. But beyond the guys in those areas who push “menus” with pictures under your nose as you walked through, I’ve never actually been propositioned by any sex workers. That is until about two weeks ago in Vancouver, Canada.

Some of my friends in InterVarsity’s media division helped me to animate these statistics. The gap between rich and poor has been exacerbated in the recent years, even in the current financial crisis a few have gotten very wealthy from the recession while masses more have fallen behind. It is important for those of us who have access to resources, who have tertiary educations, who possess a voice in systems and structures, and who are submitted to Jesus and his “good-news-to-the-poor” kingdom, to seek solutions.

I never really thought very much of those wizened old curmudgeons who write nostalgic pieces on the anniversary of a ministry they developed about all they’ve learned through the years. Those articles always feel a little out of touch and irrelevant to everyone else in the world except the person doing the writing. But alas, here I am, wizened, old and curmudgeonly writing a nostalgic piece about the early days of a ministry I developed - the Global Urban Trek, which began ten years ago this summer.