1. It feels like in these first two weeks of the Trump administration, there has been an intentionally overwhelming and chaotic push toward priorities of USA power and wealth, mixed up and supported by the Christian Nationalist movement. Dr. Padilla DeBorst talked about some of the immediate affects of these actions around USAID, changing immigration patterns, and way that they represent a shift in USA global priorities which will undoubtedly affect people all over the world. It feels like many of us are struggling to figure out how to respond and how to organize. We are so cynical of everyone that it’s difficult to find leaders to coalesce around. Who should we be following, joining, and collaborating with? Are there names of people and organizations that are creating meaningful resistance in the immediateness of this moment? How can we learn to temper our cynicism and open ourselves more fully to collaboration?
2. Longer term, in trying to join a movement toward a southern shift in ecclesial power, things are complicated by the racial and patriarchal systems that have been instilled in many of the structures in southern hemisphere Christian institutions, often by the the Northern/Western Christian groups that have been active in Southern Hemisphere missions work for many years. How do we in the global north untangle our own mixed priorities around justice, growing in self-awareness about our northern privilege and our own colonial formation? How can we enter the complicated work of listening more fully to the voices of the global south without abandoning the critiques that have become significant as we deconstruct patriarchal systems in our own context?

At the intersection of my Western, White, and Evangelical identities, I inherited a worldview in which I saw myself as the one with something to offer. Underneath the pretense of generosity was a belief that I had more resources, more knowledge, more faith, and more wisdom than others. Why, I was even in possession of the way, the truth, and the life. It was my duty to share it all with those less fortunate – or perhaps less blessed – than myself.

But this mindset doesn’t actually honor the recipient. It reserves the honor and the comfort for the host. It allows me to see myself as the altruistic hero and the benevolent savior while perceiving the other as destitute and downtrodden. It reinforces the hierarchy of power and upholds the supremacy of my perspectives and my culture. It is this mindset that has led Christians to become the chaplains of world domination, in the words of Rabbi David Jaffe.

Though it may seem drastic to draw the line from being the perpetual host to world domination, the threads of pride and power hold it all together. But Jesus showed us a different way. Reverend Rene August describes the way of Jesus as one of self-sacrifice rather than self-preservation. Jesus was not one to hold onto power, even though it that was rightfully his. Instead, he modeled humility for us in taking on flesh, in becoming the servant rather than the host, and in considering the interests of others above his own.

Canon Sarah Snyder reminded us that Jesus was always the guest. He entered into our world, sat at the tables of both Pharisees and tax collectors, received financial support from women, and relied on the kindness of strangers as he traveled around. In doing so, Jesus honored those who hosted him. He upheld their dignity as he drew out their hospitality. When others had disregarded the people on the margins of society, Jesus affirmed that they were worthy and that they had something to offer.

Through the years, I’ve spent a lot of time interrogating my own motivations and deconstructing my long-held beliefs, but I recognize that it’s hard to fully release my savior complex. It’s hard to let go of the notion that others need me while I remain self-sufficient. It’s hard to hold back when I think my education and my experience produce the wisdom that is needed. It’s hard to draw out the leadership and insight of others when it would require less time for me to just take charge. Even as I seek to love my neighbor by offering what I have, I acknowledge the ways that I maintain the status quo by holding onto power.

Now I’m left contemplating these questions…What does it look like for me to draw out the hospitality of others? How can I humble myself to recognize that others have something to offer me, something to teach me? How do I embrace my own discomfort and inconvenience in order to affirm the dignity of those who have been disempowered? How do I embody a life of hospitality that reflects Jesus’ example?

Featured Image by Libby Penner on Unsplash