Lovestruck

Posted: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: 2k13 | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Lovestruck

new jim crowEarlier today I posted this to Facebook…”A little light reading while Louis sleeps and recovers in the hospital! Been wanting to read this for a while, but after hearing Michelle Alexander speak at CCDA – it became a must-read!”

And, I dove right in to The New Jim Crow, but didn’t make it passed the forward where Cornel West writes…

‘Martin Luther King, Jr called for us to be lovestruck with each other, not colorblind….lovestruck is to care, to have deep compassion, and to be concerned for each and every individual, including the poor and vulnerable.’

WOW. Immediately I thought, “Way before MLKJr, didn’t Jesus call us to do the same and more?!?!?”
Matthew 22:37-40
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Luke 4:16-2116 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19     to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

John 20:21-22  
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
Well…
I haven’t gotten any further in the book, and I am still thinking about how we typically want to ‘love’ and ‘serve’ the poor, the orphan, the widow, the imprisoned, etc.
Does this really just look like feeding or housing the homeless or giving clothes to the local thrift store? Does this simply mean to check the box by writing a check to some group who does? These scriptures, along with MLKJr’s message, continue to challenge me to do so much more. Challenging me to be constantly filled with the power of the Spirit to go…and proclaim in word and in deed. Hopefully it will challenge you, too.

What does it really look like to be lovestruck with others???

What does it mean ‘to care, to have deep compassion, and to be concerned for each and every individual, including the poor and vulnerable’?

What does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself?

Added 9/24 8pm
I’ve had several folks contact me about wanting to read this book, so I thought I would share the preface with you.  Yes, I finally made it another page! Not only did I stop to write the post, but I also learned to change Louis’s bandage, had a visit with a lovely friend who brought me a yummy salad, and lots of other caregiver duties. I think it might take me a while to finish this book for A LOT of reasons.
NJC preface