Mosaic Mennonites

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Giving Justly (Part 2)

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Editor’s note: This post is a continuation of an article Marta Castillo wrote in February. To read part one, click here.  

Randers Museum of Art, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Zacchaeus was a wee little man 
And a wee little man was he 
He climbed up in a sycamore tree 
For the Lord he wanted to see 
 
And when the Savior passed that way 
He looked up in the tree 
And said, ‘Zacchaeus, you come down! 
For I’m going to your house today! 
 

What a fun little song to teach the young ones! To tell the whole story, we need to add another verse. 

When Jesus went to Zaccheus’ house, Zaccheus was transformed. 
And he said, I going to give half of my stuff to the poor. 
And pay back times four to those who I have wronged. 
And Jesus said, “Today salvation has come to this house.”  

This is not singable, unfortunately. A musician/songwriter could help us out. 

The call to salvation and transformation in the story of Zaccheus is a call to practice jubilee with our money. In his encounter with Jesus, Zaccheus realizes that he has a responsibility to the poor. He also realizes that he has a responsibility to pay back those that he has exploited through personal interactions and through the system.  

In our language of today, Zaccheus gave half of his money to people who were poor and organizations that served people who were poor. He also paid reparations to those whom he had cheated or taken advantage of through personal transactions or through the unjust system of his time.  

Today, in the US, this word, “reparations,” triggers all kinds of thoughts and feelings. In our pastors’ book study of Drew Hart’s book, “Who Will Be a Witness,” our group had an excellent but difficult conversation around economic justice – our history, church giving, generational wealth in white churches, large endowment funds, and investment accounts. 

Hart writes in his book, “Zaccheus seems to provide a really powerful starting point for a theology of reparations in the church…Making amends and setting things right in broken relationships is at the heart of a Christian theology of reparations.” 

I invite us to consider how we can creatively and faithfully be transformed spiritually and economically by reading the complete story of Zaccheus: 

  • Can we commit to give half of our money and offerings to the poor?  
  • Can we purposely, individually or as churches, give to organizations that are owned, led by, and serve communities of people of the global majority (also known as people of color)?  
  • Can we provide scholarships to students of color in our communities, through local organizations, or other congregations in the conference?  
  • Can we give to Mennonite Church USA Justice Fund to provide a way for individuals and congregations to support MC USA churches that are actively involved in dismantling racism, addressing police brutality, reimagining policing in our society, or combating poverty? 

It made no financial sense for Zaccheus to give half of his money to the poor and to pay back four times to those who he had wronged. We do not know what happened to him after this story. We only know that he became a follower of Jesus, and he did not walk away sad, holding on to his wealth like the rich, young ruler. 

Can we accept Jesus’ invitation to come in and dine with us, to repent, and allow God’s economics of jubilee transform our lives? 

A Bedtime Liturgy for Spiritual Formation

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Meyer kids at Bake Oven Knob (Appalachian Trail). Photo provided by Josh Meyer.

Nearly every parent with young children can attest to the importance of regular rhythms and routines for little ones.  Particularly early in a child’s development, routines are both stabilizing and comforting.  Of course there is value in spontaneity, but predictable patterns provide a valuable foundation for children. 

Like many other parents, one of the places we’ve sought to develop intentional routines with our three kids is at bedtime.  After the traditional activities (teeth brushing, potty, PJs, stories), we begin our “bedtime liturgy.”  This includes: (1) prayer time, (2) special words, and (3) family commitments.   

  • Prayer time.  My wife prays with the children.  In addition to praying for them, we’ve committed to praying for a different family from our church each week.  It’s been neat to see the kids latch onto this concept and get excited about the families we’re praying for throughout the year.   
  • Special words.  Each night, I speak “special words” over each child.  This is a personalized reminder of who they are, what we see in them, and how deeply they are loved by us and by God.  Genesis 1 reveals that words create worlds (notice that God speaks creation into existence –  Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 14, 20, 24, 26).  In the same way, we want to use our words to create a world where our children hear every day the deepest truths about who they are and who God is.      
  • Family commitments.  We end the “bedtime liturgy” by saying our family commitments together (right).  These are rooted in Matthew 23:23, where Jesus identifies certain parts of the Law as being more important than others.  As a family, we want to be committed to the things Jesus says are most important: justice, mercy, and faithfulness.  This is a newer practice for us, but within a few months the kids have memorized and internalized these key values.   

To be clear, I don’t share this to brag or to puff ourselves up.  I realize a post like this runs the risk of appearing pretentious or self-righteous.  That’s not my intent.  Rather, I simply want to share a practical example of what’s been working for us right now, one way among many to intentionally develop godly routines in the lives of our children.   

Maybe something like this can be useful to those of you with young kids; maybe it won’t.  But I’m hoping all of us with children – whatever age they may be – are thinking intentionally about how our life rhythms are forming and shaping them.  And more broadly, that every one of us is committed to regular practices that develop and sustain our faith in and relationship with God.   

Meyer family at Bake Oven Knob (Appalachian Trail). Photo provided by Josh Meyer.

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Bread

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Lord, give us today our daily bread … daily bread…not weekly, not over-abundance, but daily:  what we need to sustain us in You today. 

A couple of years ago I began baking the bread that my family eats for sandwiches and toast. The repeated process of kneading the dough, waiting for the yeast to rise, smelling the welcome aroma of freshly baked golden loaves, and snacking on warm slices fresh from the oven has become a time of prayerful reflection for me. My context is quite different from the world and context in which Jesus taught the prayer, “Give us today our daily bread.” My day carries on while I knead the dough. Sometimes my children want to help knead their own small loaf, other times they are playing in another room, or throwing sand outside.  Still, in this task I can center in Christ, both the physical and soul food for today. My daily bread.

Bread day at Brooke’s kitchen. Photo provided by Brooke Martin.

Simply today Lord, sustain me today. 

On bread day at my house, I prepare enough bread to last for a week or two (thank you, freezer).  But for the people in Jesus’ world, bread-making would have been a daily task. They didn’t have the choice to wait until tomorrow to make bread and plan a breadless meal for the family today. Bread was not just an addition to a meal, but a core piece of it. Each day required a set time to prepare the daily bread.

Lord, let me orient my daily routine around you. Be my Daily Bread.

Fresh bread from Brooke’s kitchen. Photo by Brooke Martin.

I imagine that making one’s daily bread in Jesus’ day would have been even more of a process than it is for me today. The flour itself may have needed to be ground and prepared before it could be used. It is possible that the family may have even grown the grains for the flour themselves.  The oven was not propane or electric, but a fire that required tending to keep the embers glowing and the fuel needed to be gathered. Bread really did fill stomachs and supply what was needed. 

As I shape the risen dough into loaves, I center even more on this phrase in the prayer, “Lord, give us today our daily bread.” Jesus does not ask for a week’s worth of sustenance nor a rounded pot-roast meal complete with the meat, potatoes, and carrots.

LORD, be the core of my sustenance today.

Amen, may it be so.

To Survive, Push the Button

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How are you doing? How are you really doing??

If you ask me how I’m doing, I’ll always answer, “I’m good!” But, I’m not always sure if I am good. It has been a long year.

I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers
flow in the right direction, will the earth turn
as it was taught, and if not how shall
I correct it?
Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven,
can I do better?
Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows
can do it and I am, well,
hopeless.

“I Worried” by Mary Oliver

There has been a lot to worry about this past year. Author Anne Lamott describes it, “My best friends are exhausted. We have scary diagnoses, we zoom into memorial services, our short term memories dissolve like Pop Rocks.  And Jeremiah says, ‘The harvest is past,’  and Elijah lay under a bloom brush and said, ‘I have had enough.’  Then he slept” (from Dusk, Night, Dawn). 

When is it enough? Kate Bower, in her podcast, Everything Happens, asks, “How do we find ‘enough’ in a life that keeps getting…. harder?  Our lives are shrinking. We are shrunk by the pandemic or by illness, by age, or by any number of losses. Life is not always bright and shiny.   We’re not feeling very #blessed.” 

Where is God in all of this?  What about faith in the eternal love and presence of God?  

In February 2021, 40% of Americans had symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorders. Our post-pandemic anxiety is still strong … and are we really post-pandemic?   

Is a worldwide mental health crisis the next pandemic?  Two-thirds of US adults say their sleep quality has declined in the past year. More than half have experienced undesired weight changes, and one in four are drinking more. Between the social isolation, economic instability, political turmoil, racial violence, death and sickness, and uncertain future, no wonder mental health in the US is on the decline and demand for treatment is skyrocketing. (Psychology Today, March 2021)

Many resources for coping have been removed by the pandemic.  This includes our gathering as a body of believers. Even most of our spiritual community has been virtual. No touch allowed.

Yet our foundational belief in the spiritual community is the key to finding God’s love despite our circumstances. Bowler tells us that the feeling of “not enough” is met by community. We can be made enough by the touch of each other: touch of our families, friends, church, mental health providers, God.  

Community is our “emergency button.” To survive, push the button. We are not alone. We are in survival faith mode, where all we need is a daily dose, like my blood pressure pills, just enough for the day.  Nothing big, just enough.

As we re-enter the new normal, we need to be kind and gentle, for most of us are suffering the emotional repercussions of the last year. You are not alone in this.  We can seek help, this is not a time for stigma. Reach out and touch.  

So we pray. We pray that you will take away our natural temptation for cynicism, denial, fear and despair. Help us have the courage to awaken to greater truth, greater humility, and greater care for one another. May we place our hope in what matters and what lasts, trusting in your eternal presence and love. (by Richard Rohr)  

And after we pray, Mary Oliver invites us:

Finally I saw that worrying had come to nothing.
And gave it up. And took my old body
And went out into the morning
And sang.

My Journey of Self Discovery

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Ever have a pain in your body and you try to figure it out?  You move your leg around to figure out the source.  You stretch and you research your pain. Later you talk to the doctor, and it gets diagnosed. You are told what to do and what to watch out for. As we get older, there are more prescriptions for self examination.  We are to poke and prod ourselves from time to time and make sure we are well.  Get the blood pressure checked and other things: daily practices to keep us alive and thriving with our body.

It amazes me how many, myself included, do not do this when it comes to our spiritual and mental health.  During these times of COVID, I have seen more and more talk about mental and spiritual health.  Lamentations 3:40 tells us, “Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord” (NIV).  I love this!  (Lamentations, for the record, can be so deep and inclusive of so many things, I highly recommend the book to study during these odd times in life.)  

Ok, back to this self examination of the soul and mind … I have learned over the past two years, through a mental breakdown, that it is very important for self examination and perspective.

Many times we view the world as it revolves around us. Try this exercise. Look forward and turn your body around.  You will see how the world revolves around you!  In order for us to self examine ourselves, we need to take a moment and move the camera angle outwardly and look at ourselves from an outside view.

This can be done in a couple ways.  One is to just sit and pause.  Take a moment to write or speak how you are feeling.  For instance, at the time of this writing, my morning has not gone as I had hoped.  I am having to be very flexible and focused on tasks at hand.  My stress is rising. I am going to need some space to breathe later today and get back to a solid state of mind.  I can tell you this because I have learned how to self examine.

Taking a pulse of how I am… looking at what makes me stressed or not stressed… how do I release all this?  Self awareness is something I am learning more and more.  Being vulnerable with others in how I feel and where I am at with life has been crucial in all this.  

Book Cover from InterVarsity Press

“Risking vulnerability and love is what takes courage.”

― from The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery by Cron & Stabile

Author Ian Morgan Cron has really inspired me on this journey.  This quote has been a heartbeat for me.  I am constantly being vulnerable with those around me so that they too can be loved the way I would want to be loved.  

Today I am imploring you to take some time and sit.  Sit with yourself and just breathe.  Realize you exist and you are alive.  God created you so beautifully.  Do we not owe it to ourselves to tend to our soul and mind?  

I do not have all the space to tell you all the tools and tricks, but try reading Lamentations or The Road Back to You.  Of course you can also talk to me too.  I am on this journey of self discovery.  It has been fascinating to understand how God made me and how he gave me the tools to live an amazing life with HIM!

The Laughter and the Dance

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Spring might be the season that I look forward to the most. I grew up in Indonesia where there are only two seasons: wet or dry. When I moved to Philadelphia, I learned to not take for granted the changes in the four seasons.

Spring, summer, fall and winter. As the seasons cycle through, I appreciate the significance that the earth is still rotating and time is moving forward. After the bitter cold of winter, spring comes to bring new warmth and light into our lives. After the sweltering heat of summer, fall comes to give a gentle breeze and falling leaves.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

ECCLESIASTES 3:1-8 (ESV)

This particular season for me has been a time to be sad, break down, and mourn. We are still in the middle of a pandemic, and I am constantly hearing news and stories of people who died too soon.

Last month, I heard the news of the heinous shooting in Atlanta, along with the increasing amount of anti-Asian rhetoric and hate crimes toward Asian Americans in the US. I began to question my own identity and safety as an Asian woman living in the United States.

Last week, I heard news of a police shooting that took the life of a young Black man, a death that could have been (and should have been) prevented, but happened anyway. I am learning and lamenting that we have a broken system that is endangering people of color.

But just as there’s a time for me to be sad, break down, and to mourn, God reminded me that there’s also time for me to heal, to build up, and to find peace.

I choose to focus on things that I have control over. 

I choose to find hope in overlooked places. I saw many communities organizing COVID-19 vaccination sites as an effort to keep communities protected. As I received my second dose of the vaccination, I was hopeful; I was healing.

As I unlearn harmful ideologies and educate myself further to become a better member of the community, I am hopeful that I am playing a role, no matter how small, to change things for the better.There’s so much work to be done! While it’s perfectly fine to be angry, sad, and disappointed at the situation at times, we need to focus on working toward healing, making small but tangible changes. As the cycle of weeping and mourning continues, I am hopeful that we as a community can come together and be the laughter and the dance.

Interconnectedness During a Pandemic

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The world-wide spread of COVID-19 has reminded us of our interconnectedness. Unlike other pandemics in recent history, COVID-19’s devastating impact has been wide-spread. The number of lives lost, the inequity and injustices revealed, and the economic toll our world-wide community has experienced supersedes what many of us have experienced in our lifetime. 

World leaders have responded differently to this crisis. Some have acted independently of other nations. Other leaders have drawn upon the wisdom and experiences of other nations when rates of infection and deaths increase or decrease. We have witnessed world leaders coming together for the well-being of all nations to fight this virus. 

It took a world-wide effort of scientists, medical personnel, and drug companies to develop, manufacture, and distribute several different vaccines. A willingness to work together for the common good, transparency with mis-steps and failures, and giving and receiving counsel is essential when dealing with a deadly virus impacting every continent.

In our faith communities, religious leaders have responded differently. Some have acted independently. Some have drawn upon the wisdom and experiences of other leaders and the medical professionals to make decisions for the common good. Some faith communities have suffered greatly while others have discovered new, creative ways to connect and support each other and the people in their neighborhood. Members of some faith communities are disconnected, lacking access to the Internet. Some feel more connected and able to attend an online service they could not attend in person. Some have disconnected from the church, disillusioned by the conflict over how to respond to COVID-19 protocols. Some are more connected to the church and energized by discovering prophetic ways to promote justice in their neighborhood. 

Some new ministries have begun through online formats reaching across our nation and around the world. Bible study, prayer, or support groups have formed. Participation in worship services, ordinations, and memorial services include people living close-by or at a distance. 

Some local ministries have expanded to provide nutritious meals, Internet service, tutoring, and support for children unable to access their virtual school programs.

Thinking of our worldwide interconnectedness in the past year reminds me of the Apostle Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 12:24b-26, “But God has arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member (of the body) suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it” (NRSV). 

Paul is reminding the early church to recognize each member’s value, perspective, skills, and spiritual gifts. In the church, there should be no inequity or dissension among the members if we are living into God’s intention that all are valued and receive care to meet their needs.

Modeled after the interconnectedness of the Trinity, the church is called to honor, value, and care for all members. Just as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each contribute to God’s mission, all members of the church are invited to use their special gifts to serve the whole body. Especially in times of suffering, we are reminded that dissension has no place. Our call is to focus on caring for one another for the common good of all people near and far.

When We Take Risks, We Do It Together

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Originally written by Jenny Castro, adapted by Marco Güete

Photo provided by Marco Güete.

In 1970, after a mutual friend introduced us in Cartagena, Colombia, we knew pretty quickly that we wanted to be married. Sandra was 19, and I, Marco, was 18 at the time. 

I grew up moving around a lot, attending a variety of Catholic schools in Colombia and rarely living with my parents. Through these experiences I developed confidence in my own abilities and a sense of independence.

Soon after we married, I traveled to the United States to find work and establish myself, while Sandra stayed in Colombia. After reuniting eight months later in the US, we enrolled in evening technical and language schools. Sandra learned English and I studied IBM computers. 

I was agnostic; we didn’t go to church.  I didn’t believe in anything that had to do with church or God. But one day a neighbor invited her pastor over to talk with us. We were confronted with the gospel. That same day, Sandra and I made a decision to be followers of Jesus Christ. Eventually we were invited to a small Mennonite church.

After a year of deliberation and discernment, we took a leap of faith, sold our business in New York, and moved our family to Goshen, IN, for me to attend Goshen College. After I graduated from college, we moved to Illinois, and I enrolled at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Lombard to finish my master’s degree in theological studies. We were young and had energy.

For a number of years, we worked as church planters in Chicago. I was also the new director for the Hispanic Ministries Department of the General Conference Mennonite Church. It was through this work that an idea popped in my mind. The idea would become the Instituto Bíblico Anabautista (IBA, or Anabaptist Biblical Institute).

In 1988, I drafted a proposal, outlining the first lessons of an instructional manual.  At IBA’s 25th anniversary celebration, more than 1,000 people had finished the program and many were serving the church.

Sandra and I do almost everything together. Our projects have always been joint projects: ministry, business, travel, and many ventures. When we take risks, we do it together.

For 51 years, we have been taking risks together. In the ’90s, we returned to Colombia, where I served as director of the Latin-American Anabaptist Center (CLARA) and the Colombia Mennonite Bible Seminary.  My name was on the blacklist of the Colombian military, because of the conscientious objector position of the church.  

I have also served as Associate Conference Minister for Western District Conference and South Central Conference, Conference Minister for Southeast Mennonite Conference, and today I serve as a Leadership Minister for Mosaic Conference. 

A life of ministry hasn’t been easy. There have been times when work required that I travel substantially, leaving Sandra at home with our children. “The hardest period was the teenage years,” Sandra says and laughs. “My kids were good, but teenagers are teenagers. And everything always happened when Marco was away.”

We enjoy our lives in Sarasota, FL — the work, the community of faith, and one another. The other day, when we were walking at the mall, I whispered in Sandra’s ear, causing her to laugh. “A woman came up to us and said, ‘Watching you two makes me believe in love,’ shared Sandra. She was surprised to find out that we’ve been married over 48 years!

We never finish learning. As we change and grow over the years, we fix some things and realize there are other areas we need to work on.