Who Sinned Here?

One of the greatest scandals of Jesus' life came out of a simple kindness.  He and his followers came across a man who had been born blind in John 9.  The followers had a simple question to ask their teacher:  "Who sinned here?"  They wondered whose fault it was that the man had been born with a disability.

The ancient world believed that hardships such as illness, tragedy, disability and poverty were not accidents or random events.  Instead they were the judgement of God visited upon the offenders.  But if this man was born with a disability, was it because he had sinned before he was born...or God knew he was going to sin...or was it the fault of the parents and the Almighty was punishing their child for their deficiencies?  Whose fault was it that this man had to suffer so?

Jesus' response was revolutionary.  "Neither the man nor his parents sinned.  He was born blind so that God's works might be revealed through him."  Jesus spit in the dirt, rubbed mud on the man's eyes and told him to go wash.  The man could then see and the religious establishment lost its collective mind because the healing happened outside of their designated parameters.

Whose sin brought tragedy?  My newsfeed is full of opinions.  "Hurricanes are the fault of liberals who defy God!"  "Hurricanes are the fault of conservatives who despise science!"  We are quick to look for who to blame for things that are out of our control.  And somehow the people that are at fault just happen to be the ones that we disagree with on other political issues.  Funny how that works.

Sometimes tragedies happen so that God's work can be revealed.  God's primary way of working on the Earth is through his Church.  For all its faults...for all its shortcomings...the family of God on Earth is how He has chosen to show himself to the world.  Tragedies are the time where our generosity and compassion and creativity and faith are supposed to shine the brightest.  Times of crisis...when people have lost everything...are the moments when the Church should have its arms open the widest and should be speaking the loudest its words of encouragement and support and hope.  That is how God's works and God's presence are revealed.  That is how the world sees the true face of God.

And...if Jesus is any sort of example...responding in this way will rile up the religious establishment who love their buildings and their rules and want to keep the world at bay so that their religion can remain pure.

Generation of Prophets

 We are the Forgotten Generation.  The Lost Generation.  The Aborted and Abandoned Generation.  The Cynical and Isolated Generation.  We are the voice in the wilderness, calling for a better world while two generational giants war with each other over cultural supremacy.  We are Generation X.  We are a Generation of Prophets.

Generation X is commonly defined as individuals born between 1965-1984.  We are the children of the eighties, children of Reagan, young adults during 9/11 and our entire adult life has been spent in the United States’ conflict with terrorism.  We witnessed the birth of the internet and were the ones who harnessed its power to connect the world.  We are a small generation, only around 45 million strong, whereas the generations on either side of us loom much larger.

Baby Boomers, the children of the veterans of the 2^nd World War, were born in the mid-1940s to mid-1960s and number 80 million.  Millennials, born between 1985-2004, are nearly as large at 78 million and have more disposable income and resource at their disposal than any generation in history.  These two massive forces are struggling for the reigns of the country, boomers reluctant to head into retirement and millennials eager to carve out their own space in the world.  They are the focus of every marketing campaign, every election campaign, every new product released and every cost-benefit analysis.  Are you wondering why Hollywood has recently started making R-rated comedies and superhero movies?  Millennials have come of age.  Are you wondering why the Erectile Dysfunction commercials are everywhere?  Boomers have come of age.

                

As much as I would like to just complain about the shortcomings of both of our generational neighbors, everything else is about them…this does not have to be. So who are the Gen X'-ers?  (Just a quick side note: Of course I am speaking in broad generalities. A single description is insufficient for 20 people, much less millions)  At the core of X-ers is the belief that the world is broken.  We see how systems are not working.  We hear the flaws in the majority's common sense.  We see the marginalized and the injustices and we know that this is not how the world is supposed to be.  We can envision a future that is different than "the good old days" because we know they were not that great for everyone.  

Here is the rub:  We know the world is broken.  We have ideas...really good ideas, on how to fix it.  But we do not have the power, the generational mojo, to do it ourselves.  We need the buy-in of the Boomers and/or the Millennials in order to put action to our words.  Do you know what people were called in Ye Olde Days who perceived problems in society, who saw what the future could hold and spoke truth to their leaders?  Prophets.  They were the prophets.

The role of the Prophet is to speak what they see.  The destiny of the Prophet is often to be ignored.  Even when their advice is heeded, the credit will go to the Leader, not the Prophet.  As an X-er, this can feel unfair and make you angry...but it is likely a reality that you have already encountered repeatedly in your adult life.  

It is not that we cannot lead or will not be in positions of authority.  We will most likely have another Gen X president...maybe 2 but certainly no more than that.  We can and will lead as individuals.  But corporately...collectively...we will serve as prophets to this country and to the older and younger generations.  My request for those of us who are willing to take on this role is twofold:

• Watch.  Allow yourself to see the full reality of what is going on.  Listen.  Pray.  Use everything at your disposal: your brain, your heart, your intuition...all of it.  Look through the marketing and the rhetoric to find the truth of the situation that you are in.
• Speak.  Do not stay silent.  Do not submit to fear or apathy or cynicism or hopelessness.  These have consumed and silenced many of our generation already.  Find a way to let your voice be heard.  It may be ignored but that is not a failure on your part.  Our failure comes when we choose to stay quiet.

Here is a piece of good news:  This world is not designed for us so we do not have to spend so much time, energy and resource trying to fit in.  We will never be the target demographic.  There is a freedom that comes with living out of how you were created instead of how you are supposed to act.  Live free.  See clearly.  Speak boldly.