Mark 13 and Stay Woke

Keep awake, Jesus said.  Keep awake. Pay attention to the times and the seasons.  Movements require that its leaders pay attention, because there is a rhythm to the work of building a just and peaceful world.  Some describe it as a step forward and a step back, or the ebb and flow of a rising tide. Compassionate justice has eluded the world.  Is the world safer, cleaner, fairer than it was in the past?  Are we making progress?
My wife is helping to teach the UN Millennium Development Goals as part of her school's LA curriculum. Check them out at   http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/.  Are the goals attainable?  Are they progressive?  Are they inclusive?   Who are the winners and the losers?

StayWoke is a paraphrase that has found its way into urban vernacular and the resistance work of current anti-racism organizing groups, like Black Lives Matter. It suggests that resisters must be vigilant in our efforts to advocate for just policies and safe communities. Check out www.staywoke.org.  Stay Woke is about policing the police in black communities where racial bias and profiling endangers young black kids daily.  Stay Woke is about becoming aware of internalized oppression and the ways in which black and brown communities continue to struggle because of the trauma of history.

For Christians, it means that we are paying attention for the cross--the places in which power is abused, the weak are oppressed, and the poor are trampled upon.  We must watch out for those who are vulnerable, risking vulnerability ourselves to do so. We are paying attention to the ways that the powerful assess threats to their power and use their wealth and influence to mitigate those threats, by further disadvantaging poor communities.

It is also a call to wake up from our own complacency with, comfort in, and conformity to the status quo dominant culture.  In what ways do we benefit from a system that favors white, educated, males and puts women and people of color at a disadvantage?

Stay Woke might mean to take a stand, to protest, to march, to oppose hatred and prejudice.  It might mean to take action in your community for your neighbor.

Jesus expects us to be vigilant, to pay attention to the news and politics of the day.  Because we will see the cross there.  In mass incarceration, in cuts to health care and food for the hungry, in anti-immigration policies, and in policies that benefit the wealthiest few.

Maybe this gospel is a Kairos moment for you---you've been unaware of the bigger implications of Jesus' mission.  Its not just about "saving souls" one person at a time.  It's not even about random acts of kindness and "being a good person."  It's about massive change, moving history in a direction, building a world around God's intentions--and not ours.  Jesus came to confront and destroy evil, hatred, bigotry, religious extremism, and political hegemony.  He came to rule as a King who dies for his people.

 Keep Watch.  In the midst of the darkness, the shitstorm, the ugliness and suffering, God is demonstrating love--on the cross.