Power

Readings: JER 18:18-20; MT 20:17-28

Far from being out of touch with reality, the scriptures give us real stories.

The first reading talks about people plotting against Jeremiah when all he was doing was trying to save people from their wickedness.  And in the gospel, Jesus is telling his disciples about the suffering he’s going to have to endure (because people are going to hate him).  Just after Jesus says this, one of the parents of the disciples asks Jesus if her kids can sit on his right and left when he gets into glory – clearly misunderstanding EVERYTHING that Jesus has just said.

So Jesus then ends with a brief discussion on power and what it is for.

I just started reading a book called The Purpose of Power by Alicia Garza (one of the 3 co-founders of #BlackLivesMatter).  Just the title itself is evocative.  How do you understand the purpose of power?  What power do you have?  How do you use yours?

Side note that’s really not a side note: Garza said that when she started the book, she set out to write about the history of the Black Lives Matter movement and all the lessons that they learned along the way.  But she said that what she ended up reflecting on more than anything was the influence of her parents on her and the lessons that they taught her about how to view the world.  If you are a parent, guardian, caretaker or educator of young people somehow – remember that.  How you influence young people to view the world could change everything later on!

Jesus wants to change our view.  He is constantly pointing out to the disciples what they might be missing in the picture, and he does the same today.  He knows the realities named in the first reading – that people are going to act against other people (and especially against other people who try to do good).  And he doesn’t waste a lot of time getting hung up on it.  He could have lectured the mom of the disciples who asked for a special place for her sons, but he didn’t.  He offered an alternative frame instead.

I know that I can get really hung up on what people do that bothers me.  So much so that I can get drawn off mission and off point.  Jesus, however, encourages us to stay focused.

So back to the idea of power.

One figure I keep returning to is Ella Baker.  Baker was one of the most influential leaders of the 1960’s civil rights movement, but because she was a woman and because of the kind of organizing she focused on, most of us never learned about her.  Baker’s vision of power and leadership was for more collective in nature and focused on helping the masses of people find their voice.

She was distrustful of the singular leader model and what Garza calls the “activist-as-celebrity” that we have in our modern era.  Baker wanted us to have – not a singular, charismatic leader – but a whole cadre of educated, informed, passionate leaders.  She believed, in particular, that even the so-called “least educated” had the ability and skill to interpret the realities of the world around them and did not need anyone to transform the world for them.  They may need someone to help them harness their own power, however, and that’s what she set out to do.  Her goal was to help common people find their voice, together, to advocate for changes that lifted everyone.

This, in my opinion, is one of the primary purposes of power.  Bring people together around a common purpose so that everyone is lifted – but especially the people who need it the most.  And I see that as what Jesus was constantly trying to do.  He cautioned us against getting seduced by the ways of the world and how power is used for celebrity or lining one’s pockets with money, glory or influence.  He tried to encourage people to “wake up” and claim their own voice in their lives.  And he was trying to create a movement of people (what King called the Beloved Community).

As Garza reminds us, “hashtags do not create movements, people do.”  Our daily choices of where we put our energy, what we read or learn about, how we spend our money, who we connect with, etc. all shape what is going to happen next (which then shapes what happens after that).

And so as you move through your day, think about the power that you have.  How might you use your voice, your resources, your time, your social media (or whatever platforms that you have), your relationships, your influence to help people come together around a common purpose so that everyone gets lifted – but especially the least.