A few weeks ago we talked about the story of the lion saving the little baby gazelle…
(Please read 1st post).
And specifically the question: Can a lion save a baby gazelle?
To be able to think about this question, we need some clarification. Working with the analogy from the parable, the context is when somebody reaches out to help somebody else from a position of inequality… so it’s not the other gazelles helping a fellow gazelle in need, it is the lion (the one with power) who offers help.
Among humans, this help could be through money,
training,
mission work,
community work...
And yes, help is needed!
Things like poverty, war, political instability, lack of basic human resources, natural disasters, racism and discrimination cause big problems in communities and countries and make people vulnerable and in need for help.
And yes, the “powerful”part of the world have something to offer.
They can help.
They can save. Many times, they really want to save!
Because the little gazelle is in trouble and they care.
The reality we struggle to understand, is that things like passport, skin color, financial stability and education place people in a position of power.
It makes them the lion.
The reality we have to face is that outsiders, coming from a position of power to people in need, are perceived as lions.
And lions are not made to save baby gazelles.
So what now?
Should people stop helping?
Or can lions stop being lions!?
How?
I believe there is a way out. A difficult way.
It is called: Incarnation.
Jesus showed us the way.
He came into the world in an act of profound identification,
not only with humanity as a whole,
but with a particular group of people.
He was in the neighborhood for 30 years while no-one noticed.
Did it take God 30 years to become human?
Did it take Moses 40 years in the desert to get Egypt (power and position growing up in the palace) out of him and be ready to lead his own people?
Did it take Paul 3 years in the desert to get rid of the pharisism in him before he can start his ministry?
You see. Incarnation takes time!
And this is something lions struggle to understand.
Lions want results.
Lions want to see quick change.
Lions want to give solution to the problems.
Lions wants to write reports and raise more funds.
There is a world to save!
And yet, incarnation takes time.
The fact that God was in the Nazarene neighborhood for thirty years, and no one noticed, should be profoundly disturbing to the normal ways people engage with those they want to help.
Incarnation works slowly.
Like yeast.
Or the kernel in the soil.
Sometimes 30 years.
Incarnation asks of you to be present. To identify with a group. To learn the heart language. To eat the same food. To laugh and cry together.
Incarnation is about proximity – To go where they go. To live where they live.
To become friends and neighbors.
Day after day. Month after month. Year after year.
Listening. Learning.
More Learning. More Listening.
No quick answers to the questions asked.
No quick solutions to the problems you see.
No saving.
With time, something will start to happen.
The lion will loose your position of power.
The lion will become weak.
Yes, you will become less of a lion.
You are dying.
It is the process of incarnation - a long, challenging journey of dying to yourself to become like the people you want to serve, whether you are the missionary, the peace corp worker, the United Nations representative in refugee camps, the sweet lady from the better neighborhood.
Maybe this is why it is easier to stay lions.
The incarnation way is the difficult way.
Ask Paul.
Ask Moses.
Ask Jesus.
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