Unless you’ve been in lunar orbit or under a rock for the last three months, you’ve probably heard about the Occupy Movement. Regardless of how you get your news (online, television, newspapers, twitter hashtags or red-faced relatives screaming over the dinner table), you’ve been bombarded with stories about people protesting in our cities.
Outside of the fact that the protestors have tents, signs and anger (the three things any respectable movement must possess), I know very little about these people. And when I need information, I turn to Wikipedia.
Wikipedia tells me that these protestors are in 92 cities, in 85 countries, and in 600 communities in the United States. It gave me a lot of other information about origins, timelines and demands, but I skipped over most of that because…well, frankly, because it’s Wikipedia.
Regardless of how you feel about this movement (or about Wikipedia), there is one fact that we all know to be true: these people are angry. They’re angry about inequality. They’re angry about injustice. And they’re tired of being silent. So they occupy.
As I watch from a distance, I can’t help but wonder one thing: what would happen if the church got angry?
Isn’t it time we spoke out against the legalism that binds people instead of setting them free? Isn’t it time that we denounce injustice? Shouldn’t we move to help the poor, the marginalized and the hurting in our communities? Shouldn’t we be angered by our own sinful condition?
Maybe occupying isn’t such a bad idea. Maybe it’s time that we occupied our churches, our prayer closets, our altars. Better yet, maybe it’s time that we decided to occupy actual places where people are hurting.
A movement won’t happen unless we move, and anger without action is just rage. The body of Christ must choose to stand, speak and act in a world desperate for change.
Those occupiers might just be onto something.
(more on this tomorrow)
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