1. He is a visionary. I have seen on a limited knowledge of what the house looked like before he restored it. But what I do know is that it didn't look so hot. Now it is the envy of the neighborhood. He sees people and things and knows their potential. He does so within the context of being committed to what he does.
2. He is persistent. He sees the visions that he has and pursues them relentlessly.
That is something worth emulating.
On my mission I went to a few businesses around Boyle Heights and each was receptive to what I was doing and was more than willing to help out by having the poster on their storefront window. One stop I made was at Vicky's Restaurant. Vicky is our neighbor here and she is a sweet hispanic woman who speaks little english but communicates a kindness that transcends any language. Before I could even finish asking Vicky if I could put up a poster in the ventana she had me sitting down and had placed a big plate of chiles rellenados in front of me. I sat and ate with her son and with his friend and we talked about bikes and church and Boyle Heights. They seemed genuinely interested in attending the church. So I pray that we see them on Sunday night. I finished my dessert of some postre that I can only describe as a wonderful chewy and sweet flan-like pastry. But the taste that I had in my mouth as I mounted my bike to continue my "mission" was bittersweet.
There is but one word that has captured my attention in the recent weeks: sustainability. There are a lot of things that come to mind for different people when they hear the word sustainability, such as images of sustainably grown organic foods and sustainable energy sources. But I think that the definition of sustainability goes even deeper than issues having to do with the environment. Sustainable change, now there is an oxymoron. What is sustainable? Something that is sustainable is patient. Patience is a central quality to sustainability because when we live in the culture of instant gratification, there is no reason for waiting. When we are in a hurry eating we make choices to use plastic dishes and silverware and after we are done the remnants are discarded. Similarly, when we want results and when we are impatient in life we make decisions that unsustainable. But as I dine with my vecinos at Vicky's I had that bittersweet taste of knowing that this, this experience, this place is probably not permanent for me. I want nothing more than to say I will be here in this neighborhood for years and years but I am not convinced that my calling is to Boyle Heights. I know God can use me wherever I am but there is a great virtue in planting roots somewhere.
I kept riding and putting up posters at the places that I had on my list. There was a box on the checklist for:
__ Wherever else you want, get creative
At that time it was right at dusk or "magic hour" in photography terms when the light over downtown is at such an angle that it creates brilliant colors and shadows. I decided that meant I should head back home. Wanting to put up one last poster I rode down first street in the luxurious bike lane painted in a bright, nearly glowing shade of green. The Homeboy Learning Center caught my eye...but I rode right by...and then doubled back once I gained enough courage. Homeboy Industries is a ministry that was started by a Catholic priest named father Gregory Boyle. His name coincidentally matches the place where he started his business/gang ministry. Both these characteristics: the gang members there and the catholic-ness of the ministry were what created the hesitancy in my mind to ask to put up a poster there. I went inside and the building came off as empty with no sign of activity other than a few lights on. I announced my arrival saying, "Hello?" with an older guero answering the call. I asked about the posters and he responded by saying that the learning center is a school and that he would take the poster and ask tomorrow if it would be alright to put it up given the public nature of schools. I half intentionally tried to get on his good side by saying that I loved father Boyle's book and his compassion and want to learn more about what Homeboy does (all of which is true FYI). I mean Father Boyle shows that kind of unfailing love that only comes from an encounter with the living Christ. So I left not knowing whether the poster would pass the inspection. I doubted it would pass the test knowing that the nature of hispanic churches is that they have a territorial nature. My thought was, 'oh well, at least I tried, hopefully I get at least a small pat on the back when I get to heaven.'
That bittersweet feeling of temporality makes me think about why it takes so long to create sustainable change in the community. The answer that I come up with is that facts are not just facts. Look at what Jesus did; he spoke in parables. In essence, he did not simply explain the truths about the kingdom of God, he told stories about the kingdom. People were not necessarily ready to hear the truths about the kingdom, so in order to create readiness for people to receive the truths he spoke in parables, in stories. Yeah this approach definitely took longer, but in the end what Jesus had done was create sustainable change. Some of us in the house were talking the other night about how we liked hymns, but even more than liking hymns, we liked hymns like Amazing Grace and It is Well that have epic stories that give the words of the song even deeper meaning. Stories involve wrestling with conflict. In the Psalms there are three categories of psalms: psalms of orientation, where God makes sense and his goodness is apparent, and then there are psalms of disorientation where God's ways seem to make no sense and his presence seems far off, and finally there are psalms of re-orientation where God has brought the psalmist out of the pit to a deeper trust in God. The psalmist most certainly understood why stories (characters overcoming conflict) create sustainable change.
God knew that one thing above all that was unsustainable for us as humans was keeping his law. You look through the Old Testament and you see a covenant with Abraham, Noah, David, and then finally we see that there is going to be a new covenant: an everlasting one.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 states:
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Jesus also explains the sustainability of the work of the Holy Spirit to the disciples when they ask him, "When the disciples heard [how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God], they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:25-26).
So that is what it comes down to; Jesus' work of regeneration in the earth happens through His Spirit working in His people. Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father"
(John 14:12 ESV). He says this knowing that when His Spirit is poured out we can be Jesus to everyone that we meet. In essence, because Jesus was just one man we can now be in more places than he could be, reaching far more people, in every nation, we can do greater things than his earthly ministry. Woah. What that means is that we need to be united in Christ to accomplish HIS purposes on the earth.
So the next morning I went out on a run on one of my regular routes over the LA river and through the concrete woods of downtown. My concentration while I am running wanders much more than my feet do and I have a hard time keeping a consistent flow of prayer. But on this day I remember just being thankful for the blessings that I continually receive and reflecting on choices I have to make about the future. As I was heading back up first street back into Boyle Heights and following the neon green bike lane I glanced at the Homeboy Industries window. There in plain sight was a bright blue poster soliciting members of the community to attend the inaugural service of Hollenbeck Christian Chapel! Needless to say that put a little spring in my step because of the sheer joy of seeing that what unites us in Christ can be stronger than the differences that divide us. To God be the glory.
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