Motorcycle Diaries...

I've just watched Motorcycle diaries the story of Che Guevara as his journey around South America with a friend changed his life. The injustice he saw and experienced kindled the revolutionary fire that created history in this mans life.

Two key scenes remained with me - the injustice served up by the church in leper colony where he worked for a while. "Only if they have been to mass do they get a meal...!" said one grim looking nun to Guevara. Interesting and a very familiar but unfortunate take on mission. The second was the scene where Guevara swam a dangerous river to the leper colony from the staff quarters to be with the lepers on his birthday - a powerful picture of incarnation and love.

A good film - worth watching. However, it got me thinking of some words of Martin Luther King I read recently:
"The great tradegy is that Christianity failed to see that it had the revolutionary edge. You don't need to go to Karl Marx to learn how to be a revolutionary. I got it from a man called Jesus who said he was annoited to heal the broken hearted. He was annoited to deal with the poor - that is where we get our inspiration"

If justice and mercy is the new thing, the new trend, the new fad for the church - perhaps if we are to be truely revolutionary which need to check our inspiration. If we are to avoid justice and mercy becoming the next 'wwjd' or a nice little church project for the summer, we need to check where we get our inspiration. If justice and mercy was just a sideline to Jesus lets do it like that...! or if it was ever so much more than that for Jesus lets put justice and mercy in its rightful place - or not bother.

[thanks to a new life emerging for some challenging observations]

Comments

New Life said…
Hi Gordon,

So great to have found you! Thanks for the plug. I appreciate your comments and this post.

Peace,

Rick
3:36 PM
Kathryn said…
Set against that, the story a colleague shared with us at our CME day today. Her church had arranged funding to take 2 busloads of mums and toddlers to the local farm park, and having given tickets to all of their contacts, were in the happy position of having a spare 2 dozen seats. So, she stood in the street,handing out free tickets, no strings, no hidden costs, to anyone with a small child who passed by.
She realised then that her whole calling, and ours, centred around offering the most precious gift imaginable...free, with no strings, no hidden costs.....
4:56 PM
Gordon said…
thanks Rick - your blog is a great source of inspiration - thanks
7:15 PM
Gordon said…
Glenda - I echo your thoughts - thanks
7:17 PM
Gordon said…
Kathryn - Grace centred mission how cool is that!! I'd have loved to have been on the coach and to have heard teh conversations!!
7:18 PM
so i go said…
lots to see out on those motorcycles, huh? i'll have to check it out!
6:34 PM
Gordon said…
Jeff - 'fraid it isn't a harley tho!!
9:14 PM
youthwork southwest said…
There's a quote from a Che biog that I read that has stuck with me - the idea of permanent revolution. The thought that for a society to be permanently revolutionary it can never stay still. I linked to it the idea of faith - or journey, that we can't afford to rest, but have to keep pursuing God, wherever he is. Sounds like kingdom living too. Che is kinda one of my heros...not sure if I'm allowed him though!
7:45 AM
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