Kent Annan - Slow Kingdom Coming: Practices for Doing Justice, Loving Mercy and Walking Humbly in the World

O ver the past twenty years Ive personally and professionally succumbed to various failed justice shortcuts instead of living the freedom of faithful practices. Ive been paralyzed by the complexity of trying to help others. Ive huddled in bed during daylight because of sadness and discouragement. Ive rushed to get good things done and so didnt treat people as well as I should. Im still confessing regularly my faults and my longing to better participate in justicethat Gods kingdom would come on earth as in heaven. I confess that I wish this werent such a slow kingdom coming.

But Ive also seen people be incredibly generous with their time, talents and money in ways that inspire about humanity and are testimonies to Gods love. Ive seen people in brutal circumstances make the best of new opportunities. Ive seen hope stay tenaciously alive when by almost any measure it should be dead. Ive seen ingenuity and humility in service of love.

All this has happened as Ive been working for justice through education in Haiti for the past thirteen years. Ive also been teaching and speaking around the United States and Canada. Before this I worked for a couple of years with refugees in Europe. Ive been on short-term missions trips and have led some. Ive had the photo of a sponsored child on my fridge. Ive worked for and been a director of nonprofits. Im a small donor and also a board member of a foundation that gives away millions of dollars each year.

Out of these experiences Ive written this book about doing good without hiding from the badboth around us and within usbecause were called to be part of Gods kingdom coming. Were invited to confess our vulnerabilities in serving justice so we can avoid dead-end shortcuts that damage others and ourselves. Were invited to accept the grace and responsibility of living into our deepest longings for Gods kingdom. Were invited to a responsible approach to helping other people flourish in our neighborhoods and in our world, where there is too much suffering. Were invited to be part of deep, lasting change.

Ive been seeking to understand how we can best stay faithfully committed to humbly doing justice and loving mercy in our world. This has led to the five practices in this book. Where can they apply?

These days racial injustice and the threat of climate change are top of mind. No big issues are more important right now, right? Well, except human trafficking and endemic violence against women also must be added to the list. Then there is the growing chasm between the wealthy and poor, with the resulting disenfranchisement and the long-term fracturing of society. The latest refugee crisis. Access to education and clean water. Protecting the rights of people who are vulnerable because of their sexuality. Cruelty toward animals in factory farming. Nuclear disarmament. And the list keeps multiplying all too easily.

And then without even touching that list, think of your daily life. Your neighbor who has emotional issues and is deeply lonely and latches on every chance she gets, but even if you were to give her all the attention you had to give for the rest of your days, you still wouldnt meet her heart-rending, unquenchable need.

So you feel guilty avoiding her as you drive to the grocery store, and then along the way at an intersection stands a man in a tattered, too-heavy coat holding a cardboard sign that says, Homeless vet, will work for food. And then the sign says, God bless you.

Its hard to feel Gods blessing in this moment. Its tempting to respond with, Hey God, Im willing to skip the blessing if we could get a little more help down herebecause its more than we can handle!

Yes, it is more than we can handle. The five practices in this book can help you find the freedom to handle what you can and what youre called toand then handle this wellas we respond faithfully to needs and opportunities around us.

The kingdom of God has come near.

MARK 1:15

O n the fifteenth of each month, Alicia has thirty dollars withdrawn from her checking account to sponsor Belyse, a beautiful, brown-eyed girl from Kenya, who then gets school and a hot meal each day. Alicias job is a grind at the moment. Belyses photo on her fridge has become deeply important to her, almost like an icon. Pulling out milk for morning coffee, she pauses to quickly pray for Belyse, but also that through Belyse God would give her own life more meaning.

But shes read the small print. She knows her money doesnt all go to Belyse, which makes sense. But it means even this straightforward bond is manipulated. She feels distant from the help she is givinglike shes watching it on TV instead of being part of it. She consumes justice. She picked Belyse by scrolling through photos, like picking a new pair of shoes off Zappos.com. She feels both more connected to and yet further from love because of this relationship.

And then there are the other relationships she has to block out. She lives in Brooklyn, where she works for a tech startup. Just today she walked up the stairs to her apartment shuffling through junk mail appeals from a wildlife fund, a local domestic abuse shelter, a medical relief organization that works somewhere parched and poor, and a local political group. Thats not to mention emails that sneak past her filtering system and urgent Facebook posts from friends. Who can carry this weight of the extinction of a species, abused women around the corner, fixing cleft palates and a political movement to save democracy?