true fasting at lent

Last night was the I Am Coming benefit at Redeemer. I Am Coming is a grassroots organization started this year by some young people (Jay Brock and Jen Standish, I believe) in Hamilton who wanted to do something about the monstrous worldwide problem of sex trafficking.

The goal is threefold:

• To raise wide-scale awareness of the injustices of trafficking (along with rape and sexual slavery).


• To raise financial resources to combat human trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation.
  
• To raise political support to implement a worldwide mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison for sex trafficking.

Jay Brock spoke. He was very sincere, and the stories that he shared with us were. . . painful and scary. I'm not going to repeat them here, but those stories connect with me so much more than any statistics. One thing they did really well last night was to remind us: That could be me. If you want to know more about this topic, I'd recommend The Natashas, a book from which Jay read.

There was a lot of talk at the benefit about "rescuing" girls from exploitation. It's language that is bound to come up with groups like I Am Coming or International Justice Mission, and sometimes it comes across as paternalistic. I've thought about that and talked about it with other people a lot, especially because these are the kinds of organizations that I might like for one day (say, if I ever follow through with the law school idea).

And I think that it might be okay to err on the side of paternalism, as long as we remember that we're not the Father. "Rescue" is generally used about God's action in the Bible, not ours, because he is the only one who truly can rescue.

But if we're operating from a humility in which we allow God to work, if we don't allow ourselves to make rescue something simplistic -- remembering that true healing can take a long time -- then I think the language of rescue can be very effective. Partly because it reminds us that in the midst of our "rescuing" others, God is also rescuing us.

"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:

to loose the chains of injustice

and untie the cords of the yoke,

to set the oppressed free

and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry

and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—

when you see the naked, to clothe him,

and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,

and your healing will quickly appear;

then your righteousness will go before you,

and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;

you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I."

Chisai Jackson and Turn Off the Stars both played at the benefit. Both were good, though they kind of served as background music for socializing. I did buy Chisai's CD.

Redeemer artists painted to raise funds and awareness. I think the paintings were what really grabbed a lot of people's attention.

One of the artists was my roommate Sarah, who created this piece, entitled Talitha Koum:

The photograph does it no justice, though.