(GRCAM Christian Component)
My favorite sermon for the week is by Pastor Jamal Bryant entitled “Mind Your Business.” The Grass Roots Community Activist Movement is a revolutionary 21st century community building approach to solving social problems within the black community and throughout the African Diaspora.
In America there are 60 million people working less than $15.00 dollars they don’t make a living wage many of them are on food stamps and or living out of there vehicles. 30 million people without healthcare. Social inequality, Police Brutality and institutionalized racism runs deep in American society.
GRCAM is a Christian socialist organization. For me Christian socialism is an authentic form of Christianity. A Christian socialist is a form of socialism based on the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe that capitalism is idolatrous and rooted in greed, social inequality, and institutionalized racism which most Christian denominations consider a mortal sin. We will focus on what we stand for: love, compassion, social justice, and liberation theology.
Jesus/Yeshua told us to focus on the lease of these in society according to Matthew 25:35–40. He also commanded us to be a witness to others not just for us to read his word, but to activate social change in the world according to Matthew 28: 16–20. We will be committed to the healing ministry of Jesus by showing compassion to inner city youth and their families which will promote dignity to the people and community we will serve. We will promote an authentic form of Christianity which is Christian Socialism. We will emphasize the importance of morals and character development for both Christians and Non-Christians. We will also focus on strengthening the black family and focus on solving black issues by promoting a black economic agenda.
Don’t take my word for it search the scriptures for yourself we are in the information age. In the Biblical age elements that would form the basis of Christian socialism are found in both the Old and New Testaments. Old Testament had divided perspectives on the issue of poverty. One part of the Jewish tradition held that poverty was judgment of God upon the wicked while viewing prosperity as a reward for the good, stating that “The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite, but the belly of the wicked suffers want” (Prov. 13:25).
However, there are other sections that instruct generosity to the “have nots” of society. The Torah instructs followers to treat neighbors equally and to be generous to have nots, such as stating: You shall not oppress your neighbors but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord (Lev 19:13, 18). He [the Lord your God] executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner therefore; for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt (Deut. 10:18–19). When you reap in your harvest in the field, and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it…When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over the boughs again…When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it afterward; it shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless and the widow. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this (Deut. 24:19–22).
Some of the Psalms include many references to social justice for the poor: Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked (Ps. 82 (81): 3, 4). Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments! He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted in honour (Ps. 112 (111): 1, 9). Amos emphasizes the need for “justice” and “righteousness” that is described as conduct that emphasizes love for those who are poor and to oppose oppression and injustice towards the poor.
The prophet Isaiah (759–694 B.C.) to whom is attributed the first thirty-nine chapters of the Book of Isaiah (“Proto-Isaiah”), followed upon Amos’ themes of justice and righteousness involving the poor as necessary for followers of God, denouncing those who do not do these things, stating: Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood…cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow (Isa. 1:15–17). The most important quote of the Old Testament that has been recognized by Christian socialists is the verse from Ecclesiastes 3:13 that describes God as promoting an egalitarian society, stating: It is God’s gift to humankind that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil (Ecc. 3: 13).
In contrast, In the New Testament, Jesus in Matthew 25:31–46 identifies himself with the hungry, the poor, the sick, and the prisoners. Matthew 25:31–46 is a major component of Christianity and is considered the cornerstone of Christian socialism. Another key statement in the New Testament that is an important component of Christian socialism is Luke 10:25–37 that follows the statement “You shall love your neighbour as yourself” with the question “And who is my neighbour?”,and in the Parable of the Good Samaritan Jesus gives the revolutionary response that the neighbour includes anyone in need, even people we might be expected to shun. “Jesus Expels the Moneylenders from the Temple” by Giovanni Paolo Pannini In the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus says, “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be satisfied” (Luke 6:20, 21). During the New Testament period and beyond, there is evidence that many Christian communities practiced forms of sharing and redistribution.
Bible References
Genesis 15:13–14 New King James Version Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.”
Deuteronomy 28:68 “And the LORD will take you back to Egypt in ships, by the way of which I said to you, ‘You shall never see it again.’ And there you shall be offered for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.”
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