{"id":144,"date":"2017-07-14T18:39:41","date_gmt":"2017-07-14T18:39:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/divergence.blog\/?p=144"},"modified":"2017-07-14T18:39:41","modified_gmt":"2017-07-14T18:39:41","slug":"for-the-invisible-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2017\/07\/14\/for-the-invisible-people\/","title":{"rendered":"For The Invisible People"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

People need to be seen.\u00a0 People need to know they exist, that they matter.\u00a0 People need to know they have gravity, weight, that they bend space and time.\u00a0 It is a slow quiet death when a person feels like no one can see them.\u00a0 Imagine knowing you exist, have feelings, dreams, and desires but are treated like a ghost\u2014you can see others but they can\u2019t (or won\u2019t) see you.<\/p>\n

A significant damaging effect of the fundamentalist (evangelical?) mind-set, in my opinion, is its tendency to make some people feel invisible.\u00a0 It happens in many ways, but here are just a few:<\/p>\n

When<\/em> we see people in a strict, black and white, world of \u201csaved\u201d and \u201clost\u201d there is a tendency to dismiss the views, opinions, and feelings of those we consider \u201clost.\u201d \u00a0Not only does this make them disappear, it reveals a pride, as if we could learn nothing from a \u201clost\u201d person (Remember the Magi? \u2013 Matt 2).<\/p>\n

When<\/em> one treats certain sins as more \u201csinful\u201d than others, there is a tendency to treat the people who commit those \u201csins\u201d in a way that makes them feel invisible.\u00a0 This is a paradox of sorts, because on one level we actually make them feel more visible, exposed, shamed, and guilty, so there is a sense of being paraded about\u2014or being very visible.<\/p>\n

What this does however is make the people being shamed (For instance, gay people) want to shrink from us, to hide, to become invisible.\u00a0 Think about it.\u00a0 Why do you think it is called coming out of the \u201ccloset?\u201d\u00a0 The closet exists to hide in, to be invisible.\u00a0 We don\u2019t want to \u201csee\u201d them.\u00a0 When they try to become visible to us (Come out), explain their views, their experience, like with \u201clost\u201d people, we tend to dismiss their views and feelings.\u00a0 After all, how can a person who doesn\u2019t recognize their sin (Which begs the question, but never mind\u2026), possibly tell us anything important or true?\u00a0 When people sense this is what the other person feels toward them, they begin to disappear.<\/p>\n

When<\/em> one is silent regarding, or even supports, political bullies who use their power to put others down, to mock the handicapped, to treat women disrespectfully, to stir up the fear and hatred of others<\/em>, to demonize immigrants and those with different religious views, we communicate to all those on the losing end of such arrangements that they are invisible to us\u2014that all we can see, all we care about, is the powerful.<\/p>\n

When<\/em> one supports a view, attitude, or action that leads an entire subset of people, whether women, immigrants, or people of color, to feel they are somehow less than White American Males, we make those people feel invisible.<\/p>\n

When<\/em> one of those groups of people, women, cannot teach authoritatively, preach, or hold certain offices\/positions within our churches or society, we make women feel even more invisible.<\/p>\n

When<\/em> we are either unaware of, or indifferent to, a political\/cultural system of consumerism, where the market and money become gods\/idols, we enable a system that makes those who have less, those on the economic margins, the poor, to feel invisible.<\/p>\n

It is very possible that many of us are not even aware we are doing this or a part of these structures or attitudes.\u00a0 Before leaving fundamentalism, I wasn\u2019t.\u00a0 Unfortunately, that doesn\u2019t make anyone feel any less invisible.\u00a0 In fact, it probably adds insult to injury.\u00a0 Worse, it could be we are aware of and even supportive of these very systems, actions, or views that make others feel invisible. If so, shame on us.\u00a0 There is nothing \u201cChristian\u201d about wanting, or enabling, structures that lead others to feel invisible.<\/p>\n

Here is something I love about Jesus.\u00a0 Jesus saw the invisible people. Just like today, there were people then who were very visible.\u00a0 The Roman leaders and soldiers were very visible. The religious leaders, the Pharisees, and members of the Sanhedrin were very visible. Rich people were very visible.\u00a0 Sound familiar?<\/p>\n

When Jesus was invited to a dinner with the very visible and powerful, this is what he told them:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind\u2026\u201d (Luke 14)<\/p>\n

In other words, invite the invisible people\u2014the people who can do nothing for you.\u00a0 But to invite, we first must see<\/em> them.<\/p>\n

Another example: \u201cWhen he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.\u201d (Matt 9)<\/p>\n

Jesus didn\u2019t just see faces in a crowd.\u00a0 He saw the invisible in those crowds, those who were harassed and helpless.<\/p>\n

Maybe the best example from Scripture, of Jesus seeing the invisible people, is the woman at the well (John 4).\u00a0 This woman had three strikes against her.\u00a0 First, she was a woman.\u00a0 Second, she was a Samaritan (see here<\/a>), and third, she was considered an immoral woman because of her many marriages.\u00a0 She was about as invisible as one could get.\u00a0 She is shocked that Jesus even talks to her.\u00a0 I Imagine her thinking, \u201cHe sees<\/em> me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jesus saw the invisible people.\u00a0 They registered with him; they appeared on his radar.\u00a0 Jesus notices even when an \u201cunclean\u201d (invisible) woman barely touched the hem of his garment (Matt 9).\u00a0 We read: \u201cJesus turned and saw her.\u201d\u00a0 He saw<\/em> her, even if those around her refused to.<\/p>\n

Some questions we might ask:\u00a0 Does the church I belong to see the invisible people? Does the city, county, and state I live in see the invisible people?\u00a0 Does my country?\u00a0 My President? Do I?\u00a0 If the answer to any one of those is \u201cNo,\u201d what will we do about it?\u00a0 We need to see the invisible people.\u00a0 Jesus did.\u00a0 Be like Jesus.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

People need to be seen.\u00a0 People need to know they exist, that they matter.\u00a0 People need to know they have gravity, weight, that they bend space and time.\u00a0 It is a slow quiet death when a person feels like no one can see them.\u00a0 Imagine knowing you exist, have feelings, dreams, and desires but are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3524,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[356],"class_list":["post-144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-prejudice"],"yoast_head":"\nFor The Invisible People<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"People need to be seen.\u00a0 People need to know they exist, that they matter.\u00a0 People need to know they have gravity, weight, that they bend space and time.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2017\/07\/14\/for-the-invisible-people\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"For The Invisible People\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"People need to be seen.\u00a0 People need to know they exist, that they matter.\u00a0 People need to know they have gravity, weight, that they bend space and time.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2017\/07\/14\/for-the-invisible-people\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Divergence\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-07-14T18:39:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Darrell Lackey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@darrelllackey1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Darrell Lackey\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2017\/07\/14\/for-the-invisible-people\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2017\/07\/14\/for-the-invisible-people\/\",\"name\":\"For The Invisible People\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-07-14T18:39:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-07-14T18:39:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/#\/schema\/person\/d88a32b8d4b5f40fbd6ccbfce4e0f813\"},\"description\":\"People need to be seen.\u00a0 People need to know they exist, that they matter.\u00a0 People need to know they have gravity, weight, that they bend space and time.\u00a0\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2017\/07\/14\/for-the-invisible-people\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2017\/07\/14\/for-the-invisible-people\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2017\/07\/14\/for-the-invisible-people\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"For The Invisible People\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/\",\"name\":\"Divergence\",\"description\":\"Commentary Regarding Fundamentalism - Evangelicalism\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/#\/schema\/person\/d88a32b8d4b5f40fbd6ccbfce4e0f813\",\"name\":\"Darrell Lackey\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/333bbffd8a9f931197abc00b19242031?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/333bbffd8a9f931197abc00b19242031?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Darrell Lackey\"},\"description\":\"Darrell Lackey has served as a lead pastor and currently works in the private sector. 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