The pictures above are from my visit in May 2014 to Zimbabwe. They were taken near the city of Nyanga, just on the outskirts. The carvings are handmade soapstone carvings. The artists pictured above go to the fields and find the soapstone. Using files and chisels, they tediously make these amazing pieces of art.
Stone is nothing more and nothing less than "dirt." It is dirt that has gone through a geological process that I am not qualified to explain, but if you break down stone to its very raw material - you find dirt. The same can be said about the humans who made these amazing carvings. If the human body is broken down into its chemical components, much of the body is made of carbon - the foundation of dirt.
When God made the first human, God took the "adamah" (earth - dust - dirt), breathed life into it, and made "adam" (Adam, human, man, mankind). We are all at our physical cores; dirt. We are special dirt! We are dirt with life. Maybe, the next time someone thinks they are insulting me by calling me a "piece of dirt," I should say, "Thank you! God made me like that!"
I've been reading a book edited by Robert Ellsberg that is a collection of Dorothy Day's writings entitled, Dorothy Day: Selected Writings. Generally, I am quite a fast reader, and these writings are short, but each is packed with so much that I am taking well over a month now, and I haven't even made it through the first 100 pages. There is so much to digest. It is not difficult reading, but it is like devotional reading.
Dorothy Day, along with Peter Maurin, was the founder of the Catholic Worker Movement. During the Great Depression and the years following, Day worked for social justice through the lens of Christian faith. She lived and worked as Jesus literally taught. She lived with the needy, she worked with the poor, she gave up everything and followed Christ. The Catholic Worker Movement is probably a "Marketing Disaster," but a "Religious Miracle." There is very little organization, but yet this movement has impacted and aided countless people. Day believed in "living a life that wouldn't make sense if God didn't exist." That is evident in the Catholic Worker Movement, even to this day. If God didn't exist, this movement would have toppled long ago! There is no formal hierarchy nor formal budget. Each group exists independently yet is connectional. The Movement prints a newspaper yet maintains no computerized mailing list. There is no fundraising scheme except to ask for donations on occasion.
Dorothy Day just may be the model of the type of witness we need in the world today. She wasn't afraid to get dirty. At the same time, she worked to make the world clean while still seeing the beauty of the dirt. She didn't pass the obligation of bettering the world to someone else or to a large organization, but she took the burden onto herself. Yes, she got frustrated - she writes about it often! But she knew that she shared Christ's pain - and she was also a cause of Christ's suffering as we all are.
In Zimbabwe, I met some of the most friendly people I have ever met in my life! I hesitate to say, "friendly" because I felt more like family! I would dare say that they would say the same thing about me. I went as a stranger and left as family. Zimbabwe has been in my heart for many years - ever since the day my wife and I met a couple who went to our church in the US who had moved from Zimbabwe. I began researching and learning about the country that very day. Zimbabwe will always be in my heart, and I know that one day - and most likely several times - I will return!
I don't want to overemphasize any suffering in Zimbabwe because I don't want to project a negative image of a beautiful country! Zimbabwe is modern, safe (safer than the USA!), and beautiful. However global politics play into the everyday lives of the people. Whatever the world and the Zimbabwean government think of each other, the innocent people are the ones who are hurt when rich global politicians make their decisions. "The dirt suffers when land developers decide to pollute."
People in Zimbabwe are very resilient and strong. God has blessed their faithfulness. I didn't see anyone going without basic needs - though obviously, I did not see all people. I'm sure that there are many who are suffering just as there are many suffering in every nation. People were self-reliant and could rely on family and neighbor.
Global politics hand them a disgusting hand when it comes to what people should have. Most hospitals lack basic supplies. Schools cannot get enough books or paper. Money (the actual paper currency) is in shortage. Why? Because the "clean" of this world is afraid of the "dirt." Income inequality is real! This is not income inequality of 1 person driving a limo and another driving a 2nd hand car. This is income inequality of limo vs. bare feet.
Why does the discussion of "income inequality" make so many so nervous? Because those who control what we watch on TV, listen to on the radio, read in magazines, see on the internet, and so forth - Those people hold the vast majority of the wealth. There is nothing wrong with working hard and being rich. This, however is not working hard. This is legal thievery and legal slavery. The governments of this world (in the vast majority of cases) are run by people so disconnected from the dust of the earth that they would deny water to the garden so they can fill their Olympic sized swimming pool. The only word for this is "greed."
Of course, this isn't limited to Zimbabwe. We see this in the USA - Why are inner city children dying of shootings and dropping out of school, at such a high rate? One or two success stories does not make this reality null and void. People can break free from this evil, but to do so is extremely difficult.
We see the evils of power. Just yesterday (June 9, 2014), there was a report that 302 Rwandan Forces entered Kinshasa, DRC "secretly" under the invitation of DRC President Joseph Kabila. Why? That is a good question, but power seems to be a possible answer. He wants to have a 3rd illegal term as the Rwandan/US/UK Puppet President. Is Rwandan President Paul Kagame involved? If this is true, most likely he is pulling the strings. How is the US involved? Right now, the US is publicly saying that Kabila should not have a 3rd term. Privately, the US is most likely continuing to rape and pillage the minerals of the DRC with Kabila's tacit support through corporations or 3rd parties.
I could point out the evils of this world all day, but anyone with eyes already sees them. But we CAN do something about them. What we can do involves getting dirty. But we cannot be afraid - we are already dirt! God has called each of us in the Gospel to follow Christ. This is not complicated. Love God and Love Others. That is what we can do.
The answer is Love. Love is active - not passive. Love requires action and doing. How each of us love is different. Dorothy day loved by forming the Catholic Worker Movement that fed and housed countless (and continues today after her death). Love requires us to give ourselves - not as a sacrifice that destroys us, but because we can't imagine doing otherwise. Love requires us to give and to receive.
On giving and receiving - In closing - While I was in Zimbabwe, I met 2 orphan girls who were sisters. 1 was 13, the other was 8. They are being taken care of by a church, but they still need help. I'm trying to find a way to give to them - distance and communication is an issue. But while I was there, we spent time together, talked, and I gave them some money. They also gave back to me. They were on their lunch break, and had to go back to school. The 13 year old had to be back sooner, and she gave me a hug and left. The 8 year old did the same. I thought the 8 year old was gone, but 5 minutes later she was back. She had a few more minutes to be back to school. She didn't want to be rude or to beg, but I knew what she wanted. I had some candy and she wanted more. I took a handful and gave it to her. Her eyes shined. She gave me the biggest hug! I think I received more that day than she did.
Was the world changed? I think it was.
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