A Conversation With Marlena Graves

Marlena Graves

Marlena Graves is the author of A Beautiful Disaster: Finding Hope in the Midst of Brokenness (Brazos Press, 2014) and her next book is The Way Up Is Down: Finding Yourself by Forgetting Yourself (IVP, July 2020). She writes about formation, faith, culture, the church, and justice--and on the intersections of each of those. In addition to writing and speaking, she works for the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC), fighting for the human rights of migrant farm worker members and nonmembers who put the food on our tables. She has published widely from Christianity Today to devotional Bibles to Our Daily Bread. In the past, she has been on staff at several churches in the areas of teaching, preaching, pastoral care, and discipleship. Marlena serves as an adjunct professor in the area of discipleship/formation at Winebrenner Theological Seminary. She is a bilingual Puerto-Rican who lives in the Toledo, Ohio area with her husband and three daughters.

Could you tell us a bit about your work with the Farm Labor Organizing Committee? What did you learn from this experience that informs your position on migrant labor in the US? On the issue of social justice?

I am the Director of Communications for the Farm Labor Organizing Committee. FLOC is a labor union for agricultural workers. Ninety-nine percent are Mexican. Our message is that when you eat, consider the hands that picked and harvested your food or cultivated the plants that you have in your yards. What kinds of conditions do they live and work in? Don't bite the hands that feed you; seek their human rights of which their labor rights are a part. We empower and encourage them to speak up for themselves when they are being mistreated and when their wages are being stolen. We see assault, human and labor trafficking, child labor, and squalid living and working conditions. The act of eating requires us to think of the conditions agricultural workers are living in. However, we consider ourselves a movement, too. 

The migrant workers who pay my salary through their dues have stipulated that we seek the flourishing of the local communities and regions where our offices are located: Toledo, OH, Dudley, NC, and Monterrey, Mexico. So, we are involved in each of these places seeking the flourishing of the community. For example, we have forged a good relationship with the Toledo Police Department (TPD) and have signed a Code of Conduct with them. That means that we teach our members in Toledo, most who live in the city and are not farm workers, how to conduct themselves with the police. The police department has also agreed to conduct itself with respect around us. So if one of our members is pulled over, they are to conduct themselves in a certain way. If they get pulled over for a traffic violation, they can show the police their FLOC membership ID and not get reported to ICE. One of the agreements we have worked out with the TPD is to not have the TPD be an arm of ICE.

What I have learned working here and in terms of seeking justice and human rights, is that we have to speak up in a collective voice and that we cannot wait on the government for justice or to help us out. We use our bodies too. We have to push them and others in a non-violent way, of course. Also, I have learned that this sentiment expressed by many is true: Oppressors, even nice Christian ones, don't give up power on their own. A business or corporation may have to be boycotted or protested against to move. And it can take years for movement towards justice to happen. But let me tell you, working for FLOC, I have seen how we historically as an organization have been David amongst many Goliaths. Things that were deemed impossible have happened. An example from the 80's is when Campbell Soup Company signed an agreement with us. We were told it would never happen. Our farm worker members were able to raise their wages and the farmers' income and get medical insurance. I've also learned to never hate an enemy. Love your enemies. Look for their flourishing when you seek your own.

Another thing I learned is that people don't want a handout. They just want a fair day's pay for a fair day's work.

Finally, we can change our draconian immigration policies by crying out and being relentless and strategic in our protest and pressure. Christians, in particular, can push this issue. I imagine we will have to start pressuring the pastors and churches who are for draconian policies. Pressure doesn't have to be harsh or even mean. Advocates can call their attention to what is going on--let them see for themselves and give them a chance to understand the situation in context instead of being far removed. 

How about your spiritual formation work? What did you learn from this experience?

For me, the most important thing is the incarnation of what we say we believe. The Christian world is filled with Christians who are fluent in lots of God-talk but who live godless lives. Like Jesus, we have to embody our message. In that way, we earn the right to be heard. When our lights shine before human beings, when we live lives that are so much like Christ, while people may not ultimately agree with us, they can say, "That person is like Jesus, and attractive." The incarnation is of ultimate importance. Thus, it is important we live the message we communicate with our mouths. We can only do that by a life of prayer, being steeped in Scripture, and service, all through the strength of the Holy Spirit amid healthy Christian community. We cannot do it alone.

When you spoke as the plenary speaker at Northeastern Seminary's B.T. Roberts Symposium you gave a detailed history of immigration, both in the US and worldwide. And you asked the question: "Who is my neighbor?" What is your own answer to that question?

Of course, my neighbor is the person right in front of me. My closest neighbors are those under my roof, or family members, and next-door neighbors. Those in my place of employment. But, I like to think of neighbors too in reference to Jesus's Great Commission: Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth (Matthew 28:16-20). So, I have local, statewide, continental, and international neighbors. In my life, I try to concretely be a neighbor to each. I can't just talk about it, I have to put my money and my life where my mouth is. And of course, I cannot forget that we need to be neighbors to all of creation: the animals and environment. That has to do with ecological stewardship. And finally, even my enemy is my neighbor if I pay any attention to who God is and the Parable of the Good Samaritan. We cannot do everything, but we can do something in our spheres. 

In your opinion, what would just immigration reform in the US look like?

Huge question!  Well, President Reagan gave amnesty in 1986. But I would say that we absolutely cannot criminalize asylum seekers and refugees or mistreat them anymore. My boss, Baldemar Velasquez, is an advocate of giving those who are waiting for their asylum cases guest visas so they can work and earn money and pay taxes instead of us paying taxes to house them in criminal and evil for-profit detention centers. I agree with that. I think we should also make the wait timely, and reasonable, so that folks don't have to wait years. Many farmers want to give farmworkers citizenship because they know how dependent our food system is on foreign agricultural workers. I think we should make it as easy as possible for vetted foreign workers--most from south of the American border, to cross and work here and then go back to their families. Most people don't want to move. They want to stay, but there are conditions that make living where they do impossible. I know I would do whatever it takes for my daughters' safety and survival. Those already here should be given a clear and short pathway to citizenship and perhaps pay a small fine for their misdemeanor of not having papers. They are already pumping so much into our economy and supporting Social Security without benefitting from it themselves. What those without papers are doing is a misdemeanor. Most aren't felons, but our current treatment of them should be considered felonious. Of course, there could be snags, but what we are doing to those seeking asylum and those invited to work here is the real criminality and immorality. 

On your website, you mention that Mary Oliver is your favorite poet. I'm curious, could you give us a sense of why?

I love Mary Oliver because of her eye for and absorption of nature and the gratitude in which she lived. Her poetry displays beauty, goodness, truth, and wonder and draws my attention to God. The heavens and creation declare the glory of God and we do well and good to our souls to steep ourselves in it. Part of living like Christ and living a life of integrity entails being as close to the earth as we can-even in a crowded city. 

Your book A BEAUTIFUL DISASTER: finding hope in the midst of brokenness, is amazingly thoughtful and contemplative. I love what you say about maturity. "We know we are maturing when we become more and more content with God alone." Would you care to elaborate on this? 

I think that we have everything we could possibly need and want in God, but we just don't see it or know it. I am fascinated by how Jesus was born in complete poverty but grew in wisdom and contentment and trust in the Father. Even though Jesus is fully divine, he is fully human. I think that as we mature in our faith, in our trust of God, in union and communion with him, the superfluous will fall to the wayside. Like the Levitical Priests of the Old Testament, our inheritance will be God. Like the old song goes, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory in grace." Also, finally, we grow in union and communion with God as we keep our gaze on Jesus, do whatever it takes to keep our gaze on Jesus. That is what the ancient and ever contemporary spiritual disciplines are for--again with the help of community and trustworthy spiritual mentors. 

In your book you describe a childhood that was fraught with hard times and anxiety Yet, you give hope when describing what you learned from those experiences. You note that "suffering doesn't have the last word in our lives..." And that as an adult, "I am growing younger because the fear and anxieties that were weighing me down, those elements that were wrinkling my soul, are dissipating." Would you like to add anything to that observation?

Only that I really take seriously these words by Jesus in Matthew 18:3: "Truly, I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." I am trying to learn with that means. Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner! I am so far from being like Jesus. But I have observed that I am becoming younger and younger in simplicity of trust. Although, I do have my days when this is not true! But, the older I get in the faith, the more I am convinced of the beauty and goodness of God, Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I can trust his intentions and that all will be well, as Julian of Norwich discovered, because he is trustworthy. 

I understand you're working on a new book, tentatively titled The Downward Descent of Up. Would you like to give us a preview as to its theme?

I have an official title now! The Way Up Is Down: Finding Yourself by Forgetting Yourself (IVP, July 2020). Along with others, I find myself disgusted by a Christianity that is no Christianity at all: a malignant mutation of the gospel in which we are grasping for money, power, and status. These were Jesus's temptations in the desert. But Jesus is not that way. He said the greatest in the kingdom will be the servants of all and embodied servanthood. Kenosis. He offered himself up on behalf of his father and neighbor. My book is about what such a life might look like now; a Philippians 2 life. 

Is there anything else you'd like to mention?

I want to thank you for reading my book, and for this interview. These have been good, hard questions.

To take a look at A BEAUTIFUL DISASTER, click here.

Advent Meditation: Mary's Magnificat, Dismantling the Empire

Depiction of Mary, Jesus' Mother

This Sunday was the third Sunday of Advent.

With a focus on joy.

A good portion of the teaching at my neighborhood church was on Mary's Magnificat. Traditionally, it's taken from the first chapter of Luke (vs. 46-55).

Mary had just arrived at her cousin Elizabeth's house, a few short days after the angel Gabriel visited her. The two of them were both pregnant. Elizabeth in the biologically traditional way. Mary via God's Holy Spirit.

As Mary entered Elizabeth's home, her cousin greets her with joy.

In fact, according to Luke, Elizabeth tells Mary that "when I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb lept for joy." That baby would grow up to become John the Baptist.

Luke also records that Elizabeth was "filled with the Holy Spirit," and was evidently given supernatural knowledge as to who her cousin's baby was - "the mother of my Lord, [Jesus]."

In response to this preternatural greeting, Mary responds:

"My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour!
For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
and from now on all generations will call me blessed.

For the Mighty One is holy,
and he has done great things for me..."

Mary probably looked like a middle-eastern teenager

If you think that perhaps Mary was boasting, keep in mind what had happened just a few days earlier.

She was most likely a teenager. Living in a small town. Probably less than 500 people lived in or around it. So news tended to travel fast. And in those times and in middle-eastern culture, pregnancy outside of marriage was a huge taboo.

As if this weren't enough to contend with, at the time of the angel Gabriel's visit to Mary, she was engaged to marry Joseph, a carpenter.

Back in those days, an engagement was a very significant step. Socially, it was very close to being married. So, it was a very big deal for Joseph to find out that his fiance was with child. Matthew records: "Joseph, Mary's fiance, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly."

This was shortly before an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, letting him know exactly who the father of Mary's first child was (Matt. 1:18-20).

Given all of the above, is it any wonder that Mary's faith was stretched? And in response, she declares to Elizabeth what could be taken as an astonishing statement of defiance of societal norms.

"...God shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear [revere, reverance] God. God's mighty arm has done tremendous things! God has scattered the proud and haughty ones. God has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble. God has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands." (Luke 1:50-53).

Wow!

Mary is basically saying: "I'm pregnant and single. I'm very aware of what my neighbors think of my situation. But I'm trusting God. In fact, just take a look at how good God is! Look what God is up to here! It's much bigger than me. I'm a nobody. But in God's eyes, we nobodies are somebodies!"

And that's why we can have joy during this Advent season. Even as we wait. Even as the birth of the Savior is not yet. 

Mary reminds us all: God is for us- especially the poor. 

God is with us - especially those of low position. 

God loves us - especially those who aren't valued by the society in which they are living. 

And God continues to dismantle and disarm the Empire.

An Interview with Brooklyn Penn, of Preemptive Love

Brooklyn Penn

Brooklyn Penn is the Community & Donor Engagement Manager at Preemptive Love. She has been working with Preemptive Love for two years. Before getting to know the Preemptive Love community, Brooklyn worked with an immigrant rights advocacy organization assisting citizenship and DACA applicants in Nashville. She also fundraised and ran communications for a refugee resettlement agency in her home of Indianapolis. She is dedicated to working alongside refugee families as they rebuild after war. Brooklyn is always available to meet others looking to learn more about how they can show up with refugee communities globally and locally.

Describe the mission and vision of Preemptive Love. 

The mission of Preemptive Love is to end war by bringing online tools offline to create the most diverse group of peacemakers on the planet. We bring relief and create jobs to refugee communities in the world's most violent regions. At our heart, we're peacemakers. We work with communities at odds. Every meal, every liter of water, every new job is a chance to demonstrate a different type of love. A love that can unmake violence. We actively work in Iraq, Syria, and Mexico.

Can you give us an update in regards to what's happening in Syria?

The White House announced the US would pull troops out of Syria in early October. Then, Turkey's prime minister Erdogan announced he would create a safe zone in Syria where he planned to deport Kurdish refugees back to Northeastern Syria. Turkey began its offensive, at first displacing as many as 300,000 people. Even when a ceasefire deal was made, Turkey was still sending airstrikes and bombing this region. Families had no option but to run. Now thousands are still displaced. 

We're showing up with hot meals and medical care in Syria. Preemptive Love has served over 6,000 patients so far in mobile medical units, treating everything from primary health care needs to a traumatic injury from shrapnel and gun wounds. We're also bringing ready to eat meals on the ground for families on the go. These ready to eat meal packs are being delivered in 37 abandoned schools, where people are taking shelter. As winter approaches, we're also bringing families bedrolls that will insulate them and protect them from sleeping in unheated, abandoned buildings this winter. 

How about Iraq? What's happening there?

In Iraq, people are currently protesting a lack of basic necessities like access to electricity and clean water. Many are unemployed and are looking for jobs and are tired of corruption. Hundreds have died in these protests and many more are being injured. 

We have been working in Iraq for years. We developed a tech training hub center with seven locations in Iraq. Here, students gain access to the online workforce immediately, take English classes, and gain professional skills to make them marketable to other employers in Iraq. We also start businesses with one-time grants in Iraq. Refugees and displaced people start businesses such as bakeries, salons, shops, clothing stores. Additionally, we have a large presence working in the health care sector in Iraq. 

How has Preemptive Love developed since its formation?

Preemptive Love has definitely had quite the transformation process since the beginning. It unofficially began when founders Jeremy and Jessica Courtney moved to Iraq at the height of war, in the middle of a US troop surge. It all began when a man approached Jeremy in a hotel room with a young girl's medical case. She had heart defects. This man begged Jeremy for help and access to surgeons, because at the time, it was not available in the country. Jeremy began working with this man to help this girl, and they soon to discover that the heart defects were not a one-off case. Many believe children had heart-defects as result of the use of chemical weapons. So then, heart-surgeries were Preemptive Love's man focus. From 2008 to 2015, Preemptive Love provided lifesaving care for nearly 2,400 children in Iraq, and nearly 3,400 children worldwide. 

But with the rise of ISIS in 2014, the founding team in that moment decided whether they would stay in the country or go. They stayed. Our work as a relief organization began then. We showed up to serve over 200,000 people to the frontlines of conflicts like Mosul and Fallujah. 

Now, Preemptive Love has expanded from bringing help fast, to also bringing help that lasts. We will stay in Iraq and Syria until families have what they need to flourish. And now in 2019, we've expanded our work to Mexico to serve migrants fleeing the most violent region in the world not in an active state of war. 

Where's the most urgent need?

The nature of our work means everything is urgent. Our first request to everyone is to give, either to generally support all of our work on a monthly basis. Monthly donations are what allow us to plan programming responsibly. 

If you're looking to support something in specific families are starving in Syria. Without your help, they will not have access to food, medical care, or winter gear. 

Our newest need that we desperately need help kicking off the ground is our tech bus in Juarez, Mexico. Migrants there are stuck. They had hoped to seek asylum in the US, but most will never be accepted. Violence and kidnappings are a real danger in Juarez. Many fear leaving for work. We're purchasing a bus that will offer tech training, English classes, real income from the online workforce, childcare, and virtual legal assistance. The bus will travel from shelter to shelter, so families do not have to risk being killed when going to work. 

If people are unable to donate, word of mouth is a free and powerful tool to help friends and family get involved with our work. We love it when people share our stories both on social media and over the dinner table! 

Is there anything else you'd like to mention?

I am so honored to work at Preemptive Love. I'm so proud of our teams on the ground who are willing to risk everything to save lives. Although the images of war are hard to shake, and at times it feels like there's no way I could possibly make an impact, we see our community moving the needle.

Farmers like Selah win awards for having the highest quality farm in all of Syria, despite fighting in a nearby region.

Quadruplets are born in Syria in our mobile medical hospitainer NATURALLY by a strong momma.

Graduate Gufan just scored a job as a data analyst in Iraq making over $800/month in Iraq (excellent pay in Iraq).

Babies finally have access to vaccines in a reproductive health center in a village in Iraq! 

Stories like these fuel my fire to keep believing in a world where we all rise together. My final words to people are to pay close attention to what's going on in the world, but don't let fear have the last word. We have the agency to unmake violence. We can return power to refugees who are forced to flee and help people rebuild. 

To make a donation to Preemptive Love Coalition, or learn more, click here.

A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: A Review

Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers

The release of A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD couldn't have been more timely.

In it, Tom Hanks plays Fred Rogers. The film is based on a real-life relationship between Rogers and journalist Tom Junod (called Lloyd Vogel in the film).

It's not a beautiful day for Vogel. He's a hard-hitting journalist assigned to write a fluff piece on Mr. Rogers. And Vogel isn't especially thrilled at the assignment.

For one thing, Vogel is smack in the middle of dealing with his own father issues. For another, Vogel is about to become a father himself, which complicates the whole concept of being a dad. 

So life for him is anything but sweet.

However, if there ever was a fortuitous writing assignment for Vogel, this one was it.

The film skillfully portrays the intersection of  Vogel's (AKA Junod's) life with that of Fred Rogers. It gives us a very personal glimpse of how wonderfully Rogers' gentle wisdom, patience and honesty impact the struggling journalist.

What makes the film work is Tom Hanks, who brings an almost preternatural ability to his performance. At several points in A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD we're left wondering how much of himself did Hanks transfer into his work.

And then there's Matthew Ryhs. He is intense but nuanced in what could have easily been turned into an over-the-top portrayal.

The real Fred Rogers

Ditto Susan Kelechi Watson as Vogel's wife, Chris Cooper as Vogel's father, and most especially Wenda Makkea as Fred's wife Dorothy. 

Although Makkena isn't in many scenes, in every one of them it's apparent that her relationship with Rogers was important and impactful.

Mariella Hellner's deft director's touch is reflected in all of the performances mentioned above.

It is worth noting that A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD happened to premiere the weekend following a very intense week of impeachment proceedings in Washington. It would be safe to say that after hours of political bickering, a film that gives us a front-row seat to the importance of human kindness was like a breath of fresh air.

As a bonus: One of the most profound scenes in the film captures what happens when a group of New York City-seasoned children spots Mr. Rogers riding with them on the subway.

It's absolutely precious. As is A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

A Beautiful Disaster by Marlena Graves: A Review

Marlena Graves

Marlena Graves' A BEAUTIFUL DISASTER: Finding Hope in the Midst of Brokenness is a contemplative masterpiece.

As Graves describes, her childhood, for the most part, seemed like one long walk across the desert. But it was in the desert that Graves encountered God.

She tells us: "There are different forms of silence, such as the silence of pain. There are caverns of pain and ends of worlds where what is too horrible to mention leaves us speechless. In these moments, we must allow the silent stillness to do its work. We cannot force speech just to fill the empty void. We must allow God to do his work within this solitary work in his time.

"These are Job times - times when we are too numb for company. Speaking and listening wear us out. Words, even from the well-meaning, inflict wounds. And so we are forced to embrace the silence with all its healing and restorative qualities. We can't rush silence. It's a holy place. It's a place where God appears and where he works to purify and fortify our souls."

Rather than retreating from the wilderness, Graves encourages us to embrace it.

"An anchoring assurance and underlying joy are ours when we know that we remain in our Father's embrace wherever we are, particularly in the wilderness... If we reflect on our lives, we'll see that over and over again he has proven that his nature is to love and provide for us."

Being in the desert, says Graves, brings us to the point that "we know we are maturing when we become more and more content with God alone." The same maturity enables us to appreciate God's son.

And she finds comfort in knowing God is there, no matter the circumstances. "I am struck by how Jesus inhabited the presence of others. He noticed them. No one got past him. His visual acuity and attentiveness to those who crossed his path were unmatched."

Graves takes disconcerting experiences from her own life, and weaves them into a beautiful tapestry.
"All I can conclude," notes Graves, "is that these experiences are often the ways and means by which God infuses us with wisdom and power. When we surrender our suffering and brokenness to God, we are on the path to wisdom and might."

She warns about trying to pigeonhole God into our own template. "How could first-century, biblically astute memorizers of the law and the prophets miss Jesus? With all their studying and theorizing, they should have been better prepared for Jesus. But when he came, most rejected him. The religious leaders who rejected him considered the cross a curse (and they had good biblical reasons for doing so) and regarded Jesus as a public nuisance and an assault on their religious sensibilities. Not being able to fit God into our own sensibilities or understanding can induce fear in us, just as it did in the biblically literate of the first century."

In her own life, Graves endured and prospered greatly from her desert experiences, especially those as a child. And so, as an adult, she is able to experience great joy. "Not only do we leave the wilderness with a greater ability to rest like a sleeping baby who is cradled in the arms of God, but we also become more playful. I am growing younger because the fear and anxieties that were weighing me down, those elements that were wrinkling and withering my soul, are dissipating."

In the final chapters of A BEAUTIFUL DISASTER, Graves' writing becomes powerfully prophetic as she lists the value of the wilderness experience. "You and I can also have joy because the wilderness teaches us that suffering doesn't have the last word in our lives."

She declares: "Wilderness reprioritizes our values so that we prize what's most important. In our wilderness experiences, the knowledge that we all carry in us, vestiges of glory, is deeply ingrained. The holiness of God is in us insofar as his image remains in us"

Graves finishes up by mentioning an important but forgotten piece of church history and theology. She tells us the story of Macrina the Younger - the older sister of Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa two giants among church fathers. They were influential in developing the doctrine of the Trinity and, as such, helped form the Nicene Creed.

Graves cites Laura Swan (author and Benedictine) who states that Macrina's brothers "acknowledged her as the primary influence in their theological education." It was a woman who directly contributed to the formation of two of the central pillars of Christianity.

Graves uses this example to encourage us. "We need to consider our prejudices. If we will not receive God's life because we don't prefer the vessel in which it comes, we may live an anemic Christian life or miss out on life altogether... People missed out on God's life in Jesus because of their preconceived notions of what the Messiah should be. We miss out on life because of our preconceived notions of where life should turn up. Our desert experiences help us to let go of some of those preconceived notions."

Marlena Graves' writing is profound in the way she extracts deep wisdom from hurtful experiences. She shows us, by her example, of how God is the business of transforming the desert into a spiritual oasis.