Part VI: Taking off the glasses to see the kingdom of God among us

When are we going to see justice in the world? When are we going to see the sick cared for and the hungry fed? When will we live in a perfect world? The answer: Now.

Howard Zinn once wrote: “the future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.” Or, as Jesus said more succinctly, “the Kingdom of God is among you.”

The message both Howard and Jesus left us with is this: Quit waiting for the world to be perfect, open your eyes and live it. As you live it, you’ll begin to see it. You’ll see it where you see justice…where you see families farming in harmony with the land…where you see women achieving a better future for their families…where you see people getting the health care they need…you’ll see it where you see children going to school and everyone getting enough food to eat.

The Divine tells us to care for the poor, and we will be taken care of. This is our kingdom…not the Other. The Other, where one-third of all Nicaraguan children under the age of five are chronically malnourished, is not a kingdom of justice…the Other, where fewer than one in five Nicaraguan workers receive at least minimum wage and basic benefits, is not a kingdom of compassion. The Other, where one in five Nicaraguans has been forced to leave the country to find work, is not a kingdom of freedom. The Other won’t look out for us. In the Other, brothers and sisters don’t care for one another.

But in the Divine’s family, we are all brothers and sisters…really. You, and me and Nelson Mandela and George W. Bush and your next door neighbor and the driver who keeps cutting you off in traffic are all brothers and sisters. If we truly believe that, and treat each other as such, and care for each other as brothers and sisters, that is the kingdom of God among us…that is a marvelous victory.

Those living in desperate poverty in Nicaragua and around the world can’t afford to wait for justice…if they wait to be liberated, their families will starve. They can’t afford for their vision of a perfect world to be distant, they must live that vision. And if we want to change the world, we must live that vision as well.

Living out our vision requires of us above all else Hope. For so many Nicaraguans, hope is all they have. A belief that things can and will change.

Ramona and Petronila were both unemployed with families to support, but of an age in Nicaragua where women are no longer considered useful, and aren’t given work. Ramona and Petronila had no other option than to live their vision. They chose to join with the Genesis spinning cooperative in hope…working together for a better future…working for no pay. In the beginning, their families told them they were crazy to work and not get paid…their neighbors laughed at them each morning as they headed out to work, armed only with their Hope. But Ramona and Petronila were not deterred. As Howard Zinn tells us, “To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.”

The hope and courage and sacrifice of these women is contagious. After three years of hard work, the Genesis co-op’s building is nearly finished. Now when co-op members Pablo and María and Gloria lose sight of their goal, it is their families who give them hope…pushing them out the door to work and saying, “You can’t give up now, Mama, your dream is becoming reality.” It is the dreams that sustain us particularly in these tough times… hope. And it is hope that many Nicaraguans carry in their hearts and the dream of possibilities.

In order to have the world we want, we must begin by living it, and trusting that we will begin to see it all around us. “If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something,” wrote Howard Zinn. “If we remember…where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.” – Becca