Outcasts

Psalm 17
Journal entry dated March 9, 2005

"Show me your love, O savior of outcasts"

What is an outcast? A person who does not worship the gods of a particular age, or upon whom they do not smile. War, the state, capital, productivity, competition--anyone who rejects these gods, or anyone whom they reject, becomes an outcast. Outcasts are those whose life and story does not support the dominant retelling.

If God is the savior of outcasts, it means that God is seeking such people, bringing them together in order to create a new community, a new story.

Where are the outcasts in our churches? Have we created a welcoming space for them? Or do we spend our time aiming to please the well-adjusted middle and (reverent pause) upper-class people around whom we design our gala events and our imperial churches? If God is the savior of outcasts, will God save us? If we are not outcasts ourselves, can there be any reason other than the fact that we have not sufficiently challenged the values of a sinful and adulterous generation, that we pose no threat, that we are regarded as harmless?