5. Justice For Our Neighbours
Aim
To connect young people with God’s heart for the hurting around them, instilling in them a sense of the justice of God and inspiring and encourage them to take action now in their local neighbourhoods.
Preparation
Bible, clips of Gollum from Lord of the Rings (downloadable at www.ijmuk.org under Youth Resources) screen, projector, lap top, prizes: several candy bars and 10 £ gift cards to Starbucks or the cinema, 4 funny hats, white board, markers, paper, pens
Main Bulk of Meeting
Show the first clip of Gollum.
Explain: We know Gollum is a fictional character controlled by the power of ‘his precious’ the ring, but he portrays the image of a man named Legion.
Have one of your youth read the first part of the story of Jesus and Legion: Mark 5:1-5
“They(Jesus and His disciples) came to the other side of the sea to the region of the Gerasenes. And as soon as He got out of the boat there met Him out of the tombs a man [under the power] of an unclean spirit. This man continually lived among the tombs, and no one could subdue him any more, even with a chain. For he had been bound often with shackles for the feet and handcuffs, but the handcuffs of chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he rubbed and ground together and broke in pieces; and no one had strength enough to restrain or tame him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always shrieking and screaming and beating and bruising and cutting himself with stones.”
Discussion Questions:
- What must have been the thoughts and feelings of Gollum and Legion?
- How do you think the people around him responded to him? Or did they respond at all?
- Which groups of people in our society are outcast like Gollum and Legion?
Explain: Similar to Gollum, here is a man who is suffering an oppression that causes him to be the victim of physical violence, humiliation, public rejection, insomnia, intense mental torment and loneliness. He was the least in the society, not able even to manage his own affairs. He had no importance, authority or standing amongst anyone. Publicly outcast and his only interaction among actual people would have been when he was bound in chains and physically and socially rejected. But God saw the person suffering on the inside.
Now show the second clip of Gollum.
Explain: We know that in the end of the Lord the Rings, Gollum’s fate isn’t a pleasant one, but from this clip, we see that Gollum knew deep down only his master could set him free. The same is true of Legion.
Have a different youth read on. Mark 5:6-15:
And when from a distance he saw Jesus, he ran and fell on his knees before Him in homage, And crying out with a loud voice, he said, What have You to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? [What is there in common between us?] I solemnly implore you by God, do not begin to torment me! For Jesus was commanding, Come out of the man, you unclean spirit! And He asked him, What is your name? He replied, My name is Legion, for we are many and he kept begging Him urgently not to send them [himself and the other demons] away out of that region. 11Now a great herd of hogs was grazing there on the hillside. And the demons begged Him, saying, Send us to the hogs, that we may go into them! 13So He gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out [of the man] and entered into the hogs; and the herd, numbering about 2,000, rushed headlong down the steep slope into the sea and were drowned in the sea. The hog feeders ran away, and told [it] in the town and in the country. And [the people] came to see what it was that had taken place. And they came to Jesus and looked intently and searchingly at the man who had been a demoniac, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind.
Discussion Questions
- Why do you think Legion ran up to Jesus and fell before Him? How do you think Legion knew this man was Jesus, ‘Son of the Most High God?’
- What was Legion’s response to Jesus’ interaction with him? Why was he afraid Jesus would torment him?
- Why did Jesus ask Legion his name?
- When was it that people from the town and country began to show an interest in Legion?
- How does their reaction seem similar to ours towards the oppressed people of our society?
Explain: Legion ran up to Jesus right away, not because he knew Jesus would heal him, but because despite his demonic and mental torment, his spirit knew Jesus was a safe place. He knew Jesus wouldn’t reject him as the rest of the town had done. We see this when Jesus asks Legion his name. Of course Jesus already knew his name was Legion, but it was as if Jesus was saying: “I see you. I’ve always seen you and I’ve always been near to you. I recognize you are suffering. I want to know your name because I care about you. You are my son Legion.”
When the rest of the people came to see Legion it was after Jesus had healed him. Like most people, it’s easy to be with people who are in their right mind, who are normal, who are like us. But Jesus isn’t calling us to only love those who are easy to love. He’s called us to love the least.
Hands On: Part One
Through a series of several short activities, the objective is for the youth to learn that Jesus’ heart is truly for the least of these.
Activity #1: Line your youth up by tallest to shortest. Give a candy bar to everyone except the shortest person at the end of the line. Put a hat on the shortest and have them stand separate from the group during the rest of the activities.
Activity #2: Line your youth up from oldest to youngest. Give a candy bar to everyone except the youngest. Put a hat on the youngest and have them stand with the shortest separate from the group during the rest of the activities.
Activity #3: Ask for 4 volunteers. Have the 4 volunteers pair up into 2 teams. On the count of three, begin 2 arm wrestling matches. At the end of the first round, put a hat on both the losing opponents and have them stand with shortest and youngest. Give a candy bar to the winners.
Now, have the youth sit in a circle with the ones wearing hats standing in the middle. Read out loud to your youth Mathew 25:34-46. Explain to them below that the “least of these” means to be the smallest and least in:
- Size: the physically smallest are the least able to take care of themselves
- Lacking the ability to management personal affairs
- Importance: The estimation of men.
- Authority: The inability to command even basic human dignities from others allows them to be stripped away from others.
- Rank and excellence:
As you take the hats off the youth standing in the middle and hand each of them a gift card, explain that Jesus’ heart for the “least of these” is that he has compassion on them. Compassion literally meaning that he suffers with! He goes through the physical and emotional pain with them. In the Greek the word means to be gut wrenchingly affected in a very deep almost instant physical reaction.
Hands On: Part Two
Objective: To have the youth identify the least of these in their neighbourhoods, schools and local streets.
Have the youth break up into groups no larger than four.
Take only about ten minutes and ask the youth the following questions. Have them write down their responses.
- Who are the least of these in our neighbourhoods?
- Who is experiencing oppression right in front of us?
- Where is there a need for justice in our schools?
Gather the group back together and see if the smaller groups came to any similar ideas about where oppression lies within their local streets. Now ask them the next questions:
- How would Jesus be responding to them?
- What is He asking us to do about it?
Spend the next 10-15 minutes brainstorming ways to reach out to the local oppressed. Commit time each consecutive week to pray for the local oppressed, asking God to give us a heart for them and practical ideas in which to love them.
Story
Irene
At their home in Lusaka, Zambia, Irene Simbeye lived with her husband Mwelwa and stepson Agrippa. Mwelwa worked for the Zambian government and the family was financially stable owning a house, a rental property and a plot of land. When Mwelwa died after a battle with tuberculosis, Irene and sixteen-year-old Agrippa sought to carry on with the resources left to them by their husband and father. However, Mwelwa’s brother, Matthews, was named executor of his brother’s estate.
Matthews introduced a child the family had never seen, claiming that this was Mwelwa’s child and that he was due benefits. The claims were dropped as Matthews was unable to demonstrate proof of paternity. Later Matthews drew Mwelwa’s salary to distribute among the dependants but, in contrast to Zambian law, released less than 1/4 the amount to Irene and Agrippa. Matthews also obtained control of his brother’s death benefits from his former employer and paid only 20% to Irene and Agrippa and though they were entitled to the full amount.
Matthews’ gross abuse of power withheld those things that were rightfully theirs—
The very things which Irene and Agrippa needed to survive. Irene had heard of International Justice Mission, an organization that would help widows and orphans in cases of land rights and property grabbing. IJM staff in Zambia documented Irene’s case, became her advocate and stood up to Matthews and his attorney to protect Irene and Agrippa. Making a clear case of the widow’s and orphan’s rights under Zambian law, IJM attorneys secured justice for Irene and Agrippa.
They would choose their house among the properties owned, the other house would be sold
and its profits divided among Mwelwa’s dependants and young Agrippa was given absolute ownership of the undeveloped land as his father had co-signed the deed in both their names. Full death benefits were divided among Mwelwa’s dependants according to the law. Matthews agreed to the terms rather than face further legal proceeding. Two months later, the
High Court signed the Consent Order bringing the matter to a close. Irene received all that she had rightly sought and the law provided.
Eleven months after her husband’s death, Irene was able to put the matter to rest and move ahead with her step-son Agrippa. Because of IJM advocates who showed up on their behalf, Irene and Agrippa are now free to live without the legal intimidation and financial threats of in-laws who would wish them harm. They do not have to wonder where they will live or if they will have food to eat.
In her gratefulness for a new life of hope, Irene delivered a handwritten letter to IJM staff and also gave a sacrificial $11 donation (equivalent to one week’s wages) to fund the work of rescuing other widows and orphans as she had been rescued.
Irene writes:
A letter to [IJM],
I thank you for helping me over my problems. If it were not for you, I would not still be around. They would have killed me. My mother
sends greetings to you and she also thanks you because I am still alive and may God bless you.
Continue doing the work that you are doing which God gave to assist us widows who are in trouble like me here. God bless you. Your
reward is in heaven. Psalm 18:1-6 I used to think that I was alone but God worked through you. I thank God that even if we cannot see Him, He works through people and so He worked through you and helped me.
Mrs. Irene Simbeye
