Re-Occupied Philly

Re-occupied Philly

“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 NASB

A few weeks ago, I was downtown for a meeting and had a chance to walk around the Occupy Philly area. I walked around reading the signs of people who were sleeping in tents. Some were humorous. Some a bit vulgar. Others thought provoking. I finally ended up walking by a group of three women with a sign that had pictures of books on it. They were “occupying” the Quaker Interfaith tent and offered me a seat and we had an opportunity to chat for while. As I sat there, I noticed several people come up to them with bags of food that they wanted to offer to those who were sleeping as well as one gentleman who brought a bag of clothes to give out to people. There was a sense of community there that was refreshing to see in these days and times. There were people of all ages, races and ethnicities. Some were certainly a little off, but for the most part, it was peaceful. My conversation with the three ladies at the Quaker tent was enlightening. They shared with me some of the history of Philadelphia that I didn’t know. They told me about their own lives and things they participated in during their lifetime. They also told me why they were there that day and supported the movement. I was a nice conversation.

Then a few weeks later I was back downtown and noticed that all of the tents were gone. Occupy Philly had been evicted. The area that was sectioned off was empty with the exception of policemen who were guarding the space. I was a little sad, wondering what will happen to the momentum of community that had been created by the Occupy movement. What will happen next?

Then, I happened to notice across the street the Christmas Village that is set up every year downtown. Everything is decorated to the holidays and there are street vendors everywhere with goods to sell. I walked around for a bit and looked at the vendors and their goods. There was the guy selling artwork, which looked pretty interesting. There was the lady selling handmade scarves. There were the beer and sausage guys. And one of my favorites, the Chaddsford Winery. A lady that I was walking close to was complaining about the police who were standing around doing nothing while cars turned the corner too quickly. She was dropping “F-bombs” like they were going out of style. The people behind all of the booths looked bored and like they were just waiting out their shift. There were pictures of Santa Claus all over. But interestingly enough, there was not one part of the Christmas Village that pointed to Christ. It was pure commerce.

Occupy Philly was evicted and the Christmas Village was ushered in. The spirit of Christmas was alive and well during the time I spent at the Occupy Philly Interfaith Quaker tent. But the materialism of Christmas replaced it across the street. There were people sharing and giving at Occupy Philly, but people selling at the Christmas Village. It made me think about priorities and where they lie in our society. Maybe the Occupy movement was a little too unorganized to thrive in its current state, but the spirit of what they started doesn’t have to die. They became a voice for the majority of us who have the least in this country. They interacted with one another in ways that brought us together instead of looking at everything that makes us different. They had a sense of community instead of individualism. They valued each other instead of profit.

As we go into the Christmas season, I hope that we can keep in mind that riches will not last, but what we build and do for God will. In the season of giving, we must remember that what we have comes from God and that we have a responsibility to one another. No matter what you have or don’t have, most likely you are part of the 99%, not the 1%. There is more of us than there are of them. But every time we put more emphasis on spending money and buying into materialism, we give the 1% more power. Let’s do something that reflects the love of Christ this Christmas, who came to occupy the flesh so that we might have access to the divine. Let’s re-occupy Philly (or wherever you are) with the things that Jesus came to give us, instead of the things we will leave behind when we die. Maybe you can give something to someone and not expect anything in return. Maybe you can go out and give blankets to those without a home. Maybe you can invite someone who has no place to go to spend time with you and your family. Maybe you can make a friend of another race. Don’t just make it about presents. Let the One who came to occupy your life, fill you with what you need to bless someone else this season.