Mercy & Justice Round-Up: December Edition

By
Corrie Mitchell
m&j dec

Does God’s love know any borders? What is it like for babies born into homelessness? How do we keep laboring for justice in the midst of continued brokenness? You’ll find articles, talks, and resources that speak to these questions and more in this month’s Mercy & Justice Round-Up.

As always, this is a collection of content that got us thinking lately and includes a range of perspectives— some we agree with, others we might not. We hope you’ll read, listen, learn and love better with us.

  • This Q Ideas video featuring Ruth Padilla DeBorst is a challenge to love as Jesus did—without borders. DeBorst says, “
If we’ve experienced the welcoming embrace of God’s banquet table, does that reconciliation not impel us to turn and become border crossers, reconcilers, breakers of exclusionary table manners ourselves?”
     
  • “The largest single population in New York City’s shelter system is children under the age of 6,” writes Nikita Stewart in The New York Times. In her article “Baby Antonio: 5 Pounds, 12 Ounces and Homeless from Birth,” Stewart tells the story of Antonio’s family to shed light upon a larger narrative about the 1,164 children born into the shelter system last year.
     
  • The Christian Community Development Association put together a white paper on mass incarceration that includes an overview of the four main forces (the War on Drugs, the Private Prison Industrial Complex, Immigration Deportation Centers, and the School to Prison Pipeline) driving inflated incarceration rates. It includes statistics on how this disproportionately affects minority communities, as well as a possible solution.
     
  • “This year, for the first time, Nycha topped the public advocate’s list of the worst landlords in New York City,” states a New York Times article describing the living conditions—mainly around lack of heat—in one Nycha building in the South Bronx. This is one example, which includes a resident who hasn’t had heat for 12 years, but is emblematic of the neglect felt by residents of Nycha buildings across the city.
     
  • “Advent means I can hang in there in broken places, even on the darkest of days, because I know the sun will rise again,” writes Duke Kwon on The Witness. “Indeed, Advent hope animates kingdom activism.” This piece, inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Christmas Sermon on Peace” is an encouragement to keep laboring for justice.