Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
A Pebble Cast Into a Pond (Part 3 of 3)

A Pebble Cast Into a Pond (Part 3 of 3)

Last updated on: August 27, 2020 at 9:32 am by Herb Montgomery

A Pebble Cast Into a Pond (Part 3 of 3) 2020-08-27T09:32:22-04:00 Herb Montgomery

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Welcome readers! Please subscribe through the buttons on the right if you enjoy this post.

(Read this series from its beginning here.)

No matter how small or how disconnected it may feel to you, no matter how tempted you may be to categorize your present efforts to move this world toward justice, mercy, and peace as futile, our voices, our work, our effort, our love, and solidarity are not in vain. We are building on the changes brought about by those who came before us. Will those who come after us be able to build on our work? As Angela Davis reminds us, “You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.” This doesn’t mean we should not also take time for self-care. Self-care is part of our work of transforming our world, too. I’m challenged by Davis’ words, especially because of my Christian background. I was raised with the futile belief that nothing I could do could make a difference. John Dominic Crossan challenges this mentality among Christians in his book Rediscovering the Revolutionary Message of the Lord’s Prayer:

“You have been waiting for God, [Jesus] said, while God has been waiting for you. No wonder nothing is happening. You want God’s intervention, he said, while God wants your collaboration. God’s kingdom is here, but only insofar as you accept it, enter it, live it, and thereby establish it.” (The Greatest Prayer: Rediscovering the Revolutionary Message of the Lord’s Prayer, p. 27-28)

Of course, we’ll get discouraged sometimes: Change doesn’t happen overnight and it never happens as quickly as we want. Change happens incrementally as we keep at it. I hope that one day I’ll be able to look back at each chapter of my life and the various justice efforts I’ve participated in and see that we’ve made a difference. Whenever I get discouraged, I remind myself of these words:

“People say, what is the sense of our small effort? They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time. A pebble cast into a pond causes ripples that spread in all directions. Each one of our thoughts, words and deeds is like that. No one has a right to sit down and feel hopeless. There is too much work to do.” (Dorothy Day, The Long Loneliness, p. 11)

In the end, Jesus’ concern was not what we must do in order to secure heavenly bliss, but rather, what does the present state of our world here “on earth” require of us, how do we respond to the needs of those being harmed, and how can we participate with them in struggling for a more just world?

“The non-ethical practices and beliefs in historical Christianity nearly all center on the winning of heaven and immortality. On the other hand, the Kingdom of God can be established by nothing except righteous life and action.” (Walter Rauschenbusch, A Theology for the Social Gospel, p. 15)

May our focus be that of Matthew’s Jesus: inheriting the earth and an earth that is worth inheriting. Each day, with the choices we make, we are shaping the kind of earth we want to be part of. May we be able to look back on each of our journeys and see an earth made more just than it would have been without us and our efforts.

Each of us, as Dorothy Day said, are like pebbles cast into a pond.

About Herb Montgomery

Herb Montgomery, director of Renewed Heart Ministries, is an author and adult religious re-educator helping Christians explore the intersection of their faith with love, compassion, action, and societal justice. You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

August 26, 2020

A Pebble Cast Into a Pond (Part 2 of 3)

Next Post

August 31, 2020 Enough for Us All (Part 1 of 3)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Ableism Abolition Advent Anti Semitism Christianity Christmas Climate Justice Criminal Justice Democracy Disability Justice Distributive Justice Easter Economic Justice Environmental Justice Equity Feminism Government Immigration Justice Indigenous Justice Interfaith Law and Order LGBTQ Affirmation Liberation Theology Migrant Justice Myth of Redemptive Suffering Nonviolence Prayer Racial Justice Reparation Resistance Resurrection Social Gospel Social Justice Survival Uncategorized Womanism

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which Gospel emphasizes Jesus as the Son of God?

Select your answer to see how you score.

John Matthew Luke Mark