Downward Mobility.

Upward mobility can mean economic security for refugees and their children; and escaping poverty is good. But it can turn into an escape from the poor themselves. Which is it? Which will it be in the long run? (Brackley, p. 92)

This is one of the most exciting chapters in the book - and one of the most challenging to understand.

Brackley uses the term "downward mobility" as a way of challenging the notion of "upward mobility" so celebrated in our culture. It's a provocative phrase, and worth thinking about.

But we should be careful not to be flip about upward mobility. There are reasons, after all, why it has been celebrated in our culture. For the last several generations, parents have hoped for bigger and better things for their children - and America has been a place where these bigger and better things can happen. (One need only note the migrants still risking their lives to cross our borders to see that the possibilities of America are still taken seriously.) Is this so wrong?

It's important to note the core of Brackley's argument. It is not that achievement and accomplishment and financial growth are bad in themselves (they are not, and Brackley mentions how they might serve real purpose). And it isn't even that achievement and accomplishment and financial growth can lead to some kind of individual sin, like pride or greed, though this could happen as well.

Rather, the problem is that as we move "up" we can find ourselves moving away from the people we leave behind. On a global level, this means leaving behind the majority of the world's population - the "Two-Thirds" world who are on the bottom level of the global economic pyramid we've constructed.

So what is the solution Brackley proposes?

The [way] of Christ today is "downward mobility." That means entering the world of the poor, assuming their cause, and to some degree, their condition. (100)

Again, without equivocating or softening Brackley's position, we need to be clear about what he's proposing. Brackley argues that the way of Christ is "downward mobility" but not because there is some inherent good about a downward direction or some inherent good about poverty.

Rather, he argues for movement in this direction because it is the direction toward being in community with the majority of the world's population. He calls this solidarity.

Living in solidarity - which Brackley identifies as a primary aspect of the Way of Christ - leaves plenty for our middle-class tribe to do. Listen to how Brackley puts it:

More than anything else, we need "new human beings" who identify with the poor majority of the planet (sometimes called the Two-Thirds World) - including people in rich countries to who know about trade, finance, and human rights law and can help address the complex causes of misery. (103)

Now here is something worth living for! The gifts that God has given to us, put to work in the service of the global community - in the service of God's project.

I'm privileged to see this happening all around me. St John United is hosting a fundraising brunch for Haiti this Sunday: the congregation's gifts of cooking and creativity in publicity are being put to work in the service of God's project. SJU's Sunday School students are raising money for schools in the Middle East through the Pennies for Peace project - the second time this year that SJU kids have put their talents to work in the service of solidarity with the global community. It's exciting to see God's Reign breaking in, even today, even among us!

What will our next steps be? How will we continue this work that has already begun? How will Christ lead us even further into God's project?

I can't wait to find out.