Here though, the people live in the basurero (garbage dump). It is their livelihood and their life! They make their homes from the garbage. Their community is called La Ciudad Perdida, The Lost City. The buses that travel to the area proclaim that they are headed for "Tiradero," the "Rubbish Dump." Just past Ciudad Labor, the City of Work. It almost sounds like something that should be in allegory, not a real place with real people. Could you imagine if a basurero placed your life? "Oh, yeah, I live in the garbage dump, if you just head down the dirt road there past Work Town you'll see it. You might smell it first."
That thought was depressing to me, but it caused me to reflect on the Christian life. Such close contact with a community centered around refuse made Bible passages dealing with the topic press themselves on my consciousness anew in living odor.
For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men. 10We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! 11To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. 12We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 13when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world. -1 Cor. 4:13
I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I might gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. Phil. 3:8-9
All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away. --Is. 64:6
Ok, that's just a brief reflection (that I've been trying to post for about a week...) :-) I hope that it made you think. Stay tuned, because I have a lot more musings that I haven't had a chance to write/post yet.
1 comment:
Great thoughts, Carolyn. It's so interesting that you should write about the "place" of the garbage dump, as it directly affects the people whom you interact with. My sr sem paper topic is on "place," so it is an interesting "twist" to think of how "place defines your human identity" if that place happens to be a garbage dump.
As it relates to my research, I am sure you could say that this "place" would foster a sense of not-belonging ("outsideness") rather than a sense of belonging ("insideness"), for those who lived there. Which is interesting because, as my novel depicts, even if humans DO have a loyalty to their place and a resulting sense of place, Thus, humans are ultimately "outsiders" who are perpetually searching for a place of their own that will LAST and where they will perfectly fit into. They can never have a perfect sense of place or feel like they perfectly belong. This is due to the nature of our very flawed world (both we humans and our physical places of residence are imperfect, at best).
No matter what our physical location, suburbs, the country, city, garbage dump, our innate human desire for a perfect, permanent place of our own that we feel perfectly "inside" will be unmet. The unfulfillment of this desire is meant to point us to our true "home" of heaven, the only place we will achieve a perfect sense of belonging("insideness").
Sorry this ramble was so long but last we spoke, you said to comment on your blog posts since no one did, so I just did. Hopefully you will find some part of it useful/interesting.
-your Whit
P.S. I like the connections you made with the "dity rags" passages. Praise the Lord for having such grace on us whose righteousness is nothing but dirty rags.
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