Week 12: Related Readings
1342 words by aminias
My project is going very well at this point. After talking to my priest at my Church about running a food drive there. He told me it was a great idea and he approved of it. He announced to the Church this past on Sunday about my food drive. Many people told me that they will be more than glad to donate some money and cans. I also received a lot of great advice from some of the Church members and my friends on what else I can do for my project. Last week I was having a lot of trouble finding an open slot at some of the food banks that I wanted to volunteer at. Most of them were already booked for the entire month. I spoke to many people on the phone and a lot of them told me they will get back to me if they have any slots open and none of them called me back. My sister and my cousin told me about a food bank they volunteered at for their service hours for school called Just the Right Attitude. They told me they enjoyed working there and they said the people there were really nice and helpful. At that point, I became interested and I decided to give the food bank a call. The lady I spoke to, told me they are always in need of volunteers and she would be more than happy if I came and volunteered. I told her the times when I was available and she was able to find a open slot for me and some of my friends to come and volunteer. I am really looking forward to volunteering there and it sounds like a great opportunity. At this point, my project is progressing very well and everything is falling into place just right. In the beginning I wanted to create a facebook group or pass out flyers, but I feel that donating my time and energy through volunteering is better. It is a good way to get involved and to get others involved. I am glad that everything is working smoothly. At this point, I am just hoping that the food drive is successful and that I am able to collect a good amount of cans to donate when I go to volunteer.
According to Wikipedia, counter culture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day. According to wikipedia, Jesus Christ was portrayed as counter cultural because he did not follow the customs of his time.1 There were many ways that explain why Jesus was counter cultural. He interacted with the prostitutes and tax-collectors in his time, which no other person would ever come in contact with. Jesus said: “In truth I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes are making their way into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you, showing the way of uprightness, but you did not believe him, and yet the tax collectors and prostitutes did” (Mt 21:31). He associated with women and believed that they were equal to men. At the time, women were not considered equal to men. Men were always considered superior. Women could not do many things that men at that time could do. For example, women were not allowed not worship at the synagogue. Jesus Christ did many things during his time that would make him to be considered counter cultural. A prostitute came into the presence of Jesus while He was dinning at someone’s house. She washed his feet and Jesus’ followers were in shock that he allowed this sinful woman to touch him. Jesus Christ not only allowed her to continue washing His feet, but He also forgave her of her many sins. Another incident is when he was encountered by a woman was when He was in the middle of a sermon and He saw a crippled woman walking by. He told her to come to Him and so she did. He not only interacted with the woman, but he also called her over into a place where it was only set aside for men. He then healed this crippled lady to demonstrate to all that women are as important as men. Jesus was one that never followed the traditions of what everyone else was born into. He was an outsider living in a world full of selfishness and hatred. He was a different person than many of the people in his day. Jesus associated with people of all background. He preached about many things that brought love, unity, faith, and belief into the world. Jesus Christ looked beyond a person’s origin and outlook and instead looked at one’s character from the inside. He did not look at the race, size, or condition, but rather the strength of one’s heart. “To be counter cultural is to swim against the tide in order to make a prophetic difference in a given society and culture. As Christians, we should follow the example of Christ and destroy all the negative and proud statements that are said about God facing our society today.”2 Jesus preached about forgiveness and instead of having revenge upon someone He recommended to turn the other cheek. He also preached about love and in Matthew 5:44 he says “love your enemies and pray for those, who persecute you.” While others are rooted with hatred Jesus is rooted with love, which is why He is considered counter cultural.
I personally do not think my project is counter cultural because I am not going against any norms are values in our society. Trying to stop world hunger is not counter cultural, but at the same time there are not that many people who are contributing to this cause. If more people devoted just a small amount of their time and energy then world hunger would be a much smaller problem.
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterculture
2. http://eapi.admu.edu.ph/eapr001/jfung.htm