The New Progressive Christian Transgender Woman

                                                                I

Justice Cries Out

 The cry of justice is a cry of the sacred, a cry to continue the work of the Christ event. I say event because the effects of Christ life reach over 2000+ years. The cry of the sacred work of justice asks where is your heart, yes, where is your heart on matters of justice. For those who follow Christ where are you hearts on issues of racism, poverty, child abuse, homophobia, transphobia, inclusive marriage and other oppressive cultural and societal issues. In his book Jesus and the Disinherited Dr. Thurman writes,

The basic fact is that Christianity as it was born in the mind of the Jewish teacher and thinker appears as a technique of survival for the oppressed.

When we experience the Christ event we engage life with a new consciousness and a new heart with justice at its core. For at the center of the Christ event is justice for all creation and if justice is at the center of the Christ event the righteousness of the supreme cosmological God is revealed. One of Dr. Thurman’s protégés Martin Luther King Jr., believed that

Justice would never flourish until we allow the virtue of justice to reign in our hearts, so we courageously fight the evil of poverty as well as the evil of an unjust legal system. Peace, too will never flourish until we become wholly peaceful in the deepest recesses of the heart – peaceful with ourselves and others.

The sacred work of justice is finally the sacred work and the key component of a loving God’s moral order of the universe. It is this loving God who embraced creation through the ministry and sacrifice of Christ so that justice might be experienced by all creation. Scripture says in Isaiah 42:1, 6-7

Here is my servant...I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations....I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon.

II

Actions of Justice

The Commonwealth of Believers

The sacred work of justice is continued today by the Church or the Commonwealth of believers. I use commonwealth of believers because the Christ event is the one event that binds all believers in a mystical unity for the sacred work of justice. So as believers we articulate the work of justice through Romans 8:22-25 states

We know that the whole of creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as children, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

The commonwealth of believers is called to continue the work of justice through developing a justice centered environment that articulates the sacred as an ontological, transformative, transfigurative significance on a cosmological scale first for the oppressed and then on creation as a whole. The reality of justice can only be fulfilled by the commonwealth of believers with a heart of justice. The sacred work of justice has been proven to be a work of mental/emotional and spiritual courage that requires our hearts, and our times of meditation.

The following thoughts seek to engage the commonwealth of believers in developing realities of justice, hope and most of all God’s love.

Developing Action of Justice

1. A deep abiding faith in God’s love of justice and that reveals the righteousness of God.

2. The awareness that justice is inclusive and secures the future of all creation.

3. Justice is necessary for a new consciousness, a Christ consciousness essential for the

beloved community.

4. Justice calls for action. Through my actions God makes a way. The future is not only to be

dreamed of but fought for.

5. Justice requires hope and creativity.

6. Justice enables and empowers to keep from passively being shape in the image of

the majority.

7. Justice requires cruciformed living. Creating a new consciousness, a new awareness and

pulling awayfrom the old world and into the new world causes pain, suffering and

sometimes death.While Iconceded the aforementioned we must concede that birth pangs

ofnew birth can seemoverwhelmingbut when fighting against power structures that will

not willinglyconceded power wecannot run away orallow it to consume us.

Were it not for thosewho have gonebefore us sufferingfor the good of humanitywhere

would the fight for justicebe and where would you and I be today.

Finally, the objective of the commonwealth of believers, the Church, is to prepare all humanity for a personal ontological event of transformative, transfigurative and cosmological significance. The matters of preparation are of head and heart leading to a Christ consciousness. The preparation is not about a pious, dogmatic/doctrine based colonization or any human construct but about a personal, mystical reformation.