Jesus said that he would be among people in poverty. It’s no surprise then that he said people in poverty would always be among Christians (Matt 25, Jer 22:16). We think he meant that. Our friend Barry said, “If the poor are not on our path, perhaps we are not on God’s path.” If you are not eager to consistently encounter him in the distressing disguise of those at a disadvantage, our community is not for you. To us, solidarity with the disenfranchised is not an optional volunteer opportunity should we have free time. We eagerly rearrange our lives–rethinking what is of eternal value.

This means we will likely need to reorder our lives both individually and communally to prioritize the well-being of those at a disadvantage. We seek out and serve the least among us as a reenactment of the incarnation of Christ who, though he was God, traded a throne for the dust he created to take the posture of a servant (Phil 2:5-11, Mark 10:45). He who knew no sin became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21). Put another way, he became what he was not so that we could become what we were not. Fundamental to Christianity then is not “making it to the top” or climbing the societal ladder but rather, following the God who descended his. We believe that Christological solidarity will require downward mobility, but it doesn’t stop there. It aims to bring about resurrection (Ezekiel 37:1-14). Mimicking Jesus, we too, climb down into the pit, pull others from it, and set their feet upon the rock. Being made in the image of a dust-animating creator means that we are designed to look at the chaos, disorder, and dust around us and believe that it too can be something that images God. It means standing hand in hand with those who have been systemically exploited by power structures and lifestyles that accumulate wealth and privilege through the repression of people (James 5:1-5). Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, said that we fulfill the law of Christ by carrying one another’s burdens (6:2). We can’t carry a burden without first bending over to pick it up. Downward mobility then is fundamental to what it means to enact Christian solidarity.