As we remember Jesus coming to earth at Christmas, his human suffering and struggle leads us to lament the injustice we see today, says Shane Claiborne.
Writing for Religion News Service, the social activist and leading member of the New Monasticism movement highlights the importance of humanising issues of inequality and oppression.
"One of the things happening in our world right now is that people are 'naming' injustice. No longer are we just talking about statistics, numbers and data. We are lifting up the names of the victims of a failed justice system. And there is something in a name that humanizes and personalizes the issue, and wakes us up," he says.
"The numbers have names. They remind us of the collateral damage of a failed system, and the urgency of this moment. We can't make injustice history until we make injustice personal."
Claiborne often speaks publicly on peace-making, non-violent protest and social justice. He has been vocal particularly in the wake of the Ferguson riots that broke out after the fatal police shooting of black teenager Michael Brown in August, as well as in the "I can't breathe" demonstrations to protest the death of Eric Garner.
"Every name of a life lost is an image of God. When we lost them, we lost a little piece of God's image in the world. They are friends, sons, sisters, fathers and neighbors," Claiborne writes.
"In the past, names like Amadou Diallo and Sean Bell have been a news flash for a moment. Amadou was unarmed when police shot at him 41 times and hit him 19 of those. Sean Bell, also unarmed, was shot the night before his wedding, showered with dozens of bullets by five officers. Both were headlines for a moment.
"But now we are turning those moments into a movement. We are turning those names into an anthem for justice."
It is especially poignant, Claiborne notes, this is happening in the run up to Christmas. By humanising injustice, we are joining in with a movement that declares the power of a name – just as Christ did 2,000 years ago.
"In Jesus, God took on a name – a common name like Jose, or John – came down to earth and joined the human struggle.
"And let's remember Jesus came from a real place, a place maybe not too unlike Ferguson. He grew up in Nazareth, where people said: 'Nothing good could come.' From the moment he was born, there was struggle. He was born a homeless baby, a refugee, one of us."
Claiborne continues: "As he was born, little children were being killed by Herod's empire – little boys who had names, and families. All through his life Jesus knew suffering, insult, hatred – even up to that moment he died on the imperial cross, next to two other men who also had names.
"Let us remember this Christmas: God is with us. And God is with all those who hunger for justice and an end to the tears. God has a name. And it is 'Emmanuel – God is with us.'"
