Tag Archive for: Neighbors

Titanic Deck Chairs

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In the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37), we examined the action of the true neighbor. Jesus identified him as a Samaritan, and as we discussed yesterday, accordingly we can (and should) identify similar actors of charity with descriptors that reveal and betray our prejudices.

The Good Samaritan was the one who brought aid to the man who was attacked by the robbers. He went over and above what might be expected. Against this one man who acted, two men did not act. In fact, they walked away, turned away, avoided and the made sure to leave the scene of the incident by crossing to the other side of the road. Jesus was selective in pointing to the man who offered aid as a Samaritan. He was the one no one expected would help. Jesus was equally unexpected in his choice of characters who refused to aid the man who was left for half dead. He selected a priest and a Levite, both religious functionaries in the community. Imagine that, the priest and the Levite were the emissaries of God and they passed by a person in need.

I have heard many interpretations of the reason for their callous drive-by attitude. Some have suggested that they thought the man was in fact dead, and Jewish law forbade priests from interacting with dead bodies. It defiles them. Others, even in the Armenian Orthodox tradition, suggest that the priest and the Levite represented the Law and the Prophets and in turn the Samaritan was symbolic for Christ. That’s nice and fits an attempted model of salvation, but I truly believe Jesus’ intention was to invite us to action. He used these characters intentionally. The priest and the Levite were both well versed in the religion of the day and both proclaimed complete and total love for God. They knew Scriptures better than the majority of the population. They worshipped God in accordance with the mandates put upon them by the law. And yet, in the face of a life-or-death situation, they avoided the obvious.

The words of Jesus, that are the parables he shares, are exact and distinct. Like Occam’s razor, Armodoxy asks us to shave off unlikely explanations and consider the simplest understanding of Jesus’ words, and in this case, He meant that we ought to help those in need, even beyond what is expected, without prejudice, considering all as our neighbor.

An earthquake in Turkey kills 20,000, the one in Armenia killed 50,000, a hurricane in Louisiana kills 50, the war in the Ukraine accounts for 15,000 dead, a gun man unloads rounds in a crowded bar, the militia is taking out the Congolese civilians, a woman is beaten by her husband and a small child struggles against blood disease late night in a Mid-West hospital room. We can come up with hundreds of reasons not to act: citing differences in the color skin, religion, languages, preferences, or origins. Let “their people” take care of them, I have a god who loves me. You might as well rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic.

In a hurting world, Jesus Christ demands that we see one another as children of the same Father, that is brothers and sisters from the same home.

Let us pray, “Heavenly Father, may the example of the Good Samaritan guide me to do that which is pleasing in Your Sight. Open my eyes and all my senses to see and feel the humanity of every man and woman in this world. Give me the strength to extend myself to the hurting of the world, and see them as you see them, children of God, therefore as my brother and my sister, as my neighbor. Amen”

Neighborhood

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Armodoxy for Today: Neighborhood

In 1988, a major earthquake shook Armenia, centered in the small town of Spitak. Anywhere from 25,000 to 50,000 people perished, the actual number was unavailable, as was most information during the Soviet Union of the time.

The pain and suffering of the survivors were so great that the word “unimaginable” was the literal descriptor of the catastrophe. That day, December 7, a day which was to “live in infamy” was now developing a reputation for a day of mass atrocities.*

Countries, large and small, sent aid to the small republic, Armenia, struggling with limit resources, unable to adequately deal with the magnitude of the devastation made to lives and property. As you might imagine, the first responders were the ones who were the closest to the scene. They came from 50 kilometers away, across the border from Turkey.

Any student of history will tell you that there is no love lost between Armenians and Turks, yet, at that moment of catastrophic devastation, it was the Turks who crossed the border to begin digging and start the search-and-rescue process. In the face of such a huge destruction, I’m sure those first responders didn’t think ethnicity, they didn’t think I’m a Turk and he’s an Armenian. Nor did the traumatized survivors consider from whom and from where the aid was coming. In fact, at that moment of tragedy, everyone is reduced by the greatest common denominator: we are all human.

When Jesus came, he looked at each of us by our common humanity. When St. Paul writes, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28) he is describing the God-view of humanity. We are all his children. And we live in a common neighborhood, namely our world.

The now-forgotten story of the first-responders from across the Turkish-Armenian border is remembered today because it points to something so essential and necessary in our world today, to understand the deep connection we have to one another. And, the only hope we have for a future, our ability to reach out to one another. Tragedies such as earthquakes, hurricanes and especially wars, are reminders for us to look beyond the artificial borders and boundaries we have established and see the face of God (Gen 1:27) in one another.

When Jesus teaches us the story of the “Good Samaritan” in the Gospel of St. Luke (10:25f), he does so as an answer to the question “And who is my neighbor?” Before reviewing his answer, we took a look at the neighborhood in which the neighbors reside. Tomorrow, we will dive into the parable in fresh terms, terms that we hear inside our neighborhood.

We pray today, “Lord our God, Creator of the world and humanity, open my heart and my soul to look beyond my boundaries and my borders, and find You in others. Give me the strength to see the “least of your brothers and sisters” in the hurting of the world, and then give me the courage to act. I ask in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”

 

* December 7, 1941, was referred to as “a date which will live in infamy” by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, after the Japanese military bombed the U.S. Naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.