Intentional cruelty turns my stomach and I see it every day on the news: immigrants being arrested for no other reason than their name or skin color. Construction workers abducted at the Home Depot. Masked men sweeping people off the streets in order to fulfill an arbitrary quota. Civil rights being stripped away in public, leaving us as helpless bystanders against such armed force.
What would Jesus do? Would he gather a crowd to protect the victim? Be a good Samaritan, able to intervene and show mercy?* Or might he step forward to offer himself instead? I watch Rev. Barber and others being handcuffed and shoved into a police van for praying at the Capitol and wonder how we can resist armed force that seems devoid of conscience. These scenes are meant to paralyze us into numbness and fear.
“How do you stay centered these days?” asked a friend by email. And I confess that I am having a hard time doing that. But this week, 21 people gathered online to study Elizabeth O’Connor’s book, Call to Commitment, and in that 90-minute class I was completely absorbed in the miraculous stories of sacrifice and learning to love one another that she describes. That single-minded experience of community was balm to my soul. A healing center. Mercy personified. My courage renewed.
Most of us know we ought to love one-another. And when we come together with compassion and care, peace and joy do flow. I left the class renewed, convinced that these islands of restorative care can equip us for the world we live in. What now?
Loving the neighbor we hardly know takes many forms and the need is not far away. “Stay awake,” I hear him say, “and I will show you the way.”
-- Marjory Bankson, Editor of InwardOutward
For More
- Who is my unknown neighbor?
- Where am I called to action?
- How does my faith community nurture hope?
