Take the Risk. Be a Neighbor.

     One day, as a fifth grader, I completed my long hike to school across the hard-frozen tundra (not quite, but seemed it) of northern Iowa.  It was a frigid January day, with temperatures below zero.  The wind lashed us bitterly.  Arriving at school, I was surprised to find one of the doors standing wide open.  I gratefully sprung into the building, eager to get out of the cold and wind.  I turned around and looked at the door.  No one had been holding it open for me.  Students streamed into the building, not noticing the open door at all.  Finally, after pondering the odd situation for a couple of moments, I reached out and pulled the door shut.  Within moments, one of the band teachers, Mr. Leeper, was at my side.  With a kind smile he said, "Scott, I have stood here watching that door for the past eight minutes.  I was curious to know if anyone would ever take a moment to do the thoughtful and responsive thing, and pull the door shut against the cold.  You are the only one who even noticed it.  I couldn't believe it.  But you thought of more than just yourself, and took the effort to do something helpful.  I'm proud of you."

     I certainly appreciated his encouraging words, but I also thought silently, "Why didn't you close the door, sir?"  There was a bit of irony in the teacher's test to see who would take some personal responsibility.  Still, his point was well-taken; one of the symptoms of humanity's sin-sickness is the tendency to remain disengaged when one observes a person or situation in need of help, thinking, "someone else will do it."  Some of the most disturbing examples of this have been observed in big cities.  Police have responded to many situations of violence, sexual violence, or murder, carrying out investigations which revealed that many local residents saw or heard the crime right outside their windows, but chose not to get involved.  They didn't shout, "leave that lady alone--I'm calling the police!" They didn't go out and get physically near the scene of violence, to bear witness or to help the victim.  They decided not to get involved--to let someone else do it.  They didn't want to take the risk.  These scenes are tragic, but they are not new.

     Luke 10 records Jesus' conversation with an expert in the Old Testament law.  He asked Jesus for his opinion on the definitive list of things to do so that he could gain eternal life.  The Lord asked him, first, what his view was, and the man answered with something Jesus had often taught, that there were two inseparable things.  One must love God with all one's heart, soul, strength, and mind--but one must also love one's neighbor as oneself.  Jesus affirmed the man's view completely.  The expert of the law, however, asked, "but who is my neighbor?"  It seems he was looking for the bare minimum, here.  He did not wish to put himself out for anyone who was not truly his "neighbor."  We know how Jesus answered this question; he told the Parable of the Good Samaritan.  

     A man was waylaid on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, beaten, robbed of everything he had, and left for dead.  Both a priest, and a Levite, soon came traveling down the same road, and beheld the critically-injured man.  Each chose to distance themselves from the man's need, passing along without getting involved.  The beaten man might have expected for either of these to assist him--they were spiritual leaders and fellow Israelites.  But, from the very ones he would expect to take the lead in matters of compassion, he was bitterly disappointed.  We can speculate why the priest and Levite would choose to pass on by, but I would venture that they would have wanted to avoid risk.  It was well-known that bandits would beat and rob a victim and leave him out as bait.  When someone else would happen along and kneel down to assist the victim, those same bandits would leap out of hiding and do the same to the helper.  

     The truly interesting point of Jesus' parable is who did choose to get involved: a Samaritan, who was reviled by the people whose land he traveled through.  The Samaritans were considered ethnically impure, only part Jewish, and religiously heretical.  They were treated as pariahs.  Pureblood Jews would avoid them entirely, treating them as an untouchable underclass.  The Samaritan in Christ's parable would have been well-acquainted with the prejudice and hostility he'd receive from the people of this land.  They certainly wouldn't help him if he was found beaten and left for dead.  But he saw this victimized Jewish man, and he could not turn away.  He took the risk upon himself, transported the victim to an inn, and paid for his care with his own money.  Jesus then turned the question around and posed it to the expert in the law: which of these was a neighbor to the injured man?  The expert could only reply that it was the one who had showed mercy.  Jesus came back with the incisive command, "go and do likewise."  He would not help the expert in the law to whittle down the list so that he could decide who was and wasn't his neighbor, to satisfy himself with loving only a few selected individuals.  The issue wasn't, "who is my neighbor?" It was, "you go and be a neighbor to anyone God places in your life."

     Our public debates often grapple with who deserves our help, and who doesn't.  It repeats endlessly on the news, on Capitol Hill, and in states where refugees seek to escape violence and persecution from vicious tyrants and criminals at home.  Those debates often turn on the issue of risk, as there is fear of those who come from countries that harbor terrorists and drug lords.  That the refugees are actually fleeing such evil people is an important consideration, but there is always risk in being a neighbor to those in need.   We are not residents of those border states, and we certainly have no clout when it comes to the debates on Capitol Hill.  We have one arena where our actions and decisions can truly make a difference, and that is right where we live.  We don't deal much with asylum-seeking refugees here in western Pennsylvania, but there are still plenty of people who are hurting, alone, and desperately in need of God's love incarnated through us.  Just as it has always been through history, there is risk in reaching out in compassion to those who are hurting.  But Jesus never allows us to sift through those who are our neighbors and those who aren't.  He simply reaches across time and commands us: be a neighbor to any and all who God places before you.

     So let me ask you: in your daily course of life, is there anyone you come in contact with regularly, someone who is lonely, or in need, who is in desperate need of a neighbor?  What a blessing, then, that God brought you along, because a follower of Jesus is a neighbor to all.  Others may pass by and refuse to take the risk or effort.  But you will hear the still, small voice which urges you: go over there, and be that one's neighbor.  Heed that voice, for it is the voice of He who came to you when you were as good as dead.  He took your hurt upon himself, paid the price, and redeemed you to life.

Disciplined Freedom and the Pursuit of Community

     As Americans, we are concerned about the maintenance of our rights.  With much blood shed over almost 250 years, we have secured for ourselves basic freedoms of speech, religion, the press, free assembly, and many others.  Those rights are why we, as American Christians, may meet to worship freely, share our testimony without fear of imprisonment, and speak forth our deep convictions about any number of issues.  Without these rights, it would be much more difficult to speak God's truth to power , to call out evils which threaten to destroy us, and call for justice on behalf of those who cannot defend themselves.  The current, alarming state of things in New York state is an example.  No one is more vulnerable than a baby, either in or out of the womb, and God is watching to see if His people will stand in solidarity with these little ones.  Knowing their angels constantly see the face of the Almighty, we remind our country and ourselves that we will be held to account for their treatment.  The freedom of speech gives us a constitutional right to speak for what's right, even when others do not want to hear.

     Our freedoms are precious.  That is why it is crucial that they are used responsibly; history shows us that the irresponsible use of freedoms is what leads to their loss.  Francis Schaeffer cautioned that as western nations abandon God's laws, the purpose of those freedoms is forgotten, and in the ensuing chaos, those same freedoms become the hammers which destroy once-great nations.  Unrestrained freedom brings anarchy, and anarchy always ushers in tyranny.  Thus we see that freedoms can never serve as ends to themselves.  They are always the means to achieve something greater, or they self-destruct.  America's principles have tragically eroded, however, and we pursue freedom only for freedom's sake.  This is a crisis.  

     I am reminded of the movie based on Michael Crichton's novel, Jurassic Park.  In the first act, John Hammond is giving a group of scientists a preview of the pre-historic wonders genetically resurrected by his team.  Dr. Ian Malcolm is horrified that Hammond has subverted the natural order of things and unleashed on modern Earth forces which could end human life as we know it.  He chides Hammond for his irresponsible use of genetic power, saying, "you wield it like a kid who's found his Dad's gun."  He closes with this iconic line: "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should." 

     So it is with our freedom.  These days, many people focus only on what they can do--what they have the right to do--without considering whether they should.  Most of the current culture war finds its root in this dangerous error.  Since there is no longer agreement about what is right and wrong (even whether those concepts exist), no one is willing to agree on a vision for common life as a society.  There remain only our "rights" -- the things we insist we can do.  Public conflicts come when one group's "rights" conflict with another's.  Those insisting on abortion will go to war over a woman's ability to do so anytime she wishes.  This week, the Senate blocked a "Born Alive" bill which would have protected a baby if it had survived its mother's attempts to kill it.  Though this is clearly infanticide, the entire focus is on what the mother can do; there is no accounting for whether she should.  Furthermore, there are those "social justice warriors" who, claiming to champion their freedom, would silence and persecute any who would speak against them.  That they do not see the irony is evidence of how far we have fallen.  They destroy the same value they claim to uphold.

     Having listed a couple of the obvious issues, I want to urge caution, lest we accidentally find ourselves on the list of those who cannot distinguish the things we can do from what we should do.  We place much stock in our freedom to say whatever we want, and that is good.  No one should be able to take away our rights to speak out, particularly because this right enables us to speak on behalf of what is right and just.  We must be responsible, however, in how we use this right.  If we make the right to speak freely an end unto itself, if we forget that all freedoms must be in the service of a greater good if they are to endure, we are sure to end up doing more harm than good.  There is a good chance that you have people in your life, perhaps co-workers or  family members, who pride themselves in saying exactly what's on their mind, whether others like it or not.  They delude themselves, thinking this is some kind of heroic virtue.  Yet, while they flaunt their courage in saying what they want, what effect do they have on your family, or workplace?  They corrode the sense of camaraderie among your team, turning a smooth-running operation into a toxic, dysfunctional shambles.  That "crazy uncle" who spouts forth whatever nonsense he wants spoils the family reunion each year.  In each case, a greater good is sabotaged by a crank who insists on giving vent to every unedited thought.  He fixates on what he can say, but tragically fails to consider whether he should.  He ends up sacrificing a greater good for a much smaller, petty good of his own.

     Our whole society is infected with the fever of irresponsible freedom.  Since it cares little for the perspectives of others, it melts away the social glue that binds communities and nation together.  Make no mistake: this social glue is of great importance.  When the Framers of the U.S. Constitution set out to "secure the Blessings of Liberty" to themselves and their Posterity, that Liberty was in pursuit of a noble vision: "in order to form a more perfect Union."  The Union of our nation, the social glue that would bring together people of all kinds of backgrounds and beliefs, was to be accomplished through each person's freedom, exercised responsibly in service to that vision, much larger than themselves.  The goal of freedom was not freedom; it was the mutual respect given to the each person, created by God to be free, and yet to use that freedom to serve Him and to serve one another in love. In other words: community, a "more perfect Union."  Through history, our country's unique ability to form a community from very different people has been a key ingredient in its success.

     Sadly, the dream of community in America has been all but abandoned in our crazed obsession with personal freedom.  Like the boy who has found his father's gun, we brandish our freedom like a toy, untempered by the disciplined training which makes it a useful tool instead of a deadly hazard.  People strut about, making a show of saying and doing as they wish, without a single consideration for the experiences and beliefs of others in their communities.  Very little progress is made from such an approach.  If a person proclaims their side of a contentious issue without respecting, listening to, and reasoning with those from the opposite viewpoint, three things happen.  Those on the same side cheer loudly, those on the opposite side become insulted and more intransigent than before, and the community becomes more divided and distrusting.  As I said before, more harm than good is done.  We cannot continue as a culture unless our generation commits to a different way.  

     The good news is that we, in the Church, know a different way.  In Christ, we are forged into a new community.  He came to be our peace, to make the two groups one by destroying the wall of hostility between us (Ephesians 2:14).  Only in the Church can the vision of community reach its highest potential on a fallen world with its sinful people.  Jesus came to reconcile us to God, and to one another.  Because Jesus has made us into a new creation, we have the opportunity to set aside anger and pride, to choose loving service to one another instead of ego.  Our example can be a light to an America which has truly lost its way.  Until our nation can remember what a spirit of community looks like, they should be able to look to us, keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  Until they learn again the difference between what they can do and what they should do, we are called by God to be a model of freedom used with focus and responsibility --  to build up our community while being faithful to God's truth.  Until they come to understand what's right and what's wrong, we are called to stand for righteousness and justice to the least of these.  Until people with deaf ears stop shouting at other people with deaf ears, accomplishing nothing but rancor, the Lord would have us be the model of how to speak with moral conviction, yet filled with the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control (Galatians 5).  We're called to show how to stop shouting, but rather appeal to hearts and minds.  As Christians, we understand that unless we do and say all things with love, we have absolutely nothing. (1 Corinthians 13).  We, of all people, should know that our personal freedom must be disciplined to serve a greater good--a vision of love, service, and community.  So, let us refuse to contribute to the breakdown of community through freedom gone mad.  Christ has called us be an example of His higher way.

"You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love." -- Galatians 5:13