Good Neighbors

Good Neighbors:

Here I am on the back side of the world.  What an arrogant statement that is.  Who am I to declare my spot on the globe the front?  But this morning, 8,000 mile from home, that's how I feel.  I just got word that my neighbor died. Kathy and I had only been married for nine months when we moved in at 2106 S. Carpenter Drive.  It was the first real house we lived in together.  It's been our home for the past forty-three years.  We raised our boys there, and have been privileged have our grandkids visit.  And for all those years Gene was our neighbor. Sometimes when I would tell people where I lived, I'd tell them that I lived next to Gene.  They'd kind of look puzzled and then say, "Oh, you mean Fatty."  If you knew Gene you'd know why he had received that nick-name.  I never used it.  There was much more to him than his significant circumference.  Gene was one of those guys who carried a lunch box and wore a hard hat.  He sacrificed and worked hard to build a nice home.  He suffered the bitter cold and snow of Korea, and saw some of his conrades claimed by that cruel conflict.  He was a loyal--some would say fanatical--union member.  Though he was a big man, he was one of the little guys that he wanted to get a fair shake.  He extolled the virtues of Ford.  Until his dying day he wanted to be back behind the wheel of his red pickup or, even better, his blue Cyclone.  In spite of extra cars and other junk in the yard, Gene was a good neighbor. Good neighbors are there for one another at times like this.  I regret that I can't drop in to visit with his family, and swap stories, but as I say, I'm on the back side of the world.  I'm here, in part, because of a story Jesus told one time.  You probably remember it.  We call it the story of the Good Samaritan.  A legal expert was trying to pin Jesus down.  He wanted to know, "Just who is my neighbor?"  He wanted to know this so that he could know who he didn't have to help.  "Who can I, in good conscience ignore?"  You read the story, maybe a couple of times.  I think you'll see that by taking the person who this Jewish leader was least likely to regard as a neighbor, and giving him the GOOD NEIGHBOR gold star, Jesus was saying that all people, everywhere are my neighbors. So, I came here from what my neighbors, here, would regard as the backside of the globe, to be a good neighbor.  I concluded that there is some good I can do here.  Some partners have made it possible for me to be here.  It's what neighbors are supposed to do.  We take the blessing God has entrusted to us and share it, sometimes next door, sometimes around the world. Being a good neighbor, let's work on that today. It's STTA. PS:  I'm very glad that God gave me the privilege of sharing the Good News with Gene.  Because Gene trusted in the Lord, I expect to be his neighbor again.  I want to do the neighborly thing toward you, and share that good news.  Here is a simple video presentation of the message.

Search not the internet to know for whom the siren wails.

It's about me:

If John Donne were  a 21st Century American, he might very well write, ". . . search not the internet to know for whom the siren wails.  It wails for thee." A relative of mine works at UNC Charlotte, friends of mine live in that community.  What is going on in Tulsa and Charlotte is not unrelated to reality here in the quiet community I call home.  I'll not argue for one version of the facts over another.  Actions--probably actions on both sides of the horribly complicated situation are being driven not by facts (alone), but by perceptions--perceptions only partially fueled by facts.  The rest of the space is filled with inappropriate conclusions, generalizations, prejudice, fear, and anger. The perception that a portion of our population is being dealt with unjustly, by the very people they should be looking to for justice, has to be recognized and dealt with.  The perception that we cannot trust law-enforcement personnel to make good faith decisions, rather we must demand 24/7 video footage so we can make up our own mind is problematic and must be addressed.  We often miss the point of the Good Samaritan storythat Jesus told.  The story comes at the end of a dialogue between Jesus and a man who was "put[ting Jesus] to the test,"  and who had a desire to "justify himself."  His opening question to the Lord was representative of the "I'm better than these other folk because I keep the law" mentality of the religious leaders we often meet in the Gospels  (Look here for another example.)  Jesus both pointed out how utterly misdirected the man's system of righteousness was, and the impossibility of him doing, through self-effort, what he needed to "do to inherit eternal life."  The expert on the law was asking the question, "Who is my neighbor?" in order to narrow the field.  It is hard to love my neighbor my neighbor as myself. I need to make the group who are my neighbors as small as possible, hopefully limiting it to others like me.  That way, since I'm loving others who are just like me, it won't be hard for me to love them just like I love me. I figure as the man heard Jesus begin to tell about the man who was beaten and robbed that he asked, "Yes this is a veryinteresting story, but what does it have to do with my questions?"  At the end Jesus reaches across the greatest cultural divide that existed in First Century Judaism and says, "You see that Samaritan, on the far side of the cultural landscape?  He is your neighbor.  The implication being that everyone else, between me and him is my neighbor as well.  In looking for self-generated righteousness the legal expert wanted to know, in essence,  "Whom can I leave beside the road, walking by without a concern, secure in my path to eternal life--whom can I treat as a non-neighbor?" Jesus shocking answer basically meant, "Nobody. There is no one who comes into contact with you that is exempt from this obligation. We agree on the mandate to love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.  You even acknowledge that you need to love your neighbor as yourself.  Here is where we disagree.  You see everyone who is different from you as a non-neighbor.  I am saying they are." I can't pick up every roadside casualty in world, but in my little spot on the globe Good Samaritan opportunities present themselves quite frequently.  Is my behavior toward my neighbor leading toward, or away from what is going on in Tulsa and Charlotte?  The siren's wail serves as a reminder. It's STTA. Click here, to find out about has been done so that each of us can have eternal life--a life begins here in this messy world, where God desires that we make a difference.

Something Is Wrong!

Take a moment and look at that picture.  Look again.  Look yet again, and be reminded that Lorraine Bayless is a real person.  We know from news stories that she had a daughter.  Did she sew, play cards, listen to music, maybe she was a baseball fan?  Tracey Halvorson , the dispatcher who handled the call that came in requesting help for Lorraine, identified her as a "human."  

By now the 

Video: Woman's Refusal to Administer CPR Sparks Controversy

is probably familiar.  Lorraine collapsed.  It looked like a heart attack.  The nurse at the independent living home where Lorraine lived called 911.  The dispatcher tried to get the nurse to do CPR.  When she said it was against policy, Tracey begged for the nurse to get somebody else who was willing to help her.  The non-nursing nurse said she couldn't do that.  It is against policy.

Look at that picture once again.  We aren't discussing a policy, here.  Lorraine Bayless is a human being, one who bears the image of God.  To paraphrase John Donne,

"Ask not for whom the 911 call is made.  

It is made for thee."

 

Maybe I'm making too much of this, but I just watched a BCC documentary series on Auschwitz.  The policyargument sounds remarkably familiar.  When policies discourage people from helping, or trying to help, others something is wrong with policy and the culture that produced those policies.  When potential Good Samaritans consult the manual before they consult their hearts something is wrong.  When our hearts allow us to glibly quote policy while someone is dying, something is wrong.  

"Are we going to let this lady die?"  ". . . is there anybody that's willing to help this lady and not let her die?"  Tracey, the dispatcher, asked with obvious concern.  

"Not at this time." was the sad reply.

 

Something is wrong, and  

 

 It's STTA.