Like a Good Neighbor
Good Morning Friends,
Yesterday our family met a Presbyterian Pastor from Cuba and his wife for dinner with a small group at our minister’s home. I came up with a series of questions to ask him as a way of preparing myself to be in the proper mind set.I meditated on how I might show respect for their context, situation, and practical limitations… how we might recognize and acknowledge the gifts they had….and how we might honor the integrity God has placed in each other.
I learned they loved music and especially blues. That pastors in Cuba earn $20 a month. That dogs mirror human behavior and that Cuba had really great tasting fruits and vegetables and that I could not really get an answer to my questions unless I walked with them in the place they call home. Ultimately the questions did not need a human answer so much as an interpretation of experience that placed in us all the Spirit of communicating Like a Good Neighbor.
Scripture: Wanting to justify himself, [a lawyer] asked Jesus, “. . . who is my neighbor?”
Luke 10:29 (NRSV)
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’
Matthew 25:31-40 (NRSV)
Message: The incarnational aspect of serving to meet Jesus is probably not new to you but I think we have not fully experienced its meaning and message for a place such as Cuba which has been under Communist rule for a long time and yet still very much is under God’s rule. Our response to how the church develops and becomes one in the midst of worldly politics is important perhaps equally for our faith development as for theirs. Toward reconciling this reality I was introduced to the writings of a man named John Mackay who sixty years ago wrote somewhat prophetically about the challenge and the status of what happens when man made systems, wherever they may be, try to supersede God’s order. Interestingly John Mackay’s challenge, I think, was directed more to us in the United States than to Cuba. In a letter to Presbyterians he quoted T.S. Elliot who said, “Those who put their faith in worldly order… Not controlled by the order of God… In confident ignorance, but arrest disorder, make it fast, breed fatal disease…degrade what they exalt.” His message for us is that the Christian Church has a prophetic function to fulfill in every society and in every age. The majesty of truth must be empowered to cultivate and promote the welfare of the whole church. At all times and at all costs God’s sovereign rule is to be the controlling factor in human history. Friends, when we concentrate exclusively on our deal, there is a subtle and potent assault of basic human rights. We need to adjust our thought and behavior so that the shrine of conscience and private judgment, which God alone has a right to enter, has not been invaded. The issue is from the inside out….not the outside in.
Pray for those hesitant to accept help. Pray for those who actually know how to really help. Pray we have the right Spirit within us that changes situations from the inside out. Pray we are not toxic with the help we would offer. Pray we realize that if we really want answers we cannot just view the situation from a balcony but need to walk with Jesus in the streets. Pray we meet Jesus and the glory of God in those who hunger, are in prison, and in need of clothing. Pray we understand the temporal as well as spiritual nature of this transformation. Pray for wisdom and courage, spiritual calm and loyalty to truth and justice. Pray we learn that God will answer the questions we need to have answered. Pray until He returns that we lift up the dignity in each other even with empty hands.
Daily Devotionals 