The oft quoted question put to Jesus by the Jewish lawyer in an attempt to justify himself, “Who is my neighbor?”, is ever relevant for us all, but I believe most especially now. Each week I read a variety of sources including newspapers, books, blogs, magazines and publications I receive from charitable organizations. I had not expected to find two sources, with distinctly different perspectives arriving at the same conclusion: healthy communities depend and thrive on empathy and loving relationship. It seems an obvious conclusion, and yet it has seemingly escaped our collective consciousness. In this time when the flaws and fragility of the social order have been so starkly highlighted by the pandemic and a highly contentious political season, I believe it is essential that the Body of Christ prayerfully consider how we enflesh Divine love in our community and in relation to our neighbors.
Christian Perspective
The latest issue of ECHOES, a quarterly publication of the H.E. Butt Foundation, opens with a quote from David Rogers, President and CEO of the foundation:
“The main lesson that has emerged from this process: even for big, complicated problems like inequity, relationships are a key part of the answer. We can’t even begin to know who our neighbor is until we see them, engage them, and join them in their journey."
Rogers is referring to a survey undertaken by the faith-based foundation approximately one year ago to better understand gaps existing within our communities, especially the gaps in opportunities and resources, that leave so many families struggling to survive. The survey results are meant to increase awareness, and just as importantly, change the narrative about why poverty and inequity exist in such extreme degrees in our region and throughout the country.
The survey, sent to over 20,000 people in the Houston, Austin, Dallas and San Antonio area, was undertaken in response to what the foundation leadership has learned through their Community Engagement program: “This work has introduced us to leaders working on the front lines of community challenges like affordable housing, underemployment, lack of access to strong education and healthcare, and more.” (emphasis mine)
The report returns again and again to the need for developing and sustaining relationships across socioeconomically diverse groups: individual relationships, mentoring relationships, church and organizational relationships. And while relationships cannot constitute the sole response to the social and economic challenges faced by many families in our region, it is the only way to begin and to sustain a response to these needs, and to faithfully answer the challenging question of, “Who is my neighbor?”
I believe we are fortunate to have the H.E. Butt family and Foundation in Texas, and a community-oriented business like HEB in Houston. The survey and results are summarized in four brief reports that can be found at this link: ECHOES. I strongly encourage you to read and consider the implications of the findings.
Another Lens
The second source is a blog post by Scott Galloway, Professor of Marketing at the New York University Stern School of Business, titled: The Great Dispersion. Given the source, I expected insights into business and economic trends, and although I received that, I unexpectedly received an analysis of their sociological implications.
Galloway, like others, sees the pandemic as the “great accelerant” driving change at an unprecedented pace. Pre-existing, normally gradually emerging trends have become the norm in a matter of months; trends that might otherwise have taken decades to evolve and substantially change the way we live and relate. He contends that we are entering what he refers to as the post-distance era where tech is allowing distribution of large segments of the economy without regard to existing distribution channels and locality. For example: Amazon dispersed retail to desktop, to mobile, to voice. Netflix dispersed DVDs to our mailbox, then to every screen. Steaming services showing first-release movies may shutter theaters. Work from home, telemedicine, and remote learning are being added to the already discernible impact of social media on how we communicate with, and relate to one another; changes that may ultimately diminishing of the intimacy of our connections and the opportunity to initiate, build and sustain relationships.
Galloway highlights the efficiency and financial advantages associated with these changes, but he also calls out the potential for undesired consequences: the further breakdown of the fabric of the human community. To quote Galloway:
“While this dispersion has tangible benefits, it also has the power to erode our weakening ties of community and cooperation… Dispersal is [a] cousin to segregation, and segregation reduces empathy. One study found that in integrated communities, white residents had warmer feelings towards other ethnic groups when the percent of those groups increased — but in segregated communities, feelings towards other groups grew colder as the population of those groups increased.”
The waning of empathy and compassion for the other, those who are not part of “our group”, is already evident in our culture. We’ve often heard the phrase during the pandemic, “we’re all in this together”. But in truth we’re not all in this together in quite the same way. It is hard to ignore the fact that essential workers and the poor and marginalized have borne the brunt of the devastating loss of life, and the adverse economic effects of the pandemic. Those of us who can work from home, have a job and a home in fact, are in a position to control our risk of infection. Are we aware of the challenges others not so fortunate face? Are we able to truly empathize with our neighbors who are struggling to survive?
If Galloway’s insight is correct, the effect of the Great Dispersion will be layered onto the pre-pandemic extremes in economic disparity and the corrosive effect of social media that have been potent drivers of social segregation and consequent loss of empathy among different socioeconomic groups. These considerations give me pause, and prompt me to ask the question: Will advocacy and sacrifice for the common good be preserved as a prevailing value in America? If concern for the common good, love of neighbor, is being lost, will the church exercise a prophetic voice in our time?
Back to the Encounter
I began this post with a reference to the encounter between Jesus and the lawyer who confronted Jesus with the question: “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25) Jesus responds by quoting the Great Commandment (Deuteronomy 6:5), and he adds, ‘... and your neighbor as yourself.” Life, in all its abundance, is what God intends for all, and Jesus tells us what we must do to receive the blessing of life: enter fully and deeply into relationship with God and our neighbor.
Earlier in my faith journey I struggled with what it meant to love God, and he graciously revealed to me that to love him, to draw near to his heart, means to love what he loves. In an instant I realized that being in love and empathy with God necessarily means being in love and fellowship with my neighbor. It’s that simple. (Sometimes I am a bit slow, but even I got it!)
The events and circumstances facing our communities are both a crisis and opportunity for the church. How can we, the Body of Christ, live into the opportunities to love our neighbors we meet each day? How can we develop new and deeper relationships with our neighbors? Please prayerfully consider how you, and our parish collectively, can put flesh on our faith as we GO into the world to love and serve neighbor.