|
|
Contents:
|
MCC Great Lakes Peace and Justice Newsletter
May
2004
|
Security
Luke 10:25-37; The Parable of the Good Samaritan
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher,"
he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you
read it?"
He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'
; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' "
"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this
and you will live."
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is
my neighbor?"
In this conversation with a lawyer, Jesus is asked how one might inherit
eternal life. That sounds like someone looking for security; no sickness,
no joblessness, no violence but eternal life that transcend the troubles
of this world and takes one to live in eternity. The Lawyer replies from
the law; love God with one's whole being and your neighbor as yourself.
Jesus affirms that he has given the correct response and then gave the
lawyer some wisdom- "Do this and you will live." Jesus points
him to a way to live here on this earth with all the problems and difficulties.
Jesus was saying that loving God and my neighbor will allow me to really
live. The simplicity is amazing. But the lawyer wasn't clear on the meaning
of who his neighbor is. That question may be shared by many in our individualized
society. Given the world situation where do we begin? Jesus told the following
story.
In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho,
when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes,
beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to
be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on
the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw
him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came
where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went
to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put
the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.
The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper.
'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you
for any extra expense you may have.'
"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who
fell into the hands of robbers?"
The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
The priest and Levite did not see a neighbor as they walked the road
from Jerusalem to Jericho. But the Samaritan did. Perhaps it was because
he went where the man was. It is hard to see one's neighbor from a distance.
To see one's neighbor requires getting close, coming together, listening
to understand the needs and feeling compassion. When I am in relationship
with someone I will notice when they are sick, hungry, without a job,
angry and fearful. The Samaritan saw the wounds and cared for the man.
Jesus said that is what we are to do also.
The following collection of quotes in one way or another speaks to
the meaning of and need for security as individuals and communities.
Sheila Provencher, CPTer in Iraq wrote, March 18, of the need
to respond to divisive power of fear by uniting.
"Fear divides. So . . . I think the only way to battle it is to
UNITE. Come close to the stranger, the threatening person, the other.
What does Scripture say over and over again? BE NOT AFRAID. Why not?
Maybe because even if we fail, even if we get hurt or even die, there
is nothing more sacred than really coming close to the heart of another
- recognizing our common humanity, literally knowing that we ARE
brothers and sisters and so we MUST find ways to deal with problems
without killing each other. And so it is worth it to take the risk.
Take the risk to reach out anyway."
Peggy Gish, April 2, 2004, in Iraq Reflection: A Culture of Violence,
wrote,
"Security is the first request Iraqis mention when asked what
changes they want to see. Yet security is more than feeling safe on
the street. Security also means being able to feed one's family,
have clean water, adequate shelter, and health care. In Iraq we
see a cycle of violence spawned by the devastation of a war that knocked
out all Iraqi civil structures, as well as communication, health and
sanitation systems. It is partly the result of years of war and oppression
under the former regime. And it is partly the result of oppression under
the current regime, provoking revenge and a desire to throw off the
oppressors."
During the MCC Washington office spring seminar Marie Dennis,
of the Maryknoll office of Global Concerns, spoke of how our security
is intertwined with brothers and sisters around the world.
"Traditional notions of national security have committed our country
to failed policies and given rise to deeper insecurity. We propose a
redefinition of security in terms of basic human needs, rights and
responsibilities. Human Security, as opposed to national security,
guarantees access to food, clean water, healthcare, education and employment.
It recognizes the right of people to participate in important decisions
that affect their lives and respects the integrity of creation. Human
security would emerge from a "globalization of solidarity"
that promotes international cooperation to preemptively manage conflict
before they turn violent.
When the face of our nation is what people experience at the hand of
multinational corporations, is it any wonder that people in many countries
are angry at the government of the United States. The current situation
with Coca-Cola in Colombia and around the world is such an example.
From Ray Rogers, Director of the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke
and Corporate Campaign, Inc we learn the following.
"In addition to the violence against workers in Colombia, the
Campaign to Stop Killer Coke's website, www.killercoke.org, highlights
other abuses of Coca-Cola throughout the world. This includes a history
of discriminatory practices; aggressive marketing to children of nutritionally
worthless and damaging soft drinks; a bad pension policy and cheating
workers out of pay; marketing fraud; safety and health problems; overexploitation
and pollution of water sources and the distribution of toxic sludge
as fertilizer in India; repressive anti-worker policies in many countries;
inaction and neglect on health issues in Africa, and anti-competitive
practices around the world.
The importance of winning this campaign is best summed up by SINALTRAINAL
Vice President Juan Carlos Galvis, who said: 'If we lose the fight against
Coca-Cola, we will first lose our union, next our jobs and then our
lives.'" To learn more go to www.killercoke.org/
or call (212) 979-8320.
From Alain Epp Weaver in MCC Country Rep,
"This past week various United Nations agencies announced that,
given ongoing Israeli restrictions and limitations at the Karni crossing
point into the Gaza Strip, the UN agencies were suspending food aid
operations to Palestinians. With the Palestinian economy in tatters,
thanks to over 40 months of Israeli closures, checkpoints, and restrictions
on movement, all resulting in poverty and unemployment rates running
at least at 60% (using the most conservative of economic measurements),
hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have found themselves dependent
on external food aid. For months, UN agencies, donor governments, and
international aid agencies have grappled with two questions: first,
by helping to prevent the Palestinian economy from total collapse, are
these food aid efforts in effect assisting Israel in maintaining the
occupation-i.e., allowing it to control the occupied territories while
absolving itself of any responsibility (which as an occupying power
it should bear) for the welfare of civilians in the occupied territories?
Second, at what point would ongoing Israeli obstacles to free humanitarian
operation make humanitarian work unviable? The UN agencies have clearly
decided that, with new restrictions at entry points into the Gaza Strip,
the obstacles to humanitarian operations have become too great. The
well-being of hundreds of thousands of Gazans has now been made more
tenuous, thanks to ongoing Israeli obstacles to humanitarian assistance.
Pray that none might go hungry in the occupied territories; pray also
that restrictions on ordinary Palestinian movement will be lifted, a
move that, World Bank and other economists observe, would go a very
long way in addressing poverty and unemployment among Palestinians."
From Daryl Yoder-Bontrager's words of reflection from the Economic
Globalization Consultation held January 13-15, 2003 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
"People will rarely embrace for long a plan in which they don't
feel their own control. Underneath the words in this conference one
could hear a plea. Let us work in our own way individually and as a
nation. Give us the freedom to work it out for ourselves. Sensing this
undercurrent reinforced for me again the thought that any response that
MCC has to economic globalization, indeed, any program at all, must
start by asking whether it will add to or take from a person's or
community's ability to decide for itself how it will then live."
For many years it was possible for us to quiet concerns regarding security,
all the while knowing that many in our world live without basic human
needs, rights, and responsibilities that contribute to security. The events
of recent years have taken away the sense of invulnerability that it was
possible to have in this country. As we consider the meaning of and desire
for security for our families and communities let us realize that any
security that we may hope for, is intertwined with the welfare and security
of sisters and brothers around the world. What will it mean for us to
follow the example of the Samaritan in the story of Jesus and come close
to the stranger whether they are next door or around the world? New nuclear
weapons will not increase security in our world, locally or globally.
Consider speaking out against the development of a new generation of nuclear
weapons that could be used to protect the U.S. National interests.
[top]
"Our soul waits for the Lord; God is our help and shield. Our
heart is glad in God, because we trust in God's holy name. Let your
steadfast love, O Lord be upon us, even as we hope in you." Psalm
33:20-22
Lois Hess Nafziger
1013 Division Street
Goshen, IN 46528
(574) 534-4133
lnafziger@mcc.org
[top]
|
