Love The Stranger

There is so much Jewish about Lent and certainly Holy Week.  And, why not because Jesus was a Jew.  All were Jews except for the Romans and, of course, Pontius Pilate, who sent Jesus to his death on the cross.  Perhaps my being focused on Jesus and his fellow Jews led me to discover the book “Not In God’s Name: Confronting Religious Violence” by British Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. 

This rabbi is one fine teacher and is an award-winning author of 30 books.  Check out his website, and you will be impressed with his writing and videos.  One series is especially useful and wonderfully presented by him with a focus on children.  Consider his series “Always have faith in your children.” The rabbi says: “In this eleventh video on being an inspiring parent, I talk about the importance of always having faith in your children, no matter what the situation might be.  By doing this, you will not only be a better parent, but you will also give your children faith in themselves.”  There are 13 short videos in his series on 'Being an Inspiring Parent.’  I strongly endorse this superb series.

Rabbi Sacks says the following that has escaped me, until now.  “We saw that morality begins with kin, those who are genetically related to me.  It extends to the group on the basis of reciprocal altruism, Tit-for-Tat, and the trust we have in others on the basis of repeated interaction.  Eventually it extends to the city and the nation, originally on the basis of religion.   

 From an evolutionary point of view, religion made possible the single greatest distinction between us and other social animals.  It solved the problem of trust on a macro-scale by moving beyond Tit-for-Tat to the extended community of faith.   The highest expression of this central to the Judeo-Christian ethic is the command, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

The Hebrew Bible, though, goes significantly further.  It is not difficult to love your neighbor as yourself because in many respects your neighbor is like yourself.   He or she belongs to the same nation, same culture, the same economy, the same political dispensation, the same fate of peace or war.  We are part of the same community of fate, and we participate in the same common good.  What is difficult is loving the stranger.” 

That’s the nub of the matter!  This Lent let’s stress loving the stranger.   Possibly read his book that is one of the best I've read.  It's especially relevant during these turbulent times.

Deacon David Pierce