The "Other"

"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it." Hebrews 13:2, NRSV

This is Ty in the middle. That's Peggy and our youngest daughter, Meredith, with our friends, Dave and Peggy. (Yes, we have come to know many Peggys through the years!)

Ty owned his own Taxi (a nice Mercedes-Benz) and was a part of a network of Taxi Drivers. (This was long before Uber and Lyft!) The neighborhood where we were staying was filled with little artist shops, restaurants, and boutique hotels. Every day at the edge of this neighborhood was a group of Taxis lined up on a circle drive just waiting for a fare. That's where we found Ty nearly every morning we went searching for a ride. He was always very accomodating and friendly; taking us where we asked, but also offering suggestions for a better experience, which we took. He made our stay in Jerusalem even more enriching. 

One day we wanted to go to Bethlehem so we asked Ty and he was grateful to lead us, even being a guide for the day. He was Palestinian and Muslim, but also very knowledgeable. He was able to drive us through the checkpoints without hassle and show us some really great places in the West Bank. 

Sure, we were paying customers, but we experienced so much more than a consumer/provider relationship. We made a friend; one who would share stories and private pictures of his family, of his newborn son! This was something more, something special. 

John lives in the Old City of Jerusalem in the Armenian Quarter, where he was raised like the generations of his family before him. He and his brother owned a small shop just inside the Jaffa Gate, near Christ Church (Anglican) and David's Tower. I was by myself roaming the streets on my first day in Jerusalem when we met. We shook hands, introduced ourselves and then he invited me to sit down on a step (next to his shop) and have a cup of coffee. (It was Turkish Coffee. And I will never turn one of those down!) We talked a long time about family, origin stories, and why both of us were in Jerusalem. We ended out time together browsing through his shop and him giving me some places to find what I might be looking for (authentic First Century coins). It was not the last time we saw one another. 

I mention these people simply because I was the stranger, the outsider, the different. An American Christian in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, religiously diverse city...and I was welcomed, warmly, genuinely.

Maybe it's always been this way, and may be the same in lots of cultures and places around the USA and the world; being taught to fear those who are different than you. How will we know their intentions? Whether they will accept us, harm us, love us, or hate us? 

"Our problem, in regard to fear, is that we fear the Other more than we fear the God who commands, "Love each other."" (Fear of the Other, Bishop William Willimon) 

The reality, if we are open to it, is that not everyone we've been taught is an enemy is actually one! Not every Christian is MAGA, nor every Muslim a terrorist (actually almost none of them are!). I could offer many more stereotypes here just to highlight our inherent racism, but I will leave that to you to ponder. 

Authentic Christian faith, i.e. taking Jesus' words and teaching seriously, rejects this fear and hate with a simple command. Love. "Jesus gives us the means to be with the Other, not as somebody, after all, much like ourselves but rather as the one whom Christ loved, for whom he died, and whom Christ is determinded to have at all costs." (Willimon) In other words, every Other is just another of...us...

...brothers, sisters, fellow humans loved by Christ. Who deserve respect, care, love, and grace simply because they are one of us. 

It's been said that the phrase "do not fear" or something similar is repeated 365 times in the Bible. One for every day of the year. I've not done the research on this, but I do know it says it a lot. Jesus alone says it several times, especially after the resurrection. The lesson in that is simple, trust God rather than fear others...

...because you just might miss a connection with a stranger who turns out to be a friend!

Peace ><>

Pastor Chris