Dear Parishioners and Friends,
For a couple weeks now, we have been participating in the diocesan book group by reading How to Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi. We have had some enlightening discussions, via Zoom, of course, and we are looking forward to the “meet the author event” tonight.
One thing that I have noted is that though the book is not written from a Christian perspective, not intended solely for a Christian audience, it has informed my reading of scripture recently. One of the truly beautiful things about the universality and timelessness of holy scriptures is that they stand alone just fine, but also find a way to break into our current context with surprising insight and freshness.
Today one of the daily office readings was the familiar story of the Good Samaritan from Luke’s gospel. We all know the story, but in light of Kendi’s book, I perceived Jesus’ message in a new light. A man is beaten, robbed, and left for dead by the side of the road. Two powerful men (fellow Jews) pass the broken body and look the other way. A third man (a foreigner) sees the man as a fellow human and has compassion and sees to his needs.
“Which of these,” Jesus asks, “was the man’s neighbor?”
“The one who shadowed him mercy,” is the reply.
And Jesus said, “Go and do likewise.”
Father Rick
917.658.6314
