"A WORD ABOUT THE STRANGER"

  

Old Mission, Solvang, CA

I was reading the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks about Passover, the Holiday that Jesus celebrated and which, after his Resurrection, became Holy Week for Christians.  I am writing this away from home during Holy Week.  Tonight is Maundy Thursday and tomorrow Good Friday, the day of crucifixion.  

Rabbi Sacks says, 

If there is one command above all others that speaks of the power and significance of empathy, it is the line in the week's Parsha [Passover]:  "You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger:  You were strangers in the land of Egypt."  Exodus 23:9. 

He continues, " Why this command? . . . Empathy is essential to human interaction generally.  Why then invoke it specifically about strangers?"  Because, the Rabbi explains, empathy is easiest among groups that identify with one another, family, clans, religions, gangs, races.  The weaker the bond with another, the sharper the suspicion and fear.  

"It is very hard indeed to love, or even feel empathy for, a stranger."  Thus we need God's commandment:  You shall not opress a stranger. 

A couple of weeks ago, I also read an article about "Toxic Empathy," a frightening mis-juxtaposition of terms.  We are told by one Christian-Right writer that her new book equips Christians "with research-backed, Biblical truths to dismantle the progressive lies like 'no human being is illegal,' or 'love is Love.'"  The book and the concept, the oxymoronic combination of toxicity with empathy, is a favorite among Trump loyalists.  Elon Musk said that empathy is weakness. 

Dr. susan Lanzoni, on the other hand, says that "The disparagement of empathy is a deliberate effort to set up a permission structure to dehumanize others."  

Yes, we see that.  We see the movement to discredit our capacity to recognize and respond to suffering.  We don't need to list how.  Just look at our homegrown Gestapo that we call ICE (for Immigration and Customs Enforcement).  And the concentration camp that has been set up in El Salvador.  

So here it is Holy Week and our own savior is about to be crucified yet again, as he is every year, every day, lately almost every moment.  We remember that Christ's calls to love thy neighbor and welcome the stranger contained no coda on whom to exclude.  We remember that empathy and love are active, not 'thoughts and prayer.' And whether you read this now or after Easter, or next month, the message is always the same:  Christ did not rise for us to ignore the suffering of others.  To do so would be to ignore his own.  AMEN

 

SHOW YOURSELF SOME KINDNESS

"Show Yourself Some Kindness" is the name of an article in a magazine I like called The Simple Things.  As we enter the third year of the pandemic that's a good idea.  And on the anniversary of the insurrection in the capitol building in Washington, DC--the lowest point in recent US history. 

This date gives context to anything we might say; it can't be ignored.  Franklin Roosevelt called Dec. 7, 1941 a date which will live in infamy.  He was referring to the bombing of Pearl Harbor which preceded the entrance of the United States into WWII.  We can say the same of Jan. 6, 2021.  

So with this backdrop . . . it seems that most of us have experienced some level of suffering lately. And not just something as extreme as the suffering and fear caused by the attack on our democracy a year ago.  We're all affected by the strictures of living in a pandemic. After all, bouncing from variant to variant does feel like Wack-a-Mole.  

And it's not like that's all that's happening in our lives either.  Some of us have SAD, seasonal affective disorder. Some are in the midst of divorce; some, fitting chemo into their lives; or struggling to feed their families.  The list is long. Nothing has slowed normal losses.  Life has never been easy. 

At the same time, the abundance of goodness and beauty also cannot be denied.  Leaves turn, snow falls, birds sing, day breaks, sunsets dazzle.  People help eachother.  Life goes on.  And although we've learned that nothing is perfect, nothing lasts and nothing is finished, life is about finding what's special in the day-to-day.  No matter how imperfect each day is, we almost always find something good in it.  Just the idea that imperfection is fine, including my own, makes me breathe easier. 

So what is OK?  Everything, really.  Our lives as they are.  Just a few good friends is OK.  Or even none.  It's OK to have a pet and be calm and rest in that unconditional love. It's OK to be content with whatever you have, even if what you have wakes you in the night.  Anxiety is OK;  Fear is OK; so very normal.  So is abundance.  

How to show ourselves kindness?  So many ways.  Think of saying "Thank you" to you.  For instance, we can thank our bodies for all they do.  We can thank our bodies with exercise, with yoga, with water and with healthy food.  And with rest.  When things are worrying, it's OK to curl up and mother ourselves.  

We can thank our minds too.  By gazing at the stars, watching the sunset, walking in the cold winter darkness, reading poetry (or writing it); anything we do that is creative.  Creativity rewards our minds for all their hard work processing everydayness.  Creativity puts our minds in a state of flow where, experts say, the ego falls away.   Whatever we do where time is immaterial is flow.  Turn on the music and dance?  Paddle (or swim), each stroke building on the one before?  Write in a journal?  Spend time with a child? 

And our spirits of course.  They are ready for nurture.  Reading, praying, meditating, consoling.  On this the one-year anniversary of the insurrection President Biden gave a stirring speech about the lies that led to that blasphemy. My heart is saying Thank You to him.  And to all who fight these lies. Truth frees the spirit.  

This is not such a touchy-feely post.  Today's date doesn't lend itself to that.  But it is about kindness. Let's direct it first toward ourselves, next toward others. In that way goodness and mercy may follow.

                                                            Nina Naomi