This I believe -- From Sue

This I Believe

Several months ago, there was a video widely circulated on the news and the internet. The video was taken by a traffic camera, just quietly keeping an eye on the streets in Hartford, CT. The video showed an old man stepping out into traffic, and being hit by a car. Did he do it on purpose, or was he somehow confused, or maybe he had lost enough sight and hearing to not know the danger he was in? Whatever the reason, the car wasn’t really at fault in the accident. It was the actions following the accident that got national attention, though. The vehicle involved just drove on. So did all the others on the road. Pedestrians, of whom there were plenty, continued walking by on the sidewalk. Some promptly called the police on their cell phones as they walked, but it was an agonizingly long time before someone stepped out to see if he could help.

In Matthew chapter 15, verse 11 we hear Jesus tell the people of Israel “It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles a person; but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one.” Then Peter said to him in reply, "Explain (this) parable to us." Jesus said to them, "Are even you still without understanding? Do you not realize that everything that enters the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled into the latrine? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, unchastity, theft, false witness, blasphemy. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile."

Those people on the street in Hartford just happened to be where they were at a terrible time, when an old man stepped into traffic for no apparent reason. Much like tainted food, this was an incident that happened to them from the outside. It needed to be processed, passed through the system, dealt with as best they could. There was nothing about being at the scene of the accident that could taint or defile them. What caused the taint, what caused the national uproar, was what they did themselves. They chose not to help. That comes from the heart, and that defiles.

Possibly not a single person in this room has been in an awful situation like this one. I certainly hope we each believe we would behave in a far better way under the circumstances. One thing I believe, though, is that we are in a time when it is becoming more acceptable to pass personal responsibility off to others. The pedestrians who called the accident in on their cell phones were not trying to be heartless. They probably thought they were doing the right thing, letting the people who take handle injuries know about the accident so that it could be taken care of.

I believe that in our highly specialized society, we have created a culture of passing responsibility off to others. It is very easy to call in experts to solve problems. However, we are called upon to take responsibility for our words and actions. I believe each of us is here today because, as a group, we want to take responsibility for doing what is right.

Each of us sets our own priorities on how we can do this every day. Differences in our personal situations – family, age, jobs, and so on – will make every person’s answers unique. As the church, though, we bond over certain things we agree are good things to do. I would love to see a discussion of what are good and responsible things to do kept at the center of our organizational being.

Already Abiding Savior and Living Word take an active role in trying to ensure our actions and words honor rather than defile us. Abiding Savior has become a ONE congregation, advocating the use of 1% of the developed world’s annual income to solve the structural problems causing poverty in the poorer parts of the world. Both Abiding Savior and Living Word provide for the poor of Howard County, through FISH and Coalition for Compassion. Both congregations actively support fair trade, and have stretches of road for which they have taken on the responsibility for trash pickup. I believe these are all good activities, things that honor rather than defile us.

I believe there are still a number of things we can do as a church, to help guide our actions both as a group and as individuals. We will never become perfect, yet we are obligated to strive in that direction. As I said earlier, I would like to see a discussion of how to strive towards perfection be at the core of our church body. I would like to respectfully submit several ideas to help feed our discussions and actions.

Going back a final time to the Hartford incident, I believe we should schedule a first aid course and have as many members as possible take the course. It is great to be willing to help, but it would be even better to have a working knowledge of how to help best. Accidents and injuries don’t usually occur with professional medical help on the scene. I believe this would be a very effective way of ministering to each other and others. Should we ever be at the scene of an accident or injury, we will have not just the desire but the ability to help.

I also believe that God asks us to be good stewards of the earth, and to pass it on to our children in at least as good condition as we received it. I suspect everyone here has heard plenty about the green movement, thinks about the issue routinely and does many things in their everyday lives to promote the health of the earth. Once again, however, I do not think we are perfect yet. This fall, the Coalition for Compassion will be planning a major environmental awareness project to be shared with the churches of Howard County in the spring. I would love to see members of our congregations take a leading role in this.

In Howard County, we have a unique opportunity to take Jesus’ words about what comes out of our mouths literally. The Howard County library sponsors a huge Choose Civility project, as evidenced by the bumper stickers seen all over the county. We could piggy-back on their success, using either our adult forums or a book club format to also read Choosing Civility by P.M. Forni. To quote the library web site, “The project intends to enhance respect, empathy, consideration and tolerance in Howard County.” Perhaps we have some members who have gone through the library program and could help lead us. At a minimum, there should be plenty of copies of the book available at the library.

So what do I believe? I believe you are not responsible for what happens to you. I also believe you are responsible for what you do (or fail to do) to others. Every day, I believe we strive to become better human beings.