April 22, 2013

Come and See

A few things have reminded me recently of how inextricably connected we all are, and how easy it is to forget.

The first was a visit from the Rt. Rev. Oge Beauvoir, suffragan bishop of Haiti, to Trinity Wall Street. He told us about the challenges and opportunities in Haiti, about the need for education and training. Haiti is “land rich but cash poor,” he said, and they are seeking ways to reach financial sustainability. “Come and see,” he said many times. Haiti is not another world, as we sometimes forget, it is ours, and it takes just a few hours on a plane to get there.

The second was the tragedy that consumed many of us last week, whether we were in Boston or not. On that same day many people died from bombings in Baghdad as well. These tragedies do not diminish each other, but they do indicate that we are all part of the same world and we face similar challenges, fears, and dangers.

We are limited beings, with limited vision and short memories. It’s easy to forget, especially in the United States, that we are part of one world, that we are connected economically, electronically, environmentally. But, as Fr. Robert Drinan said, “We can have justice when those who have not been wronged by injustice are as outraged as those who have been.”

Which is perhaps why Jesus calls us again and again to come and see.

I thought of this on Sunday when we read Luke 24:36-43 at my church (which does not use the lectionary). Jesus says “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts. Look at my hands and my feet, see that is I myself. Touch me and see, for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”

Each time we encounter Jesus we encounter love and suffering, two things that we all experience, and amidst that, hope. Our faith is one of the ways we can and should connect to each other, come and see that we’ve all suffered and that we all love and we all have a hope.

How can we demonstrate to each other that we are all children of God, loved, with flesh and bone, not distant ghosts but human beings who are called to care for each other in hope? How can we see each other better? How can we offer our love and hope and helping hands to the people of Boston and Haiti and beyond?