Rev. Peter C. de Vries, Ph.D. has served Old Union since November 1993.
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FROM THE PASTOR
Last month, two disasters occurred within three days of each other. On February 3 a train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, prompting the evacuation of nearby residents for several days. Fortunately, no one was injured. On February 6 a major earthquake struck Turkey and Syria. At the time I’m writing this, the estimated death toll is over 41,000, and over five million people have become homeless in Syria alone.
It's easier to be concerned about the East Palestine train derailment because it’s so close to home. But the sheer devastation of the earthquake is incredibly, terribly worse. We watch the news stories, shake our heads about how sad it is, and maybe donate some money to help the victims. And then we go on with our lives. What would our reaction be if the earthquake had struck closer to home? A death toll of 41,000 equals the entire population Seven Fields, Adams Township, Mars, Callery, Forward Township, Evans City, Penn Township, Middlesex Township, and Connoquenessing Township and Borough. A homeless population of five million equals the entire state of Pennsylvania west of Harrisburg, or half the population of the state of Ohio. Suddenly the grim reality of the earthquake sinks in.
Normal human nature leads us to feel a stronger bond with people who are like us. Identifying strongly with your “in-group” served our prehistoric ancestors well as they protected themselves from outside threats. It’s normal and natural for us to care more about tragedies that affect people like us, or people near us, than we do about events on the other side of the globe.
The gospel, however, calls us to look beyond our “in-group” and share compassion with people who are very different from us. That’s the point of Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan, after all. The answer to “Who is my neighbor?” includes people of every variety, including the ones we’d rather avoid.
When we talk about mission and outreach in our church, almost inevitably someone will say something like “We should take care of people close to home first.” This is an example of "in-group” thinking: those who live near us matter more to us than those who live in another state or on another continent. But this not God’s will for us. And it is a false choice: we can reach out to both those who are near and those who are far. We find an example of this in Paul’s letters to the Corinthians, as he encouraged them to give generously to assist the people of Judea as they suffered from famine. Corinth, in Greece, was culturally worlds away from Jerusalem and Judea. “Let’s take care of the people in need here first,” they could have argued. But Paul told them that their generosity “is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God” (2 Corinthians 9:12).
The gospel completely upends our notions of who is part of our “in-group.” Our normal human nature leads us to believe that we have more in common with those who live in our neighborhoods, who speak our language, who share our culture, and even who are of the same race or ethnic background. Galatians 3:28, however, teaches us that “there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Our identity in Christ overshadows any other way that we may define our “in-group.” As a Christian, you have more in common with a believer on the other side of the world (such as in Turkey) that you do with your unbelieving next-door neighbor. How will this awareness shape your generosity?
Peter
Old Union Presbyterian Church | 200 Union Church Road, Mars, PA 16046
724-538-8672 | OldUnionChurch@gmail.com
724-538-8672 | OldUnionChurch@gmail.com