I have to confess that I long for a return to Mr. Roger's neighborhood...

Luke 10: 29 (NRSV)

 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

With the rendering of the verdict in the trial of the State of Florida vs. George Zimmerman a nation exhaled.  Collectively many had held their breath waiting for the outcome of this polarizing and divisive narrative unfolding around the tragic events that had taken place over 18 months ago.  Some cried in anguish over the verdict.  Some shared silent prayers of relief.  And in the end the altered trajectory of two families’ experiences and lives had taken yet another painful turn. 

I can’t begin to imagine the reality that this set of events has created for these families.  And yet as I am confronted daily and almost constantly with media opinions, Facebook posts, pundit’s rants, and nonstop discussion of this very topic, I find myself contemplating what my role in this discussion/ debate could or should be.  It seems as if this question is particularly significant at this moment in our nation’s shared experience.  As we find ourselves alternating between burn-out, grief, relief, shock, outrage and so many conflicting emotions as a people, this question is one that echoes in my thoughts and digs itself into my consciousness.  As a man who calls himself (and tries, however imperfectly, to live as) a disciple of Christ, I am challenged by the texts surrounding the question “And who is my neighbor?” 

I have to confess that I am not writing this to share an opinion as to the verdict’s status of “right” or “wrong”.  I am not making a statement as to whether George Zimmerman is guilty or not.  I am simply examining this horrible confrontation through the lenses of a Christocentric view.  So if you are hoping for a scathing judgment, either pro or con, I’m sorry.  There has been too much of that already.  I simply want to begin and end by searching the Word and Spirit of God for leading in these troubled times.  Which leads me again to the question asked of Jesus by a young lawyer roughly 2000 years ago… 

The Gospels all seem fairly consistent in their proclaiming that anyone with whom we are in contact is our neighbor.  Anyone whom God’s loving hand has created… anyone who draws breath, bleeds, weeps, laughs, dreams, slumbers, wakes, becomes ill, or that comes into our lives in some form or another is our neighbor.  I wonder what the outcome of this meeting on a stormy night in a gated Florida community would have been if either of these men could have realized that.  What if George, instead of seeing a “punk” who “always gets away with this stuff”, saw a young man caught in the rain and needing a ride home?  What if Trayvon had been able to see a neighbor instead of a “crazy cracker” who was after him?  If one or both of the individuals involved in this set of events had been filled with a sense of neighborly sentiment, could this turmoil have been avoided?  I am convinced it could have.

I worry that so many on both sides of the nation’s division over this, and all other racial issues, are missing this particular point.  For in the fevered calls for justice, even among Christians, we have begun to use descriptors like "they" and "them".  The gulf between races becomes wider with every use of those terms meant to separate and give distinction and preference to one group or another.  In essence we are saying that our neighbor is only the person who thinks, or looks, or acts, or believes, or lives like “us” as opposed to living like “them”.  Christians especially should be wary of attitudes like this.  And yet as I hear the cries from both sides, even those from the inside of Christianity, I hear what more resemble cries for revenge.  This causes me to pause. 

I admit that it is easy for me to stand outside of the situation looking in and to make statements about a needed course for people obviously affected tremendously by the horrific events that have transpired.  That being said, I offer this thought as a possibility that may begin to move all of us towards healing.  Maybe in our efforts to be a just people, the starting point should not be justice, but rather mercy.  This may seem odd as justice is about equity and balancing the scales, and mercy doesn't promise this on an immediate and tangible level.  But if we search God’s example then we see that the entirety of scripture is less about getting what we deserve, and more about being gifted with something we don’t… forgiveness.  In showing mercy God doesn't give humanity what it has earned or what is fair given our treatment of both our Creator and the creation in which we live.  Instead, through mercy, God gives humanity what was originally intended at creation… abundant and eternal life.  In a seemingly odd way mercy leads to justice.  Because through it we receive a gift that was meant to be ours in the first place.  We get to enjoy what we were made for in the first place... an infinite, loving communion with God and one another. 

Jesus responds to this young lawyer’s question with a story, followed by a question of His own: “‘Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’  He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’” 

C.S. Lewis wrote, “Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.” Mercy, chastity, or honesty only practiced until a situation becomes difficult, may be less virtue and more spectacle. To live mercifully, chastely, or honestly in a world that can despise these things is to live courageously. To seek peace in a culture that so often thirsts for confrontation takes tremendous bravery. To stand for what is right as opposed to what is popular is incalculably daring. After all, as Mr. Lewis also pointed out… “Pilate was merciful till it became risky.”  Given a choice between justice and mercy, our just God chose to give mercy.  Maybe, just maybe, we should choose to give the same.  Even if it is difficult, or risky, or if it runs contrary to every emotion we have, it is the just thing to do.

Your Servant in Christ,

Chris