May 2005

from the managing editor...
Meet your neighbors

Just then, a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.” But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Luke 10:25-29

It was a small article in the corner of the last news page of a local New York City paper, but the headline caught my 9-year-old son’s attention: “Tsunami shock waves register in Central Park.”

“They felt it all the way over here?!” he asked incredulously.

The article explained how seismic monitors set up in New York City’s Central Park indeed had registered the earthquake that caused the tsunami waves that  swallowed more than 200,000 people and devastated millions who live in nations on the Indian Ocean last December.

It is one world. The tragic tsunami showed us we are connected to one another by the very earth we share. It showed us we are connected by spirit, evidenced by the worldwide outpouring of grief and aid.

United Methodist Women foremothers understood this truth more than 90 years ago, when they set out on a disciplined spiritual journey to grow in faith, study the issues of the day and learn about the many neighbors Christ had called them to love as they loved themselves. Today, United Methodist Women continue this journey, studying and preparing themselves for mission action in annual mission schools and events in conferences, districts and local units around the country. 

The Luke passage above introduces Jesus’ parable about the Good Samaritan who saw a wounded stranger and recognized a neighbor. In that story, others, including religious leaders, saw the wounded man, but did not see their connection to him. And so, they walked on by him without stopping to help. The mission education that takes place in schools of Christian mission each year sharpens our eyes to see our connectedness to the world and to appreciate the gifts and cultures of other peoples. It challenges us to take a stand with wounded strangers, our neighbors, in their struggles for peace, justice and wholeness –- just as we’d want someone to do for us.

This issue of Response is an essential addition to your text and materials for the 2005-2006 mission study on India and Pakistan. It looks at the mission theme from the perspective of women in theses countries. Read this issue, and meet your neighbors.

Peace,

Yvette Moore, Managing Editor