By Archdeacon John Clarke
Special to The Guardian
“Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor.” (Proverbs 22.9)
Many churches have national organizations that utilize their resources for relief and development ministry all around the world. Once, while promoting my church’s efforts I heard a man say, rather loudly, “charity begins at home!” I knew he wouldn’t be helping with the cause.
In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan, in which a man is robbed and beaten and left in a ditch. Two decidedly religious people walk by and ignore him. It is an outsider, a man from Samaria, who helps the man who’d been beaten. In fact, most of us would say he went far beyond just helping him. The Jesus asks the question, “which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”
This parable makes us consider the nature of true neighbourliness. It is much more than a friendly wave or knowing not to mow our lawns too early on a Saturday morning. True neighbourliness pays no attention to race, creed or status. A true neighbour is one who shows mercy.
When the parable of the Good Samaritan was taught to me, I learned also that it is not a question of geography – a neighbour might be next door, down the street or on the other side of the world. My neighbour is anyone in need and the radical neighbourliness Jesus expects of us is to show him or her mercy.
To the man who grumbled at me that, “charity begins at home,” I said, “perhaps so, but it doesn’t stop there.”
Many of the relief and development organizations associated with religious groups in Canada have come to realize the importance of a generous spirit in term of how we interact with people from cultures that are very different from our own. There is nothing in the parable of the Good Samaritan that suggests that the Samaritan needs conversion. If anything, it is the religious folks who should change and be transformed.
In the simplest of terms, if someone is hungry you feed them. Then, once a relationship starts, the possibility of transformation emerges. Charity is not really about giving someone a few bucks, but about giving people the wherewithal to acquire the things they need to be empowered. A truly just, healthy and peaceful world is realized when our abundance is available to vulnerable people so that they have improved health, food security and an opportunity for employment.
In the parable, the Good Samaritan not only helps the beaten man but takes the extra steps to ensure the man is restored (to health and wealth). This is at the heart of biblical justice, not revenge, but restoration. It is the giving back of that which was taken away.
Our relief and development groups give us an opportunity to partner with people around the world to fulfill the expectation Jesus places on us to be merciful neighbours. And no, I don’t believe that charity begins at home. I believe charity belongs in every part of our lives. Greed is making us blind to finding the way for prosperity to be a reality for everyone.
Archdeacon John Clarke is a rector with St. Paul’s Church in Charlottetown. A guest sermon runs regularly in Saturday’s Guardian and is provided through Christian Communications.
