Turks, Syrians, & Good Samaritans

  

An expert in the law 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.”

                                     Luke 10:25-28 NRSVue

I have been waiting to post a blog today because I wanted more information about what is unfolding in Turkey and Syria in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake. At this time more than 5,000 have died and hundreds of thousands have been displaced from their homes in the cold of Winter. The death toll could exceed 20,000, an appalling loss of life. In Northern Syria people have been living on the edge for years because of the civil war, often in buildings which have been damaged by air strikes. Why have they suffered so much? 

There are tens of thousands of expatriate Turks and Syrians living in Canada, and they are watching what is unfolding with trepidation. Many of the Syrians were sponsored to come to this country as refugees in 2015 and 2016 and have made a life here. It was difficult for them to leave loved ones behind.

There is a signficant Syrian diaspora here in the Quinte Region, including the families sponsored by a coalition of congregations and community participants in Belleville of which Bridge St UC was part. We met other Syrian families along the way, including one which I see regularly at the Farmer's Market. While I don't think our sponsored families had loved ones in that part of Syria we've already heard that some others have heard of the deaths of family members. including children. 

This news is heart-breaking, and a reminder that disaster is far more than numbers of dead, injured, and displaced. People are desperate and mourning, and some in grief are our neighbours. 

When Jesus answered the legal expert the man responded by asking "who is my neighbour?" Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan who chose who assist an injured stranger whose religion was not the same as his own. The expert conceded that “the one who showed him mercy" was authentic in his faith Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” So should we, through whatever avenues we choose, including the United Church.