No man is an island

one person's suffering affects us all

I’ve been a witness to some major suffering and loss among my friends this week. Things I wanted to fix or solve, but felt helpless to do so. My prayers, offered round the clock, sometimes felt futile, but if you have ever been in a place where praying is all you can do, then you know that the prayers continue in the hope that some grace will come. When we are present with the suffering of another person, this is called empathy, but for people of faith there’s another layer still.

A central tenet of Judaism and Christianity is the idea that all people are image bearers of God. Not just the ones who look like us or live like us or who are in our country or who believe the same things we do, but ALL people. This idea comes right from the beginning of the Bible, in the first chapter of the Book of Genesis where we read about the inherent dignity, purpose, and calling that each one of us holds simply by virtue of our existing.

So God created humankind in his image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

Jewish and Christian scholars across the centuries have agreed on this doctrine, and it’s the scaffolding behind the theology of the Body of Christ, which explains that each of us belongs to one another, and of many modern political movements from civil rights to pro-life. Christians believe that each person is made by God, and that each person matters, both in God’s eyes and in ours. When it comes to Christian ideology, the dignity of the human person is non-negotiable.

And yet, in our country the ongoing stories of innocent people being plucked off the street and sent to migrant camps or El Salvadorian prisons is met by many American Christians with a shrug. Congressionally appropriated funds that are used to care for the needs of the least of these are arbitrarily held back and many Christians simply yawn. Apparent market manipulation that endangers the retirement funds of average citizens but enriches the wealthy, indiscriminate firings, halting of funds for veterans and the disabled, the end of medical research trials – all of this effects very real people who were made in the image of God - God who knows the number of hairs on every head and who marks every bird that falls to the ground - and though that’s not a political consideration, for we who profess Christianity, it ought to be a moral one.

Suffering has been with us always, in every time and place on the planet but in this country, I’m afraid that many of us who profess Christ have lost the central tenet of Imago Dei. Have we forgotten that we are our brother’s and sister’s keeper? Have we forgotten that we belong to each other in the human family that God has made? Did we forget that no man is an island and that one person’s suffering impacts us all? It seems to be no coincidence that while some public-facing Christians call empathy a sin, untold suffering is happening to so many of our neighbors, but the practice of empathy, like the concept of Imago Dei, is an essential part of being a Christian. We simply can’t be one without it.

So, who is our neighbor? According to Jesus, everyone.

Which people are made in the image of God? According to the Bible, all of them.

And in a time of suffering, for whom does the bell toll? That’s easy: you and me, every time.

This week a little stuffed bird which had been securely attached to a window latch in my kitchen unexpectedly ‘flew’ about three feet away out of nowhere and landed with a thud at my feet. It startled me, and it made me wonder if it’s true that unjust things must come directly to our doors before we’ll notice them and call them out. God, I hope not.

Oh God of mercy, who sees all suffering and the state of every heart, in this Holy Week, help us to remember who we are in you who willingly suffered on behalf of every single soul. As we walk with you through this week, help us to notice as you notice and help us to love as you love.

“No man is an island” by John Donne

No man is an island,

Entire of itself;

Every man is a piece of the continent,

A part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea,

Europe is the less,

As well as if a promontory were:

As well as if a manor of thy friend's

Or of thine own were.

Any man's death diminishes me,

Because I am involved in mankind.

And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;

It tolls for thee.

Raised Catholic rewind:

Raised Catholic episode 63: Find a New Way - transcript with link to episode

What I’m recommending this week:

IG post: Suffering does not get the final word, by From Here Ministries

Song: Kingdom of God, by Jon Guerra

Song: I See the Birds, by Jon Guerra

Practice: Read the Gospel stories around the death and crucifixion of Jesus with an imaginative lens. Place yourself in that story and journal: who are you? Who do you wish to be?

Prayer:

Oh God, there’s not a human that exists that you don’t love with more affection and care than we can imagine. You lived and died to show us that reality. Help us to live like that’s true.

In the name of Jesus and wrapped in Mary’s mantle, we pray, amen.