Youth News Briefs

Moving from small town to big city (relative terms, of course) has not been as different as I had expected. There are a few things - running out to the store for a gallon of milk while the chili simmers on the stove is not an option. The chili will burn and stick to the pan before you can maneuver through traffic. On the other hand, Wally World is not the only place to find designer underwear, either.

One thing I have noticed, though. It is easier to ignore people in the big city, than in a small town. In a small town, the person in the beat up pickup truck with a gun rack and hunting dog whom you cut off in traffic by pretending he was not there will turn out to be your hairdresser's cousin twice removed whose daughter has run off with that good-for-nothing grocery boy who happens to live next door to your son's English teacher who has been been dyeing her hair for years. And he will be the only person in a five county area who can repair the faulty fuel injectors on your new car.

In the big city, you are far less likely to hear the rest of the story.

In our Southern culture, hospitality is of great importance, even in big cities. We are taught from an early age to be polite. We let other cars into the stream of traffic. We hold doors for one another. We take turns in lines. The only excuse for failure to follow these little niceties is the "I didn't see you" one. The next time you try to change lanes on a crowded interstate, observe how many people refuse to look in your direction, who will not meet your gaze. If they do not see you, they cannot be expected to be "polite." And you will not change lanes until someone "sees" you.

The condition exists in other places as well. We do not have to feed the poor sitting on our doorstep if we look over their heads as we enter the house. We do not have to give blankets to the homeless if we refuse to see them shivering. We don't have to be uncomfortable in the presence of someone's grief if we do not "see" them in the pew on Sunday.

We can walk in darkness. We can, by choice, be blind. If we do not see, we do not have to have compassion or even be polite. It isn't rude if you just didn't see, is it? How sinful can it be to lack compassion for what we have not seen? Our behavior will be excused by all except the One who counts. However, it is very difficult to respect the dignity of every human being, as we are called to do in our baptismal covenant, if we cannot see human beings. And, if we cannot see them, however uncomfortable they make us, then we cannot see Jesus.

"Open our eyes, Lord. We want to see Jesus."

Peace, Pam