everything that's on my mind
(as if there's not already enough people doing this)Thursday, September 08, 2005
Who is my neighbor?
I stayed up past midnight (highly unusual for me these days) and watched the Andre Agassi-James Blake quarterfinal match at the U.S. Open last night, and all I can saw is "Wow!" What a great match. I'll say more on this later...
Thinking more about the devastation along the gulf coast, and the lives lost and displaced by Katrina, I was reminded of a quote from the movie Hotel Rwanda.
First of all, let me just say this - if you haven't seen this movie, you need to. It's the true story of Paul Rusesabagina (played by Don Cheadle), an assistant manager at a 5-star hotel in the Rwandan capital of Kilgali. When the Hutu militia began calling for the extermination of all Tutsi's in the spring of 1994, the Belgian owners of the hotel fled the country, leaving Paul as acting manager. All around the country, and outside the hotel gates, Hutu's were murdering Tutsi's at will. In the end, around 1 million people were killed, most in a matter of a few weeks. During the conflict, Paul, a Hutu, managed to house over 1,000 refugees in the hotel - mostly Tutsi, along with some Hutu's who opposed the actions being taken against their neighbors. He also bargained with those in power to spare their lives, as well as obtain food and other supplies needed to take care of them. This movie is the story of Paul's heroic actions.
At one point in the movie, a cameraman (played by Joaquin Phoenix) from a news crew returns from outside the hotel gates with footage of some of the massacres taking place nearby. He returns to their hotel room to show another member of the team, and starts the tape in a player. What he didn't realize is that Paul was across the room, fulfilling a request of the other members. Later, he apologizes to Paul for having shown the film in his presence. Paul, however, said he was glad that they have the footage and glad that now people around the world will see it, and help will come. The cameraman is not so sure help will come. Paul asks how they could not come after seeing such atrocities. He responds to Paul with this: "I think if people see this footage, they'll say, 'Oh, my God, that's horrible.' And then go on eating their dinner."
I thought of that scene as I wondered about the response people (including myself) would have to this disaster in our own country. It certainly seems that, so far, countless people are rising to the occasion here and helping their neighbors in need.
In response to Jesus instruction to "love your neighbor as you do yourself", he was asked "And how would you define 'neighbor'?" Jesus then tells the story of the "Good Samaritan" (Luke 10:25-37). When Jesus asks the man which of the characters in his story became a neighbor to the injured man, he replied "The one who treated him kindly." Jesus then tells him to "go and do the same".
We have managed a to help a little so far, and are looking for further opportunities now. I believe God calls us to act in such situations and not just "go on eating our dinner." It's easier, perhaps, in times like this, when everyone is rallying together because of the magnitude of this tragedy. It seems everyone is looking to help in some way. What I'm trying to keep in mind, though, is that when storms pass and those affected return to some sort of normal life, there will still be those in need, all around us. It doesn't take a national crisis for there to be folks needing help. They were there before the storm, and will remain afterward. Who will be looking to help then? Who will be their neighbor?
"Go and do the same."
An additional note regarding the Rwandan conflict in 1994: for more information beyond the movie, I will highly recommend Philip Gourevitch's book We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families : Stories from Rwanda. This is an excellent book.
Thinking more about the devastation along the gulf coast, and the lives lost and displaced by Katrina, I was reminded of a quote from the movie Hotel Rwanda.
First of all, let me just say this - if you haven't seen this movie, you need to. It's the true story of Paul Rusesabagina (played by Don Cheadle), an assistant manager at a 5-star hotel in the Rwandan capital of Kilgali. When the Hutu militia began calling for the extermination of all Tutsi's in the spring of 1994, the Belgian owners of the hotel fled the country, leaving Paul as acting manager. All around the country, and outside the hotel gates, Hutu's were murdering Tutsi's at will. In the end, around 1 million people were killed, most in a matter of a few weeks. During the conflict, Paul, a Hutu, managed to house over 1,000 refugees in the hotel - mostly Tutsi, along with some Hutu's who opposed the actions being taken against their neighbors. He also bargained with those in power to spare their lives, as well as obtain food and other supplies needed to take care of them. This movie is the story of Paul's heroic actions.
At one point in the movie, a cameraman (played by Joaquin Phoenix) from a news crew returns from outside the hotel gates with footage of some of the massacres taking place nearby. He returns to their hotel room to show another member of the team, and starts the tape in a player. What he didn't realize is that Paul was across the room, fulfilling a request of the other members. Later, he apologizes to Paul for having shown the film in his presence. Paul, however, said he was glad that they have the footage and glad that now people around the world will see it, and help will come. The cameraman is not so sure help will come. Paul asks how they could not come after seeing such atrocities. He responds to Paul with this: "I think if people see this footage, they'll say, 'Oh, my God, that's horrible.' And then go on eating their dinner."
I thought of that scene as I wondered about the response people (including myself) would have to this disaster in our own country. It certainly seems that, so far, countless people are rising to the occasion here and helping their neighbors in need.
In response to Jesus instruction to "love your neighbor as you do yourself", he was asked "And how would you define 'neighbor'?" Jesus then tells the story of the "Good Samaritan" (Luke 10:25-37). When Jesus asks the man which of the characters in his story became a neighbor to the injured man, he replied "The one who treated him kindly." Jesus then tells him to "go and do the same".
We have managed a to help a little so far, and are looking for further opportunities now. I believe God calls us to act in such situations and not just "go on eating our dinner." It's easier, perhaps, in times like this, when everyone is rallying together because of the magnitude of this tragedy. It seems everyone is looking to help in some way. What I'm trying to keep in mind, though, is that when storms pass and those affected return to some sort of normal life, there will still be those in need, all around us. It doesn't take a national crisis for there to be folks needing help. They were there before the storm, and will remain afterward. Who will be looking to help then? Who will be their neighbor?
"Go and do the same."
An additional note regarding the Rwandan conflict in 1994: for more information beyond the movie, I will highly recommend Philip Gourevitch's book We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families : Stories from Rwanda. This is an excellent book.
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