A poignant message fitting for a day so soon after we gave thanks for the things that we have.
This beautiful song was posted on my friend’s page. It is her quiet message of hope for a better tomorrow. I listened and fell in love with the message, made more powerful by the accompanying photographs in the video. This was recorded around 2001, but is so applicable to today – it brings home the message of the Syrian refugee crisis and how critical it is to our humanity.
The musician, Deanna Schultz, is a quiet and reserved woman in her early-mid 40s. She is soft-spoken and almost fairy-like in her simplicity. Her heart is three sizes too large and she would, literally, give a total stranger the shirt off her back if they needed it. I have witnessed this first-hand in the 5+ years I have known her.
Like so many of us, she is disillusioned with the corruption of organized religion in this country, specifically the warped views that have permeated many Christian houses of worship:
“On one of several occasions I was with my family at their church, before I put my foot down and refused to go unless they also respected my beliefs. What I found on occasion disgusted me. The hypocrisy of preaching love and charity on Sunday morning, then condemning and judging after service was ended.”
She speaks of one visit to church with her family:
“On the last visit the pastor told the parable of the Good Samaritan. This song came from that experience. I felt like the man on the road. I felt beaten by the people around me. Their words hurt like physical wounds. Here was a story of the believers turning away while the “evil” Sumerian unbeliever had charity in his heart and helped the man.”
Her words are haunting – “I felt like the man on the road.”
How many of us have been that man on the road? How many times have our friends and neighbors walked past us in a time of need? Some offer empty platitudes of “Let me know if there is anything you need” only to turn down our requests later.
We are descended from refugee settlers who celebrated the first Thanksgiving so many centuries ago. They came to this land with a hopeful heart, yearning for an existence away from religious persecution. How, then, can people in this country even consider the possibility of closing our borders, building giant walls, and sending immigrants back to the war-torn homes they have run from, carrying only the clothes on their backs? How can we turn our backs on these refugees and still claim to be following the principals of our founding fathers?
The short answer is, “We can’t.”
Featured image courtesy of New York Times (Jamal Nasrallah, European Pressphoto Agency)
