MtM 01 - Who is my neighbour?

We march from one appointment to another wrapped and shielded by our own concerns, and rarely stop to consider our brothers and sisters around us: How are they doing? Why is this old man laden by heavy sacks? Why is that elderly woman pushing a cart? Why are the taxi driver’s glasses fixed up with tape? … but didn’t Christ teach us to love our neighbor? If the moral test of our daily lives is how we treat the vulnerable around us, then how do we score? Tougher issues soon confronted me: Why can’t a mother provide school lunches for her children? Why does a diabetic have a near-death-experience for lack of a $1 needle? Why does this sick man have to walk an hour to the hospital? Why do thousands survive on a single daily meal in a city of wasteful buffets? We will continue to ignore the suffering of these individuals – our brothers and sisters in Christ – if we don’t make an effort to discover for ourselves: who is my neighbor?

Early in 2009, I unexpectedly left my job to immerse myself completely into the neglected despair of asylum-seekers and refugees scraping a living in Asia’s World City. Having been a Sunday School teacher for years, I was determined to share with these kids not only a spiritual education, but an example of living faith. I asked myself whether I walked in Jesus’ footsteps: would he consider me a disciple observing my average day? Am I giving witness to his teachings? If peace is built on justice, then how well do I advocate social equality? Since few things distance us from the Lord more than hypocrisy, I felt it was my duty to practice what I preached and I volunteered my time at a local charity. Charity and Justice are the two ‘feet’ of Christian ministry, they carrying us where the Holy Spirit directs our social engagement. Volunteering brought me in contact with deep social issues, needy people and their daily suffering. It encouraged me to assist them any way I can. This inspired me to establish with friends “Vision First” an NGO devoted to the assistance of refugees with 100% voluntary participation and 100% direct donations to our clients. Charity starts in our own neighborhood, with kindness shown to those brothers and sisters for whom we perform the mini miracles they pray for day and night. At a breakfast meeting, I tried to explain my motivation to a friend in too many words, when he smiled and concisely summed-up my thoughts with St. Francis’ brilliant prayer: "Preach the Gospel always … and if necessary … use words."