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Some years ago one of our members, an engineer, would give of her time during summer, to travel to the Central America country Honduras with “Engineers Without Borders” to work on a needed engineering project.  Most, if not all of those projects, as I recall, had to do with water. Bringing clean water from the mountains to places without it was a very challenging and much needed work. 

During a forum presentation here on her work, she showed us photos of discarded trash lining ditches and along streets. This was due partly to being a country where 66% of its people lived in poverty and could not afford trash pickup, but part of it was also somewhat cultural as she explained. With most people in Honduras at the bottom of the class and economic structures, many people needed to think and feel there was someone below them and that they were not the bottom strata of their society. So, they tossed their trash so someone else would have to pick it up. Those others, then, became, in the minds of many impoverished people, the very bottom. 

Of course we can find fault with such a practice and with this assumption. Yet, it often appears to me we all seem to need someone who is below us to bolster our own ego and sense of importance. We all need someone, it seems, upon whom we can look down to somehow build ourselves up. 

City folk sometimes look down upon rural citizens, Americans and economically strong nations look down upon the developing world and so on. Those on both ends, and the middle, of the political spectrum too often look down upon those not in their camp. These days many who once were our strongest allies and often aspired to be like us, now look down on us instead of looking up to us.

Yes, it would seem we all need someone to upon whom we can look down. After all, most of us certainly do so. What about Christians? Are there any upon whom we can look down?  I have been known to call such downward gaze “I” contact.

As I think of Jesus in our four gospels, I am not sure Jesus looks down upon any. Perhaps Herod whom he calls a fox. There are many instances of Jesus being critical of some. Jesus, certainly wasn’t a fan of hypocrisy particularly when it was displayed by religious leaders and authorities. The authorities should have known better. This should give warning to today’s religious leaders, clergy, and others who lead in the church. That means me as well as colleagues whom I respect and consider friends. We try to justify our downward glances by thinking we might be guilty of hypocrisy and self-righteousness, but we are not as bad as “those people.”  “Look at the effect of what “those people” say and do. Look at how their words and actions don’t hold up to the light of Jesus.”

We may be right in some of our judgements regarding words and deeds. But we are not right in somehow seeing ourselves as above those saying and doing such things. Having some attitude of superiority…if only thinking we are sinners, but somehow “better’ sinners is not at all helpful in the deep and wide gulf that currently separates us.  Breaching that gulf, which if it happens will no doubt take a long time, requires us seeing part of ourselves in those whom we think below us.

It is hard to trust those who spew hate, bigotry, and venom in the name of Jesus. We are not those called to trust them. It is hard to even trust ourselves….how might we behave….what might we say and do that can cause further division?  We are not called to trust “them” nor “us.” We are those called to trust Jesus and follow Jesus. It is not that everything will work out just fine if we do this. It is that over time we and our successors as well as “those others” and their successors might learn the healing value of commonality and love. 

Almost immediately after 9-11 one of my Lutheran colleagues called the Tempe mosque to talk to the Imam. The pastor admitted he knew almost nothing about Islam and wanted to learn. They met many times and a great affection and respect developed between them. In fact, shortly after this, the mosque became a part of the Interfaith (now called CORA, Council of Religious Advisors) group of all campus ministries at ASU where they have been an active participant since. A few years ago the same Imam came here to speak and then hosted us at the mosque for lunch. Our student group hosted a newer, much  younger Imam last year for dinner and discussion. Was it begun by one phone call of outreach? 

Who can you reach out to? Are you willing to risk failure? Do we see the peace which we long for as worthy of risking failure and rejection? Do not see failure and rejection as fodder for further feeling somehow superior. We need to see it as just a time to stomp the dust off our feet and reach out somewhere else. There is no time to start like our present. We could all use eye contact, not  “I” contact.