A Different Street

… let’s not forget what’s really important, says Paul Raushenbush:

The economic crisis reminds us we are not spiritually or materially alone in this world - and we never were. We have responsibility to and with one another. We must abandon our personal fiefdoms for our communal dwelling place in the kingdom of God. Jesus calls to us each personally, but we are saved collectively. God requires both personal and social repentance and salvation. The two great commandments - to love God and to love our neighbor are not discreet actions but are inextricably linked, together providing the key to God’s kingdom on earth as in heaven. [...]

We are called to sacrifice for one another and expect to be supported by one another; to extend and accept a helping hand. As the late Gwendolyn Brooks poetically reminded us:

We are each other’s business
We are each other’s harvest
We are each others magnitude and bond

Or as Walter Rauschenbusch wrote: Humankind is so closely bound together no man lives to himself, and no man is saved to himself alone.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 13th, 2008 at 4:03 pm and is filed under Community, News and politics, Religion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.