Chris McDonnell, UK
christymac733@gmail.com

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May 9, 2018

"Is everyone else alright?"

We have a fascination with final words. Their utterance is regarded as having a degree of significance. In the few moments after being shot in June 1968. Robert F. Kennedy, whispered to his wife  'Is everyone else alright?' He never regained consciousness and died in hospital early the next day.

As a memorial to a just man, anxious for a better society, they stand comparison with any final phrase. Others before self, concern and care beyond selfish need. An early labelling of followers of Jesus the Nazarene came from Tertullian who reported that the Romans would exclaim, “See how they love one another!”  

They were recognised by an action rather than a formula of words. In subsequent centuries that reputation has often been tainted by disagreement and conflict. Yet, in spite of all, scattered groups have maintained that principle of love and have shown it  to others in their lives and generosity. It is an example that we need to return to time and again, for it is there that we find a still point in a turning world.

 Our Western society is good at wearing labels proclaiming allegiance to a multitude of groups be it a sports club, a rights gathering, a national flag and many others. Such labels have a strong emotional background. You only need to think back a few weeks, when  Colin Kaepernick's protest of kneeling on one knee during the US national anthem caused such a stir. That he was protesting the treatment of African Americans was the background to his action; by choosing a non-violent  manner to express his concern, associating himself with the national anthem, he touched a nerve. Again who can forget the emotive impact of hearing a united South Africa sing their new anthem in the post-Mandela years?  

We wear lapel badges of loyalty, small markers that say something to others about us, who we are, what are the core-values that we hold important. I still remember as a teenager in South London calling into the local library one Saturday morning. When it came to the time of having my books stamped, I was asked by the librarian if the small enamel cross in my coat was anything to do with the Catholic Church-it was a KBS badge, often seen in the 50s. It turned out that he was under instruction after having started preparing for the Methodist ministry. Our friendship lasted over some years. I was privileged  attend his Reception some months after we first met.

Concern for others is a generosity that carries with it a cost, both in time and energy.  It is that generosity that is evident in the Benedictine rule of hospitality to the visitor. One morning, back in the 90s, I called at the door of the local Benedictine Abbey and there I waited.

'I did not see the bell, that in some dark distant

space concealed, responded to the button

by the wooden door, rung well.

Nor did I know at that instant what work was set

aside by the sudden call to service, as silently

gathering herself she moved with measured haste

until the inner latch was raised and greeting this

June hot morning with a smile, her small, black-wrapped

figure opened the outer door answering my call.'

Offering help, asking if everyone is alright, often involves a degree of inconvenience to those who respond. It can mean setting aside what is important to us, detail set in our diary for the day,  and turning to the needs of another.

 Indeed love has no labels, yet it is often used as a label of convenience, the sign-off phrase for a letter or the cheery good-bye as friends part company. For a small word, it carries with it huge implications of commitment, one to another.

 We need to recognise that there is a difference between slogans and purpose. Easy to come up with a few words that look good on a Tee-shirt or Baseball cap, advertising agencies do it all the time. When we accept the label 'Christian', we also accept the implication of Kennedy's final words, "Is everyone else alright? They go together. It is not without significance that one of the central parables of the Gospel is that of the Good Samaritan, the stranger who cared for the man injured by the roadside, who disregarded nationality or historical animosity. It is a story repeated so often in our own time as refugees, leaving home and country, seek solace in another land, what we might call 'our land' for it is our open hands that they seek to grasp, the warmth of our shelter that will ease their plight. Our inter-dependency is not something lightly worn, it is a huge responsibility given to each of us by the Resurrected Christ.

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