June 2008 ~ Banjar
For my "jottings" inspiration this year, I am drawing from a book called "Worldwords," which is a collection of words from around the world… one word for each day of the year… with an explanation of the word and a brief interpretation of its meaning. I will share a word from each month, along with some thoughts from the book and some of my own. The word for June is:
banjar ~ Indonesian
Cooperative groups of neighbors bound to assist each other.
CNN commentators have recently been using a catchy phrase to introduce news stories relating to tornadoes and storms. They call it “when the weather becomes the news.” It seems we’ve been having a lot of those stories in recent weeks… here and abroad. But one of the things that is always part of the story is the way people help each other in times of terror and tragedy. One of my favorite stories was about a young woman in China who became aware that there were babies going hungry because their mothers were no longer with them. This young woman had given birth to a baby a few months earlier and was still nursing him. She offered to nurse some of the other motherless babies, as well. At one point she was nursing nine babies. Talk about the law of giving and receiving! She was the multiplication of “loaves and fishes” in expression. When she was interviewed by a newscaster, she expressed surprise that she was being called a “hero.” To her, it was simply something she could do… and so she did.
From the book: “Given the increased mobility of our society, for many of us, our sense of community arises, not so much from neighborhood, but rather from a loose assemblage of friends and acquaintances. Even if scattered across the country, these relationships may seem more solid that the shifting dynamics of who happens to live next door. It is hard for us to imagine the stability and sense of defined place inherent in the concept of a banjar. Its roots lie in the daily pressures of village life where survival means having neighbors you can count on. The challenge for us is to incorporate into our daily awareness the importance of supportive interaction with those around us. In the giving there is always receiving.”
Jesus told a story about a man who was beaten, and robbed, and left by the roadside to die. Several travelers passed by on the other side without giving him a glance or any kind of help. And then, finally, a man who was considered to be of a “lower class” came by. He stopped, put the injured man on his donkey and took him to an inn where care could be given. Most of us know this story and way it ends. Jesus asked his listeners who, in the story, was the true neighbor… those who passed by or the one who risked himself in order to help? It was agreed that the neighbor was the man who did what he could to help. At another time, Jesus was asked, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” And he said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22: 36 – 40
jbm
banjar ~ Indonesian
Cooperative groups of neighbors bound to assist each other.
CNN commentators have recently been using a catchy phrase to introduce news stories relating to tornadoes and storms. They call it “when the weather becomes the news.” It seems we’ve been having a lot of those stories in recent weeks… here and abroad. But one of the things that is always part of the story is the way people help each other in times of terror and tragedy. One of my favorite stories was about a young woman in China who became aware that there were babies going hungry because their mothers were no longer with them. This young woman had given birth to a baby a few months earlier and was still nursing him. She offered to nurse some of the other motherless babies, as well. At one point she was nursing nine babies. Talk about the law of giving and receiving! She was the multiplication of “loaves and fishes” in expression. When she was interviewed by a newscaster, she expressed surprise that she was being called a “hero.” To her, it was simply something she could do… and so she did.
From the book: “Given the increased mobility of our society, for many of us, our sense of community arises, not so much from neighborhood, but rather from a loose assemblage of friends and acquaintances. Even if scattered across the country, these relationships may seem more solid that the shifting dynamics of who happens to live next door. It is hard for us to imagine the stability and sense of defined place inherent in the concept of a banjar. Its roots lie in the daily pressures of village life where survival means having neighbors you can count on. The challenge for us is to incorporate into our daily awareness the importance of supportive interaction with those around us. In the giving there is always receiving.”
Jesus told a story about a man who was beaten, and robbed, and left by the roadside to die. Several travelers passed by on the other side without giving him a glance or any kind of help. And then, finally, a man who was considered to be of a “lower class” came by. He stopped, put the injured man on his donkey and took him to an inn where care could be given. Most of us know this story and way it ends. Jesus asked his listeners who, in the story, was the true neighbor… those who passed by or the one who risked himself in order to help? It was agreed that the neighbor was the man who did what he could to help. At another time, Jesus was asked, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” And he said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22: 36 – 40
jbm
posted by Wayne Manning at 12:11 AM
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