We are in this together...

Last night a devastating fire destroyed the home of a local rabbi and his family.  They escaped unharmed - two firefighters had minor injuries - but all their belongings were destroyed.  Rabbi David is married with three small children.  (Read more here: http://www.berkshireeagle.com/ci_20492554/fire-displaces-knesset-israels-rabbi?source=most_emailed)  To be sure, their congregation is caring for them in the wake of the tragedy - and will continue to support them as they rebuild, too - but isn't this also a time for those in the local Christian community to stand and deliver?


We are theological and ethical cousins in faith.  We are neighbors and friends in a small town.  And, as those of the majority faith, hold a unique moral obligation to offer care and compassion and solidarity in times of trouble.  St. Paul was clear that we (Christians) have been grafted onto the tree of faith first given shape and form by Abraham, Issac and Jacob. What's more, he is clear - despite millenia of action and words to the contrary - that God's first covenant with Israel has not been supplanted in any, way shape or form in Jesus Christ.  Rather, we have simply been welcomed into the family of God's love in a new way. As he wrote in Romans 13:

When you love others, you complete what the law has been after all along. The law code—don't sleep with another person's spouse, don't take someone's life, don't take what isn't yours, don't always be wanting what you don't have, and any other "don't" you can think of—finally adds up to this: Love other people as well as you do yourself. You can't go wrong when you love others. When you add up everything in the law code, the sum total is love.

If you are able to share some love with Rabbi David and his family, the synagogue's administrator, Chris, tells me we should go to their website and start there.  Soon, there will also be a list re: immediate donations to help the family get back on their feet, too.  Check it out @ http://www.knessetisrael.org/index.aspx