Two recent news stories have provided much thought for all of us. On Jan. 15, a plane crashed into the Hudson River after taking off from La Guardia Airport. All 155 people on board survived. Four days later President-elect Obama said he had spoken with Pilot Chesley Sullenberger, who told him, “Me and my crew, we were just doing our job.” Obama said, “It made me think, if everybody did their job ó whatever that job was ó as well as that pilot did his job, we’d be in pretty good shape.”
Five days later, our 44th president, Barack Obama, gave his historic inauguration speech calling on Americans to enter a “new era of responsibility,” saying we must pull together to overcome the current challenges.
What would happen in our nation if everyone did their work as well as “Sully” Sullenberger and his crew did theirs?
Jesus calls the church “to go the second mile” in all situations. Whether we are part of the crew of a passenger plane or a volunteer at Rowan Helping Ministries, the call is the same.
One area in which people of faith are called to go the extra mile is in our relationships. Eugene Peterson says that our baptism means that we are “no longer ourselves by ourselves.” We are part of God’s family and are called to build healthy relationships.
Our society is isolating. Dr. Will Miller, a psychologist at Purdue University, names two types of friends. First are mere acquaintances, the people we see and greet on a regular basis. The second type comes from that part of our house off-limits to acquaintances visiting in our home. Miller says it is the refrigerator. The second type of friend is a refrigerator friend.
Miller states that refrigerator friends are people who can open your refrigerator without having to ask permission. When in their home you can do the same. They are people with whom you feel open, cared for and relaxed. They know the real you. We feel connected and engaged with refrigerator friends, a type that is crucial to a healthy life. According to Miller, the combination of constant moving with hours of attachment to screens ó television, the Internet and other devices ó has combined to create a typical American lifestyle that is detached and separate.Jesus Christ calls us to go the extra mile adding refrigerator friends into our lives. The need is magnanimous for relationships that enable us to be connected and engaged, rather than simply acquainted. Refrigerator relationships will not simply appear in our lives. Taking responsibility to make this world better occurs as we nurture genuine refrigerator relationships.
As people of faith, let us pray for our president and leaders, let us join in the call to “enter a new era of responsibility.” Let us realize this is not a new call, but one we have received since Jesus lived among us, calling us to go the extra mile. O God, let us go together.Dr. Jim Dunkin is senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church.