By Leeann Wilhelmi
I heard a phrase yesterday describing a group of people by saying they are “living life in the margins”. We’ve all heard of the “marginalized” and “fringe people”. The dictionary defines marginalized as “(of a person, group, or concept) treated as insignificant or peripheral.”
Fringe people are referred to as “a group of people whose beliefs or opinions are considered unusual, unconventional, or extreme, and who are therefore on the outside of the mainstream.”
When I heard this phrase, it was about a group of people most would lump into descriptors that would include violent, angry or fractured when in fact the opposite is true. Because of the confidentiality of the conversation, I can’t go into any details, but the person with whom I spoke said that the truth is that these people are some of the most gentle souls who from an early age looked for “normal” places to belong and didn’t find inclusion in any of them.
The number of marginalized people we see in our ministry is growing. These are beautiful people who have no idea where they really fit. Rejection is largely the issue behind their futility in finding a life in which to feel included in society. Abuse of one kind or another causes isolation and guilt which further ostracizes these. These are some of the places where Satan finds a foothold, a place from which to convince someone of their oddities, their differences and where he convinces them that they will NEVER fit in, where they will never be enough or have enough to enjoy what life has to offer or find a place of unconditional acceptance.
In the world of Christendom, consider Lonnie Frisbee. Tormented by a childhood of abuse and rejection, he went on to become a leader in the Jesus hippie movement of the 70’s, but later tragedy separated him from his calling and he contracted and subsequently died from AIDS. God certainly uses flawed people with tragic pasts to become inspirational leaders in the Faith.
So what’s the “call to arms” here? What do we do with the information concerning the people all around us who are living life in the margins? How often do we see people who “slip through the cracks”? The days of Christians stepping over those bodies has got to end. Christians above all should not be looking to the government to help these people. These who are marginalized are not just the poor, but the fatherless, widows, the brokenhearted, the fearful, the anxious, the rejected and the lonely. Scripture mentions all of these people and more.
While I despise the weaponization of race in today’s politics, I read an interesting autobiographical story about an Orthodox Jewish woman from the Middle East living in the United States. She and her family wear traditional dress (therefore, identifiable) and her community has been the target of many attacks. In fact, in the United States of America, hers is the most attacked racial group per capita. Even though their desire is just to live in peace, the most lethal attacks on this group have been within the last five years. The stories spread about this people group through generations have many times been horrific lies.
So, what’s our role with the marginalized? To love. Show mercy. Have compassion.
Luke 10:25-37 tells the story of the good Samaritan, surely the best story ever told regarding loving outside of boundaries and differences. Having been asked by “an expert in religious law” how to inherit eternal life, Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind. And you must love your neighbor as yourself.” As if that wasn’t plain enough, the man responded with, “Who is my neighbor?”
In the current state of our world, we have been told who we should hate, who we should shun, who we should avoid at all costs. Narratives from political sectors, racial divides and religious schisms have sold many in our population on the idea that we should step in as judge and jury for those we differ with or the marginalized.
In the story of the good Samaritan, the Samaritan was considered an enemy of the Jews. They were outcasts by anybody’s definition. But in this instance, it was the Samaritan (not the priest or the Levite) who saw a need: a man stripped, beat up and left for dead, and he was moved with compassion. He didn’t call the authorities to come pick the man up. He, as neighbor, treated his wounds, put him on his donkey and took him to an inn to be cared for, going as far as to pay the innkeeper and agree to pay any additional if the bill was higher.
Despite what others would tell us, we KNOW as Christians how to be a good neighbor, how to be compassionate . We KNOW how to go the extra mile and how to care for others. We KNOW that we are to love God with our whole being and LOVE our neighbor as ourselves. God, let us always feel a deep drive to heed this call!