The clarion call to humanity means caring for and helping others whenever and wherever possible. It means helping others at times when they need that help the most and it is forgetting our selfish interests at times when others need our help. Most of all, it means extending unconditional love to each and every living being on earth.
Matthew Desmond, author of Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, observing America’s housing crisis said, “No moral code or ethical principle, no piece of scripture or holy teaching can be summoned to defend what we have allowed our country to become.” According to Desmond and so many more, homelessness is a crisis in America. America is one of the richest countries in the world and yet it cannot resolve its homeless crisis.
I am reminded of a biblical clarion call to humanity when the question was asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” God answered the question through the death of his son. We are responsible for each other’s wellbeing. Dr. Martin Luther King said, “without love, there is no reason to know anyone, for love will, in the end, connect us to our neighbors, our children, and each other.” Dr. King will always be remembered for loving all and showing his fearlessness for humankind.
In our “new norm” due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the clarion call to humanity is knowing what matters and what you truly value. It is the key to living a life of meaning and purpose through caring for each other. For most of us the problem is not having values, the problem is living them out. We all value humanity with honesty, integrity and forgiveness, but when we are pressed, do we really live them out—especially when it costs us?
Pursuing a life of values comes with a price. But what we get in exchange is the ability to hold our head high during the day and sleep well at night knowing we have answered the clarion call to humanity. So Never Give Up! Never Give Up! Never Give Up!
By Chaplain Ghosten
chaplain@lhp.net
