Circles

Who's in your circle?

If you remember the comic strip Ziggy you might also remember one particular cartoon in which Ziggy is standing and looking at a mall directory (I call it a mallmanac) and finds the X with the words "You are here" (I call that a here-o-glyph). There happens to be another here-o-glyph in the upper left corner of the mallmanac that says "Everyone else is over here". Poor Ziggy. What a loner.

Ever felt like that-- standing alone for whatever reason while it seems like everyone else seems so distant because of some supposed or apparent superiority on their part? Or like everyone is in the same circle except you because you just don't measure up and you've been relegated to your own circle.

We seem to divide humanity up into circles labeled "us and them", "in and out", "right and wrong", "good and bad", "beautiful and hideous", "worthy and unworthy"... you get the idea.

The idea that there are different circles is a myth designed to keep people we are uncomfortable with under our thumbs. Which leads to parable that Jesus told to a man who was an expert in circles.

This expert, who had his own circle, approached Jesus with a question, "What must I do to make sure my circle isn't breeched by people who don't belong in it?" Jesus answered, "You're the expert. Why don't you tell me?" The expert replied, "Love God and love my circle." "Right!," said Jesus. But then comes the $64,000 question posed by the expert:

"How big should my circle be?" (interpretation--You'd better say that it should remain small!) So Jesus told this story:

Once there was a man who had a circle much like yours, and as he was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho he was accosted by thieves who beat the snot out of him and took his clothes, leaving him hanging onto his life by a mere thread (interpretation-- the man's circle just got much smaller and was now filled with cooties-- a circle all to himself).

The man's pastor, who used to have this man in his circle, but no longer because of what just occured, happened to be walking down the same road. When the pastor got close enough to see the man, he made sure he walked around the man as far away as possible. "Not in my circle," said the pastor.

A few minutes later the assistant pastor happened to be walking down the road, and when he got close enough to see the man, he made sure he walked around the man as far away as possible. "Not in the pastor's circle," said the assistant pastor.

A few minutes after that and across the deep valley full of jagged rocks and steep cliffs there was a road for people who belonged to the "never goes to church" circle. On that road a man was traveling with his donkey. When he looked across the valley at the man who had been beaten and left for dead, he experienced an upwelling of compassion because he knew that the pastor and his assistant would have treated him the same way. He tethered his donkey, grabbed his bag, climbed down the steep and dangerous cliff, walked across the valley filled with sharp and jagged rocks, climbed up the other steep and dangerous cliff, and approached the man who was left for dead. He turned the man over and noticed that he was wearing a cross necklace.

"Oh! One of those 'goes to church' circle people," said the man under his breath.

But no matter. He opened his bag and pulled out some ointment and disinfectant. He applied them to the man's wounds and bandaged them as best as he could. He then lifted the man onto his shoulders, climbed down the steep and dangerous cliff, walked across the valley filled with sharp and jagged rocks, climbed up the other steep and dangerous cliff, placed the wounded man on his donkey, and took him to a place where he could be treated.

Now it was time for Jesus to ask his own $64,000 question:

"Which of those three men figured it was time to abandon the 'circle' mentality?"

"The one who went out of his way and risked his own life," mumbled the expert. He couldn't even bring himself to say, "The man who never went to church."

"Good answer!", declared Jesus, "and don't you think it's about time you did the same thing?"

The point of the story? There is only one circle of humanity, and everyone is in it, including you!