Logic

Nothing in any big city is totally logical.  The community seems defined by a set of arcane unmovable rules.  Little things catch you.  If you decide to get off on the north end of the platform of the F train at 57th in New York, be careful.  The signage says one thing, however remember, what is north is south, and south is north.  When you take the F train you need to know that even though it is an “Express” it is a local in Manhattan and an express everywhere else.  Looking for fashion’s cutting?  Skip SoHo, head for the lower east side; yesterday’s drug alleys are today’s emerging neighborhood.
 
Even as I write the logic makes sense.  It didn’t a few weeks ago.  To understand the different one needs to take in the community, its history and the forces which continue to influence its future direction.
 
Mary discovered something on the second morning that did make any sense.  The facts her eyes and senses conveyed ensured she had lost her bearing.  In this context she drew the only conclusion which fit her framework.  “She ran at once to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, breathlessly panting, ‘They took the Master from the tomb.  We don't know where they've put him.’” (John 20.2)  Her conclusions were logical, not factual.
 
We face a world racked by disasters, conflict, and confusion.  People struggle to deal with how their bodies fail them, relationships strain with the tug of the daily grind, and hearts cry out for compassion, mercy, and a sense of belonging.  How can we live as a community and let people around us suffer?  Where is the justice in any of this?  Will anyone defend the defenseless?
 
The logic fails but can come back together with one additional factor; people reaching out to connect, leverage, and share.  Mary discovered the greater truth shortly after she reached her conclusion; with help.  People today lay in hospitals with hope because of the voice of a friend.  Communities flourish with individual acts of compassion and mercy.