Tokyo. Paris. San Francisco. Bangkok. New York. I’ve had the privilege in my life of walking in these and many of the other spectacular cities and communities around our world. My senses are always on overload taking in the architecture, the beauty, the aromas, the sounds, the energy…all that makes these cities vibrant. And when I talk with my friends and family, I tell them “I love that city.”

But Jason van Genderen stopped me in my tracks today with his poignantly beautiful and moving video, a Tropfest NY 2008 winner, titled Mankind Is No Island. Amazingly shot entirely on a cell phone, the video asks us if we should love a place or love its people.

My mind’s eye flashed to Jesus walking through the streets of ancient Israel. And while those around him may have been in awe of the accomplishments of culture, business, and government — Jerusalem was, after all, renowned for it’s architecture; a cosmopolitan city of 80,000 that swelled to more than a 100,000 during the Jewish festivals — Jesus made hardly a mention of any of that. But he would bring the whole crowd to a halt and zero in on a blind man that no one else could see or hear. No, it wasn’t that their hearing or sight was impaired, but that their focus was on themselves, their goals, their experience — not on others.

In our commercial lives, it’s not only easy to look past the homeless person we pass on the way to the office, but also the waitress, the janitor, the cashier, the secretary, the gardener — all these who have become invisible to us because they are just a part of the machinery we use for our lives like a gasoline pump. They aren’t people, but service dispensers. But Jesus notices them.

We can also look past our spouses, our kids, our parents, our neighbors so preoccupied are we with how we are doing and where we are going.

So take 3 1/2 minutes to watch this video and listen to what God might say to you.

My thanks also to Able at The New Fangled Blog for pointing me to this remarkable video.