How would you feel if, because of the actions of a few, you, because you identify yourself as a Christian, were discriminated against, hated reviled and wished harm?
It would feel lousy, right?
Perhaps you would say, “hey don’t blame me for the actions of a few crazy radicals. I am a ‘real Christian’ and I follow the teachings of Jesus to the best of my ability. I believe that God is Love and that we are called to love our neighbor, regardless of who they are or what they do.”
If there is one thing the actions of Terry Jones-- that pastor in Gainesville Florida who was spearheading the Int’l Burn the Qu’ran Day—did, was offer a tangible reminder of how the millions of peace loving, devout and honorable Muslims must feel in this day and age of misunderstanding the Islamic faith. It served as a reminder of how the actions of a very few can skew the perception of a great many. You and I are no more hate-filled Qu’ran burners, than the Muslims who worship at the mosque on Amherst Street are terrorists who wish us dead.
Fear is powerful. Fear can paralyze. Fear can antagonize. Fear can intimidate, fear can incite. Fear is a complex human trait…causing both flight---getting ourselves out of harm’s way---and fight---causing us to dive right in, fighting our way free of fear, free of danger.
Think about September 11, 2001. As terror took hold in NYC, Washington DC and that field in western PA did you react in measured tones, realizing that whoever was behind the attacks needed our prayers and forgiveness?
Probably not.
Because when we are terrified, when something happens which puts everything we believe, everything we trust in, everything we hope for in peril, we lose our measured selves, we lose perspective. We quickly lose our bearings, our way and can react in a manner we would never expect….we can become reactionary and intolerant.
Hate is kept alive when we let fear rule us instead of faith. Hate is kept alive when we claim that if we don’t attack first, then we’ll be attacked. Hate is kept alive when we believe that there are unredeemable people in the world. Hate is kept alive when we think that there are sheep or coins—to use the two examples in today’s Gospel—, which aren’t worth searching for, finding and bringing into the fold.
Of course we were terrified on 9/11/2001. We should have been! That is the absolute goal of terror----to keep us so scared, so frightened, that we stay stuck in reaction, we stay mired in misperception, we stay trapped in intolerance----
But what a good portion of this nation did, what a great many of you, I’m sure, did, was stand up and shout to the world…no, we won’t be reactionary, we won’t be fear mongers, we won’t HATE. We will LOVE. We will pray. We will try very hard to love our neighbor, even the neighbor who doesn’t look and act like us. We will FORGIVE. We will believe, in our heart of hearts that the Good Shepherd searches out each of us no matter how far we have strayed, no matter how lost we have become, no matter how heinous our crimes. Because the angels in heaven rejoice each and every time the lost is found, the sinner repents and the hater becomes the lover.
Love doesn’t overtake hate through further acts of hate---like racial profiling, burning Qurans or blocking the construction of a house of worship----love overtakes hate when we repent of our own misdeeds…for in repenting for our own mistakes builds tolerance for the errors of others.
Love overtakes hate when we pray our way though our terror instead of yelling our way through it.
Love overtakes hate when we remember that everyone, no matter how lost they are, is sought after by God--even misguided Pastors in Gainesville Florida and extremists who have done us great harm. Because we are all beloved daughters and sons of God and when any one of us repents and returns to the fold, there is great rejoicing in heaven.
So, as we remember the lives lost on 9/11 and the thousands of lives lost in the ensuing conflicts, when we hear about Qu’ran burning and protests against the construction of a mosque for the faithful Muslims of lower Manhattan, when fear grips our own hearts and hate seems so much easier than love, we must open ourselves to the power of grace, a grace which is freely bestowed upon all who seek it…not because we are better than anyone else, but because we all, at one time or another, will find ourselves lost and we all--- daughters and sons of the Torah, the Bible and the Qu’ran—are worthy of being found.
Amen.
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