Hijabs & Hoodies – Get a Grip, America!

Yesterday, Shaima Alawadi was laid to rest in the Holy City of Najab, Iraq. Shaima was a 32 year old mother of 5, who was bludgeoned to death in her El Cajon, California home. She moved to the U.S. with her family in 1993, fleeing the terror of Saddam Hussein’s regime following a failed Shiite uprising. Her uncle was hanged by Iraqi troops. This Iraqi-American fled the horrors of Iraq only to be beaten to death in her California home. Next to her beaten body was a note: “Go back to your country, you terrorist”. Who is terrorizing whom?

Since when do hijabs and hoodies make persons “suspicious”, “criminals”, or “terrorists”? Get a grip, America! The hatred and intolerance in this country has reached a fever pitch in recent weeks with the killing of Trayvon Martin and now Shaima Alawadi. The racism and religious intolerance in this country is appalling. The anti-Muslim sentiments of today are reminiscent of the anti-Semitism of Nazi Germany. It needs to end – NOW. How can anyone claim that the United States of America is a Christian Nation?  This is NOT the Christianity that I know and believe. We need to step up to the plate and live up to the Christian message.

This week is Holy Week. Christians all across America will be remembering Jesus’ last week before his brutal crucifixion, death and resurrection. We must pause to remember why Christ shared our common humanity and the foundation of his ministry … love of neighbor. He promoted love and peace. Though he was both God and human, he did not Lord himself over others. He was a humble servant. He stood up for and ministered to the poor, the sick, the disabled, and the outcasts. He condemned injustice and would not condone violence. His was a ministry of love. And he demonstrated such profound, unconditional love that he laid down his life for the salvation of ALL of humanity. Next Sunday, Easter Sunday, we will celebrate Jesus’ resurrection – his victory over death and the grave. In our celebration, let us remember that this gift of grace is grounded in love.

As Christians, we must take up our cross and follow our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by standing up against the bigotry and violence that is permeating our society today. We must speak out against racism, religious intolerance and violence. We must stand in solidarity with Muslims, Jews, Hindus and other faith traditions to promote peace and love. This is America – Land of the free and home of the brave. We need to bravely use our freedom of speech to cry out against this senseless violence and to promote and uphold freedom of religion. We need to foster an America that where everyone, from sea to shining sea, can experience freedom from fear of racial and religious hatred and violence.

Merciful God, as we enter this Holy Week, help us remember the ministry and supreme sacrifice of Jesus of Nazareth. Give us the courage and strength to live up to the Christian message. Help us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Help us to love our enemies and pray for those who unjustly persecute others. Help us end the bigotry and violence and foster a world filled with peace. As we remember that Jesus died for the forgiveness of sins, help us to forgive but let us never forget the crimes against humanity. Amen.

Jesus Calls Us to Make Love, Not War

“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” (John 13:34-35 NRSV) These words of Jesus are very clear. He speaks of love, not hate, retaliation or retribution. We are to love one another. Yet for centuries Christians have killed in the name of Jesus Christ in the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Salem Witch Trials, the conflicts in Northern Ireland between Catholics and Protestants, and even the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Holocaust of the Nazi regime was due to racism and religious intolerance. Conservative Christians of today engage in bullying and hate crimes against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered persons because the ‘bible tells them so’.

The news today seems to provide and highlight an endless stream of senseless violence: bullying, brutality, hate crimes, murder and the horrors of war. Innocent children are gunned down in schools, defenseless teens like Trayvon Martin are gunned down on the streets, defenseless Afghan families murdered in their homes allegedly by U.S. Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, car bombings kill and maim innocent bystanders, and world leaders wage war in the name of God. There are a plethora of violent, life-like video games allowing us to vicariously shoot and kill to our heart’s content.  Hollywood continues to create blockbuster films strewn with violence, blood, gore and death. We cannot seem to escape it. But we can and must stop it. Violence begets violence. Its constant bombardment in our daily lives can only serve to fan the flames of anger and hatred into a raging inferno. We must snuff out the flames before they consume us all.

I have to believe that we can change attitudes, behaviors and the course of history if we simply highlight more positive than negative. To listen to and seek out negativity merely enables the vicious cycle of violence. There is a profound imbalance between positive and negative in world news. Heartwarming stories of goodness, benevolence and kindness seem to be pushed aside, buried or ignored. Let’s accentuate the positive and focus on real life heroes, rather than criminals.  

“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13 NRSV) And we have heroes, like Spc. Dennis Weichel who have done just that. In fact, Dennis Weichel laid down his life for a complete stranger recently. Dennis was serving in Afghanistan with the Rhode Island National Guard. Weichel and his comrades were getting children out of the road and out of the way of their convoy. One little girl went back into the road to pick up more brass shell casings, placing herself in grave danger of an approaching armored vehicle. Weichel pulled the little girl to safety and was struck and killed by the vehicle himself. And let’s not forget about all of the gifts of life provided by blood donors and organ donors. Let us remember all of those who voluntarily give of their time, talents, blood-sweat-and-tears to help unfortunate victims of violence and natural disasters. Let us remember volunteer fire fighters and ordinary people who risk their lives to pull people and pets from burning buildings. Let us lift up the benevolence of strangers in the checkout line who offer to pay for the groceries of someone who cannot afford them. These are news-worthy heroes one and all.

If we could filter out and eliminate much of the negative, displacing it with positive, perhaps the clouds of despair would dissipate. Perhaps the fires of anger and hatred could be extinguished. Perhaps we could foster a world filled with peace and harmony. If it is to be, it’s up to me. “I am only one, still I am one. I cannot do everything, still I can do something. Let me not refuse to do the thing that I can do.” (Helen Keller)  Each of us must do our part to make a positive impact in the world around us. No excuses.  “I can do no great things, only many things with great love.” (Mother Theresa)  If we do not do our part, however great or small, nothing can or ever will change. As individuals, we may not have the power to generate sweeping global change. But collectively we CAN change the world.  Love CAN conquer all. But it can only happen if each of us makes a conscious, concerted effort to facilitate and foster love. “Love one another” … not an easy task. But one that is far less traumatic and deadly than the winds of war. Each day, as we go about our daily lives, let us seek out just one thing that we can do today (each and every day) to make a positive difference in someone else’s life. Let us turn off the negativity and love one another … yes, even our enemies. Only we can break the cycle of hatred and violence and foster Peace.