The horrors of 9/11/2001 cast a long shadow over the past week – imposing a visceral darkness on the nation’s collective spirit.
We remember, and we ought: The horrors of the day brought out the best in many … a self-sacrificing love that was (and remains) remarkable to behold. The first responders, even many ordinary citizens, showed us how to best address any evil acts we encounter – with a love that surpasses all understanding.
Still, often lurking in the shadow of those memories lives a murkier instinct in our hearts – a desire for vengeance, retribution.
I was thinking about that corrosive instinct this week when I had a chance to take part in a faith-sharing group whose participants included a Muslim. Fat chance that would have happened in 2001, I thought to myself. I was in no mood – a quarter-century ago – to dialogue with any Muslim, anywhere in the world.
But it did happen this past week, and it did my heart good. A key benefit occurred when we were all asked to share a recent “God moment.” An easy task for me, because I’ve learned to see God in just such a way – the Holy One, ever-present in my life, ever-acting in ways (large and small) to bless the moments of my days. But my Muslim acquaintance found the request puzzling. He didn’t understand the concept of a “God moment,” it didn’t fit his image of Allah at all.
I was saddened to hear this, because I can recall a time in my own life when my idea of God – “Judge, Jury, Prosecutor” – more closely resembled his. I also realized that as Christians, we still have a lot of work to do. Our efforts at sharing the Good News have fallen woefully short of the mark the Risen Lord set for us – to bring “all nations” into the Body of Christ.
So how do we make actual progress toward that goal? Certainly NOT by feeding the dark spirit of vengeance. As we are taught in today’s first reading from the book of Sirach:
Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight… Could anyone refuse mercy to another like himself, [and then] seek pardon for his own sins?
The poet Ullie-Kaye proposes a different tactic altogether – to “pray twice” when someone offends or injures you:
Praying twice: That’s a good start, I’d say, when it comes to finding the grace to release the dark spirit of vengeance in our hearts. But it’s worth noting that it’s only a start, according to Jesus. As Christians, we are called to keep working at it – 70 times seven times.
Let us pause now…to recall that we are in the presence of the Holy & Merciful One.
IHS
With Us Still 