In the great city of New York there once stood the Twin Towers ... a nation watched in disbelief and horror as they fell to the ground. Thousands died. Hatred brought them down and hatred has gripped the nation ever since. Hatred cannot win … we cannot allow it to win … we will be destroyed if hatred wins the day and God is pushed to the sidelines of life.
Holy Scripture speaks of … forgiving our enemies … turning the other cheek … of going the second mile … not repaying evil with evil … loving those who hate us and say all sorts of evil against us. Holy Scripture asks the penetrating question: How can we love God whom we have not seen if we don’t love our neighbor who we have seen? Holy scripture asks the follow-up question: Who is my neighbor? … And we know, in our hearts, who our neighbors are ... they speak a different language, worship a god by a different name, they wear different cloths and live a different lifestyle … but they are still God’s children and they are our neighbors.
The nation is being held captive by a crazy fringe pastor in Gainesville, Florida who has received much more than his 15-minutes of fame. The nation is being divided over a proposed mosque two blocks from Ground Zero. Sides have been taken, angry words are being exchanged … and God is being left out of any consideration as hatred takes grip of the heart of the nation.
Scores of e-mails arrive on a daily basis spreading hatred and misinformation … bearing false witness? Pat Robertson goes on his TV program and continues to spread a message of hatred in the name of Christ. The hate-jocks (conservative talk show hosts) speak in angry tones of trying to preserve our beloved nation … spreading the message of hate and anger. And, we are instructed in Holy Scripture that we are to leave judgment and wrath in the hands of God … this is not our responsibility nor is it our privilege.
A winless war is being waged. Billions of dollars is being spent … money we do not have. Thousands of lives of young men and women are being lost and tragically changed forever … all in the name of hatred and anger.
When will this madness stop? When will we truly turn back to being that Christian Nation that we so proudly talk about? When will we become instruments of peace instead of war? When will we once again become the hallmark of justice, democracy, and freedom? When? … When? … When?
Today we will remember where we were and what we were doing on 9/11. We will remember the victims and mourn their passing. But will we stop the hatred and the anger or will we continue this madness and watch our nation destroyed from within? Who wins, God, a God of peace and love, or the other guys? It is our decision … every day and every moment of every day. We are either part of the problem or we are part of the solution.
Quote for today: Hate is like acid. It can damage the vessel in which it is stored as well as destroy the object on which it is poured. Ann Landers
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