In a time where so many parts of the world are falling apart, whether it be revolution or natural catastrophe, it is especially encouraging to see complete strangers banding together to accomplish a task, laying aside their differences. In Egypt, we see Orthodox Christians and Muslims embracing each other in Tahrir Square in a common bid for freedom, we see Muslims in Egypt helping the Orthodox Christians rebuild a very precious church temple that some misled extremists destroyed, we see Japanese Shinto, Buddhists, Orthodox Christians, Protestants, Catholics, and Atheists consoling each other and supporting each other in the face of the recent earthquake and tusmani that have claimed the lives of 7300 people (with another 11000 missing), we see normally conflicting tribes and Muslim denominations linking arms and standing up for freedom and equality in Libya, and the list goes on, but I wanted to draw on these examples, largely the first, since I have been increasingly reading, hearing, and seeing grotesque and barbaric remarks and actions by one nation against another, one people against another, one faith against another, and one person against another. This is largely addressed to my Orthodox Christian Brothers and Sisters, but this equally applicable to those who are not Orthodox Christians, or even of any faith at all (in which case, you have more faith than I).
We live our day to day lives meeting so many different people. In fact, every person we encounter is a different culture in our midst. We may walk into a hardware store in downtown and get a similar vibe from everyone there, because by and large the folks who spend the most time in hardware stores share a vast number of character and personality traits that draw them to and allow them to feel comfortable in a hardware store. We usually label these people as a bit gruff, slightly dirty (in language and hygiene), very hands-on in their intelligence (usually not as "book smart"), and by golly can they talk up a storm while leaning over the sales counter on their arm with a cup of coffee so weak that it cannot even be classified as coffee. We know this stereotype, because if we are not of that group, we've pointed out these things in other people who frequent hardware stores. The beautiful part of this stereotype is that there is absolutely nothing wrong with people who frequent hardware stores, in fact, they are truly beautiful people with wonderful stories and challenging quirks.
The observations I made about people in hardware stores could, on a domain level rather than a category level, be made about other types of people. And furthermore, all of these "hardware store folk" who I just lumped together in a stereotype are all completely different in their own regard, and yet they are exactly the same as you and me. You see, we were created in the same image, regardless of persuasion, faith, employment, lifestyle choices, etc., and this is something that we, as Orthodox Christians, hold exceptionally close as fundamental to our faith and life in Christ Jesus. The problem, however, lies in what we as Orthodox Christians are doing while we are on the track, running the race marked before us, and before the very eyes of a world that is doing everything it can to find fault in the Faith: we are judging and hating others. Please afford me a brief explanation:
This morning I logged onto my Facebook and did my usual scrolling through updates from all of my friends. One of my friends had "Liked" a particular picture of a poorly depicted prehistoric Muslim with a sword being punted by a white North American leg with a workboot. The comments were also rather bothersome, and this not the first I've seen from many of my friends and family on Facebook, or even outside of Facebook. I find it interesting that, as Orthodox Christians who preach unconditional love and compassion, many of us have audacity to judge another people because of their faith. We judge the Muslims, of all people, because a few extremists fly planes full of people into buildings, a few more collapse a tunnel on Britons in England, and few here and a few there perform acts of insufferable intolerance and hate. I am sorry, my Brothers and Sisters, but you are demonstrating the same hatred as those extremists who have slaughtered innocents.
Jesus Christ offers us Himself as the Bread of Life and the Fount of Immortality, and He does so seeing and knowing the depths of our hearts and the extent of our filth, but yet the same God draws us to Himself. Consider for a moment your body, that flesh-covered bone structure that is so susceptible to disease and suffering: Christ Jesus, our Lord and God and Savior, took that upon Himself in its fullness and was crucified in it for us and our salvation that the Gospel of Salvation may be first for the Jews and then the Gentiles (aka "the world"). Christ our God did this not when mankind was on its best behaviour, but when Romans were nailing criminals to trees and crosses, when Britons were using their enemies skulls as soup bowls, when Slavs would disembowel their enemies for sport, when Greeks had full-time prostitutes in their polytheistic temples (and Jews would sometimes frequent them), and when the Jewish nation itself had all but walked away from God, forsaking His freeing commandments. Instead, Jesus Christ came when we seemed to need Him most, at the most critical moment in time, so we would be ready for Him. He came for the Jew, the Briton, the Roman, the Slav, the Greek, the African, the Indian, the Aboriginee, the First Nations, the Canadian, the Quebecois, the Albertan, the American, the Californian, Texan, Mexican, the Arab, the Berber, the Pakistani, etc. He came for them all and loves them all, regardless of their faith, regardless of their lifestyle choices, regardless of their diet, regardless of their goings-on. "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us," so with that always in mind, do you not think it would be most sensible to acquire the mind of St. Paul, "to know Christ and Him crucified," that we may, "work out our salvation with fear and trembling," and not judging others, lest we bring the judgement of God upon ourselves?
What faith teaches hate against another? What kind of god teaches to mock and ridicule another religion and/or faith in the name of itself? What kind of religion teaches love and compassion while they are cutting down another person? I understand we are people with weakness who are always tempted to do this--I would know, I'm the worst offender, just ask my family and friends who were (and thank God some still are) close to me--but this is not an excuse to let ourselves jump on the bandwagon of hate. This dreadful thing I saw this morning was about Orthodox Christians mocking Muslims and saying how evil they are, while wearing their crosses around their necks, posting pro-God stuff on their walls, while quoting Scripture verses, while commenting on holy events and saints, while claiming to be this, and declaring they are doing that, but still all the while demonstrating why Orthodox Christians are no different than any other person--that they are in the world, and, quite frankly, of it too.
***Taken from "My Notes" on Facebook, published 03-19-2011.
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