So this is not really related to the girls but it was part of my awesome weekend and I just had to post. I have been so torn by all the debates regarding the Mosque that is being built near Ground Zero. While I feel for the people who lost people on 9/11 (and even those words don't sound right to be given the level of tragedy that the day was), I have felt the need to defend the rights of the people wishing and attempting to build this place of worship.
I fear that we are focusing on the wrong words in the sentence. Just like we pronounce words wrong when we place the emphasis on the wrong syllable, I think that many are choosing to place emphasis on the world Muslim instead of terrorists. I choose not to think of the individuals who orchestrated and participated in the tragedy of 9/11 as Muslims but rather as terrorists. I feel that we are condemning an entire people based on their extremists. However, as I feel so often in life, I do not feel eloquent enough to speak my mind appropriately without fear of insulting someone or not being able to debate as intelligently as I might. So I sit by while I receive nasty email after nasty email in regards to this subject or ignore posts on Facebook (which I don't have anymore - yay!) or walk away from conversations after a few minutes because I do not feel that I can do it justice. I watched horrified at news reports of the minister who wanted to burn the Quran (while yes I agree he has the right to do it, does not believe I think it is right) and I am even more mortified by the fact that this is supposedly a holy man who wants to do this.
So I walk into church Sunday morning waiting for the wonderful feeling I normally get from having finally found a place that feels like home and it arrives as it always does in the smiling faces of the reverends saying hello, the Sunday school teacher sharing a wink with Chloe or just a neighbor in the pew smiling and saying "Peace be with you.". It was slightly interrupted as I had to rescue Belle from the crib room to feed her but afterwards I walked quietly in the room and caught the middle of Rev. Boyea's sermon. I am so glad that I did and as soon as they post the link for it this week, I will add it to this post because he said so eloquently everything that I have been feeling in regards to this mosque. He gently reminded us of Christianity's own violent past and of the violence so often seen in the Bible as well as individuals such as Timothy McVeigh who were self-proclaimed Christians and terrorists. We so often leave off the word Christian and focus on the word terrorist as we rightly should. He asked if we would be so outraged if someone wanted to build a Christian church down the street from the location of the Oklahoma City bombing. I don't place this on here to argue but rather to give an informed opinion from someone who says what I have wanted to in a much more eloquent way. . . so look for that link in a few days. . ..
Finally - completely off topic of the above. . .as Jody and I were listening to that sermon from the back of the room. We were sitting behind an elderly couple (at least late 70's if not 80's). After a few moments, the gentleman put his arm across the back of the pew and rubbed his wife's back for the entire sermon - just a gentle touch that most people wouldn't have even noticed but as if to say after all of these years, he still loves her enough to just want to touch her. It almost brought tears to my eyes - I hope after 50 years together, Jody and I still love each other that much!
Have a great day all and I will post that link ASAP.
**9-25 - Still no link yet but I will keep checking - it is definitely worth a listen.
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