There is no
longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male
and female; for all of you are one in
Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28 (NRSV)
I want to apologize for the hit and miss delivery of my Musings
over the last few weeks. The election results and my mental and spiritual
reaction to them has made it hard for me to get my head, heart, and soul around
a subject that I would like to share about. I cannot tell you when I might be
back to a mostly regular weekly Musing but until I am I will continue to send
them out as I feel I have something to say.
The threat of a registry for Muslims and
people from the Middle East has got my attention. It smacks of the Jewish ghettos
of Warsaw and the yellow Stars of David in Nazi controlled areas during World
War Two. It carries the stench of the internment of Japanese peoples on the
west coast of the USA during that same era. It echoes the McCarthy Era and the
Committee on Un-American Activities, the work of J. Edgar Hoover, and the
Hollywood blacklist. All these moments in time are resoundingly condemned for
their inhumane treatment of people and the sanctioned racism they produced and
the fear they caused innocent people just because they happened to look a
certain way, believe a certain way, or exercised their Constitutional freedoms.
And just to make this even more clear, with the passage of the Civil Liberties
Act in 1988 our nation admitted that such action is unjust and contrary to our
values of liberty and justice for all. (This is the letter President Clinton
sent to those who were interned.)
Social Media has been buzzing with this topic for days. One action
that seems to have gained a lot of attention is how non-Muslims might react if
a registry is instituted. That action, to register as a Muslim even if you are
not. This may seem a silly thing to do or one that does little but think about
for a moment. It has the potential to put millions of names into the system
that would have to be vetted or verified. It would make it harder to figure out
who exactly are the “real” Muslims. It would show our Islamic neighbors and
friends that they are not alone. And what is most important, it would display
your willingness to put yourself on the line for another – a way to love your
neighbor – a way to witness to the all-inclusive and universal love of God.
The Bible states over and over and over again that our God given
responsibility is to care for, protect, and serve the stranger, sojourner,
foreigner, orphan, widow, poor, disenfranchised and otherwise powerless persons
in our midst. This is what we are called out from among the peoples of this
earth to do. This is the character of our God, this is what our God values.
Look at Exodus, look at Leviticus, look at Isaiah and Micah, look at the
Psalms, look at Jesus, and look at Paul. In every place, you will find that the
one, overriding definition of being faithful is caring for the least and
powerless. As Christians, we must see that singling out a group of people for
no other reason than baseless fear and discomfort with differentness places
that group squarely within the realm of those we must serve, protect, and care
for. And therefore, registering as a Muslim is one action we can take to
faithfully live out our connection with God and Christ.
I know that there may be risks associated with doing this act of
civil disobedience. It may take time and money on our parts to get ourselves
freed up from the limitations such an act might place upon us. But we must be
willing to place ourselves in difficult positions to be faithful to God’s call
upon our lives and God’s desire for the powerless to be supported and cared for.
We cannot sit this one out. We cannot allow for this to take place and if it
does, despite our best efforts, then we must act in ways to subvert and render
it ineffective. It is what God would have us do.
I believe the time for action is now. I believe that if we are to
say “NO!” to fear and evil we must find the places and do the things that speak
loudest against this darkness. And we must listen to John Lewis, President
Obama, Hillel the Elder, and many others who have said in one way or another, “If not us, then who? If
not now, then when?” The time for faithful people to be upfront, open and
honest about their beliefs is upon us. If you truly are a partner of God and
Christ seeking to transform lives and the world you must enter the fray and to
feel as Don Quixote does when he sings in Man of La Mancha:
To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star
This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause
And I know if I'll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest
And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star
Dear God, help me to love as you love, to risk myself for those
who are powerless, and to be faithful. Be with anyone who fears for their
freedom and their rights. Amen.
