Sunday, May 18, 2008

Brian’s Reflection: Monday, May 19, 2008


Love other human beings as you would love yourself.

- Who said this? (Make your guess before you get to the bottom.)


One of the problems about being human, being “political” (i.e., “of the city”), about being protective of your own culture, is that we prejudge people. Christians are told not to do that. We are taught to understand that all human beings are God’s creation, that all seek love and peace and to be respected, to have our hopes and dreams appreciated. But so much gets in the way. We look at people who stand up for their rights, who in desperation take “drastic” steps to resist oppression, be free, take action against abuse, and if their politics don’t jibe with ours, we label “them” terrorists. You know, Jesus was in that category in many ways, wasn’t He? Didn’t kill anyone, true, instead just took His stand for the God He knew and in Whose way of Love he believed. And was hated for it by the political religious folk of His day, and he was killed.

America is, in my view, like that these days. We have our own view – at least the present political administration does, along with those who think as they do - and we justify all kinds of behaviour in the name of God to uphold the “right”. So, killing Che Guevara (as the CIA did) and supporting horrible, vicious, murderous dictators, and bombing whole populations under false pretenses in support of “our way of life” is justified. In God’s name , no less.

Our leaders claim, many of them, to be Christians. Do you actually think that Jesus would be in league with any of them?

Love is Love. It comes first. Boy, here I am, age 62 almost, and I am beginning to realize that I have a lot of the same judgmental prejudices. That I work out of those prejudices rather than out of the nature of the person and teaching of Jesus. Of God. I have a lot to learn in order to live out the core nature of my humanity.

Know who said the quote? Born on this day, 1890.

Ho Chi Minh.

Brian+

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