A Christmas Message

A few months ago a friend and I had a very intense disagreement which led to some very harsh words being exchanged. A few days ago out of the blue (is it ever really just “out of the blue” ?) while on Facebook, he hit me up and now all is forgiven and forgotten. We are at peace.

“According to an article in the Canadian Army Journal, a former president of the Norwegian Academy of Science, aided by historians from England, Egypt, Germany, and India came up with some fantastic figures and findings:

Since 3600 B.C. the world has known only 292 years of peace. During this period there have been 14,531 wars, large and small, in which 3,640,000,000 people have been killed. The value of the destruction would pay for a golden belt around the world 97 miles wide and 33 feet thick. To put it another way, in world history we have seen 13 years of war for every year of peace. Since the beginning of time, more than 8,000 treaties of peace were concluded. Although meant to last forever, the average time they remained in force was 2 years. (Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations, p. 1571)”

The above reference was used during last Sunday’s sermon by our pastor. As I listened I asked myself: how many of these wars have been fought in the name of God? How many millions have been killed in the name of Christ, The Prince of Peace, whose birth we are celebrating at this time? How many of us, who profess to be followers of this Prince of Peace, are today involved in creating and perpetuating chaos, discord, fighting, rivalry and conflict? The pastor made a profound statement that we all, Christians and non-Christians, need to promote a culture of peace… one heart at a time! Easier said than done but Christ gives us a blueprint of how to accomplish this:

“You have heard that it was said, eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”

This doesn’t mean you must allow others to abuse and take advantage of you. It doesn’t mean you must be soft or weak and cower away in the face of oppression or aggression. It does mean that there are moments in each of our lives, when in the interest of peace, we all must summon the spiritual fortitude to forgo the need to fight to be right.

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

Honoring Dr. King

A Lesson from “The Beer Summit”

“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” Matthew 5:9

One of the lessons (credit the “teachable moment”) I have learnt from the Gates, Crowley and Obama affair is that our society has a disdain for peacemakers. They are more often than not ridiculed, called “soft”, if a male… characterized as a part of a female’s anatomy, have the sincerity of their motives questioned and even referred to as a “traitor” to some group or cause.

Those of you who frequent this blog know that I am no worshipper, nor mesmerized supporter of Barack Obama. Throughout this whole affair, he made the stupidest comment of all involved, which further inflamed a situation, which in reality was a “WWF pay per-view style” clash of egos, that was manipulated into a racial issue. However I will “give credit where credit is due.” Although Obama did not actually retract and apologize for his comment, he moved the whole situation forward to a sit down between the opposing parties for a beer and a chat in an effort to foster understanding and end the conflict. For this effort I commend President Obama… as well as Professor Gates and Sgt. Crowley.

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.” Matthew 5: 23-24.

We are all human and make mistakes and say and do things which we later regret. However few of us, especially in today’s society, will swallow our pride, or set aside our conviction that we are indeed unequivocally “right” and the other party is definitely “wrong”, or look beyond our own selfish agenda, and simply do whatever it takes to make peace. Ashamedly more often than not, I behave like the majority. What I find most instructive in regards to the above words of Christ, is that if someone has something against you, regardless of whether you are “right” or “wrong”, you need to reconcile with that person before you give tribute to God. Hard to do… even if you are “wrong”, especially if you are “right”.

On Thursday as I watched various news coverages of the so-called “Beer Summit”, I noticed how the reporters (and commentators) were trivializing, not so much the event, but primarily the efforts the event was attempting to achieve! I also read numerous news articles and blogs with similar sentiments, some going so far as calling Professor Gates and President Obama “traitors to the race!”

Our society feeds on controversy. The media, including bloggers, are forever seeking to exploit the next controversy to increase the readership to their forums, to demonstrate their intelligence and insightfulness… and for some an increase in financial gains. There is no controversy, no financial gain, no increase in readership, no “look how smart and insightful I am”, when it involves peacemaking. 

In saying all this, let’s not get it twisted! This “Beer Summit” will do nothing to improve race relations in America. The whole affair was about a clash of two egos, about two men who behaved badly because they felt entitled due to their position in society, about two men who expected that they should have been afforded a certain amount of deference and respect from the other. There will still be racial profiling by the police, as well as unfair and unequal treatment of Black men by the criminal justice system. Some Black people will still use the “race card” when arrested in an effort to shift the focus from their bad and/or criminal behaviour unto the actions of the police, which ultimatety undermines those who have legitimate claims of police abuse.

Sure this event has started another national conversation about “race and race relations”… until later today or tomorrow, when it will be time to exploit the next controversy.  

From theROOT: “An Accident of  Time and Place” by Professor Gates.