The horrifying picture on the front of Monday's Globe and Mail was not stomach turning because it was gross or bloody. It was a picture of a young mother bent tearfully over the body of her young daughter. Because of the woman's appearance, I was immediately struck by how much she looked like Maia Morgenstern's Mary over Jesus' body. If Mary is the Mother of Sorrows, how many other mothers have followed in her wake, wailing over their precious children like the biblical Rachel?
What is more insulting to the soul is that the terrorists who did this awful thing were motivated by their Islamist religious beliefs. How can anybody - anybody who still has a working conscience - believe that they are doing anything God could possibly be pleased with when they bring such awful violence upon children, the most innocent among us?
I've heard the excuses - the apologists for acts like this we'll tell you that, well, the Russians are responsible for the deaths of Chechen children.
But what kind of a monstrous excuse is that for what the Beslan terrorists did? Do they think killing more children is a solution to anything? Do they think Chechen children want other children blown up for them? What kind of monster even dares to present such an excuse?
I still remember what it was to be a child. The world is new - the skies are blue, or they are grey, but there is always something to see. You come alive with every new experience - your first trip to the ocean, your first view in a telescope, the first time you meet a new friend. And in a way that does not seem to happen as intuitively for us adults, you know God is with you. He is your playmate - the secret other who also takes delight in watching the tadpoles in the creek, watching the sparkle of tiny crystals in the sand, and imagining what the clouds are shaped like.
That is why as a Christian, I can't see how God has anything to do with what happened at Beslan. Jesus always used children as an example of how you had to be. They are of the kingdom of God; you have to be like a child to come unto Him. And for anyone who harms a child, "it would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and for him to be cast into the sea."
Children are our legacy, not just as parent, but as human beings. All children everywhere are under our protection. They count on us, and trust us. We must not, must not let them down.
Anyone thinking of hurting any child for God better go find themselves a good millstone. Do all of us a favour!
Wednesday, September 8, 2004
"Suffer the little children to come unto me, for they are of the Kingdom of God"
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3 comments:
I could not agree with this post more.
On another note. In your opinion what do you think the Bible has to say about being gay. I feel it is a sin and was wondering what your position is. I respect what you have to say and come to you site every day to read your wonderful words. At times I feel as if you should be leading a church yourself. That being said, if you feel so inclined, please give me your thoughts on this matter.
I have a gay family member and am praying for him to come back to God.
I know my calling. It certainly is not to leading churches. :-) I make music for congregations. That is the gift that God has given me, my vocation, which I enjoy so much. :-)
The traditional deposit of Christian faith suggests this - being homosexually oriented is not itself a sin; however sexuality is ordered to marriage, the bond of one woman to one man. Sex acts outside the scope of that are sinful.
Thus a gay man who has made a commitment to Christianity would not necessarily need to force himself to "like women." Instead, like all single unmarried people, he is called to chastity. Above all, we have to have compassion on the struggles of someone who probably has not made a conscious choice to be attracted to the same sex, and all the difficulties and complications that probably brings to their lives.
I do not make a habit of confronting the people I know who are gay. We all lead disordered lives to some extent, and we all have to be in a constant state of repentence and renewal. I cannot like the pharisee in the parable of the pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14) go about saying, "Thank God I am not like this man."
Instead I have to recognize that no less than the gay man, the miserly man, or the hardhearted man - I am a sinner. I must speak the truth when asked, and what I believe. I cannot for example endorse admitting same sexes to the sacrament of marriage. But I have to profess my faith with the humility of knowing that before God I stand accused as well, "for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:14)
As a follow-up - the gospel message I associate with my feelings about the call to chastity are Matthew 19:12.
"For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it."
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