I read something so radical today

So today wasn't the greatest of days. It was just one of those days where things that usually just bother me a little bit were driving me crazy and things that never bothered me at all were beginning to bother me. It may have been better if I had had something to keep me busy but my mind had lots of time to wander today and I just kept thinking about all these things that were bothering me. The list of things is long and random and includes being annoyed by facebook, text messaging, adults gossiping, and people that are tough to love. As soon as I got home from work I journaled and prayed about it all and feel very much at peace now.

So instead of dwelling on the little things that really aren't that bad at all, I thought I would write today about a book I've been reading called "Jesus for President." It's written by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw. I've been slowly reading it over the last year and I've enjoyed reading every part of it. It goes through the Bible and what Jesus has to say about living, about politics and about money. It's all radical, not because it's far from the Bible, but because it's exactly what Jesus preached and I've not used to seeing Jesus' teachings on these topics applied to real life. In fact, our society today is far from some of the things Jesus preached but that doesn't mean we can't be redeemed and pursue His kingdom. The last part of the book gives example of real Christ-followers living out the radical teachings of Jesus in a world where it doesn't seem possible or realistic. Some of the stories are so powerful because it shows me that I can no longer use "cultural or social norms" as reasons for why I can't be exactly like Christ wants me to be. Yes, cultural and social norms make it difficult to automatically change the world in one day but they don't make it impossible to change the world over time.

I would like to share with you a passage of the book that I read today that was so radical and made me really think. So many times I've thought "Well, as a Christian, I would ideally want it that way; but because I'm an American the realistic thing to do is this." But, Jesus doesn't except this excuse and I don't think I should either. I am a Christian and an American, but my identity in Him comes before any other identity. And that is the powerful thing that I am learning from this book and from the Bible.

Amish for Homeland Security
"Do you remember how the Amish responded to the act of terror in their school, when a gunman killed five Amish children in 2006? Our friend Diana Butler Bass wrote an article pontificating what the world would look like if the Amish had led us after September 11. Consider their response to the murders, a response that fascinated the world. Within the first week after the shootings, the Amish families who had suffered such terror responded in four ways that captured the world's attention. First, some elders visited Marie Roberts, the wife of the murderer, to offer forgiveness. Then, the families of the slain girls invited the widow to their own children's funerals. Next, they requested that all relief money intended for the Amish families be shared with Ms. Roberts and her children. And finally, in an astonishing act of reconciliation, dozens of Amish families attended the funeral of the killer.

Diana goes on to share that she talked with her husband about the spiritual power of these actions, commenting, "It is an amazing witness to the peace tradition." And her husband looked at her and said passionately, "Witness? I don't think so. This went well past witnessing. They weren't witnessing to anything They were actively making peace." Her article ends with these words as she reflected on that truth:

Their actions not only witness that the Christian God is a God of forgiveness, but they actively created the conditions in which forgiveness could happen. In the most straightforward way, they embarked on imitating Christ: "Father, forgive them; they know not what they do." In acting as Christ, they did not speculate on forgiveness. They forgave. And forgiveness is, as Christianity teaches, the prerequisite to peace. We forgive because God forgave us; in forgiving we participate in God's dream of reconciliation and shalom.

Then an odd thought occurred to me: What if the Amish were in charge of the war on terror? What if, on the evening of September 12, 2001, we had gone to Osama bin Laden's house (metaphorically, of course, since we didn't know where he lived!) and offered him forgiveness? What if we had invited the families of the hijackers to the funerals of the victims of 9/11? What if a portion of the September 11th Fund had been dedicated to relieving poverty in a Muslim country? What if we dignified the burial of their dead by a respectful grief? What if, instead of seeking vengeance, we had stood together in human pain, looking honestly at the shared sin and sadness we suffered? What if we had tried to make peace? So, here's my modest proposal. We're five years too late for an Amish response to 9/11. But maybe we should ask them to take over the Department of Homeland Security. After all, actively practicing forgiveness and making peace are the only real alternatives to perpetual frear and a multi-generational global religious war. I can't imagine any other path to security. And nobody else can figure out what to do to end this insane war. Why not try the Christian practice of forgiveness? If it worked in Lancaster, maybe it will work in Baghdad, too.

Well said sista': a lovely addition to the campaign. Jesus for president and the Amish for Homeland Security. Amen."