Mietzke's Holden Adventure

This week I watched a movie on Mahatma Gandhi’s life. I was particularly struck by one seen that has stayed with me all week. Gandhi had been fasting as a protest to the civil war that was breaking out in India between the Hindus, and the Muslims after The English gave up rule of India. The Muslims and Hindus had worked together in protest of England’s Rule and through peaceful protests were able to achieve the withdrawal of English from India. When the English had left they began fighting against themselves for the rule of India, and Gandhi’s heart was breaking for the hatred in his country. He made a decision to fast until every group pledged to peaceful conflict resolution.
The scene that struck me was when Gandhi’s Kidneys were starting to fail and he was close to death. Muslims and Hindus alike began coming to his bedside and leaving their weapons at his bedside. One Man stopped and said to Gandhi “what about me, how am I ever going to go to Heaven, I have killed an innocent child” then he began to tell the story of his own sons death at the hands of the Muslims, and how in his broken ness he had taken revenge on a Muslim child. Gandhi, who was barely able to speak at that point, said the man. “I know the way to heaven;” As the man came closer obviously tormented with grief both for his own actions and for the loss of his child and desperate for some answer to help him out of his own madness Gandhi said ”Find a Muslim child who has been orphaned through this war and raise him as a Muslim.” The man looked astonished and then kneeled at Gandhi’s bedside weeping.
What Gandhi spoke to was reconciliation true internal reconciliation. The ability to see people only as children of God, not divided by lines of hatred or segregated into groups by religion, tribe, sexual orientation or color. He called for us to take in the people we call enemy, and take them in with love in the spirit of reconciliation.
When Jesus walked the earth in the days and years when he was preaching and teaching. His main call was to love one another, to reach out to the poor and the unclean, to feed and cloth the undesirables. In his time the Jews and the Samaritans were similar to the Hindus and the Muslims of India, and he continually crossed the line. Saving a woman from being stoned, talking ot the woman at the well, healing and feeding the undesirables, Even going so low as to spend time with and love a tax collector.
When I saw that scene in the movie, and as I have read about Jesus lately, I have been struck by this radical notion of reconciliation, and of love being the basis of who we can be as people. Where is it that you still harbored un- reconciled feelings? Where is it that you struggle with anger and hatred? I have been wrestling a lot with these questions for several years. One of those places for me has been politically. While George bush has been in office I have recoiled at his voice and his presence on the TV screen. I have said Hateful things about both he and his administration and I have been adamantly against what he has stood for as a leader of our country. About a year ago I decided that every time I felt that hatred for him surging through me I would pause and Pray for both he and his cabinet to become compassionate decision makers. I would pray for his heart to be changed. As I have prayed for George Bushes heart to be changed, something surprising happened for me, I began to change. I began to see him as a person, one whom I strongly disagree with, but a person none the less and my reactions to him began to change. Instead of blaming I began to think of what I could do differently to really stand against the war. God offers a way out of all of the craziness, and that way is love. I have found in my life that love is not easy, that it takes a lot of work, and that I have by no means perfected it. I have such a long way to go to reach the goal of unity with the spirit, but what it takes is one decision at a time, living in the moment and really embracing God and each other in a new way.
Matthew 5: 43-44
You have heard that it said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy but I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.