9-14, The New 9-11?

Strange travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God.
-Kurt Vonnegut

Sometimes, the lectionary (a listing of public worship readings assembled over 2 decades ago) can be eerily prescient. Across the nation, church going folks will be hearing this pithy tale Jesus told, on the subject of economics. How amazingly timely! Will preachers take the opportunity to remind folks that the terrorists are not the only ones who are implicated in the figurative fall of the twin towers? Or will this become yet another appeal for parish fund raising? As Abraham Heschel reminds us, "All are guilty, some are responsible." Listen and pray for the prophetic voice in your local pulpit this week.

“The kingdom of heaven is like the owner of an estate who went out at dawn to hire workers for the vineyard. After reaching an agreement with them for the usual daily wage, the owner sent them out to the vineyard. About mid-morning, the owner came out and saw others standing around the marketplace without work, and said to them, ‘You go along to my vineyard and I will pay you whatever is fair.’ At that they left. Around noon and again in the mid-afternoon, the owner came out and did the same. Finally, going out late in the afternoon, the owner found still others standing around and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ ‘No one has hired us:’ they replied. The owner said, ‘You go to my vineyard, too.’ When evening came, the owner said to the overseer, ‘Call the workers and give them their pay, but begin with the last group and end with the first.’ When those hired late in the afternoon came up, they received a full day’s pay, and when the first group appeared they assumed they would get more. Yet they all received the same daily wage. Thereupon they complained to the owner, ‘This last group did only an hour’s work, but you’ve put them on the same basis as those who worked a full day in the scorching heat. My friends’: said the owner to those who voiced this complaint, ‘I do you no injustice. You agreed on the usual wage, didn’t you? Take your pay and go home. I intend to give this worker who was hired last the same pay as you. I’m free to do as I please with my money, aren’t I? Or are you envious because I am generous?

With God's Help

Life oughta be much clearer to me than it is.
-Garrison Keillor

Many Christians, upon entry into the community of faith, make promises. In the Episcopal Church, these vows are called the Baptismal Covenant. The Covenant begins in the Apostles Creed and ends with five affirmations to which the candidate responds, "I will, with God's help." That is the perfect response, because the affirmations are challenging indeed. Among the things we vow is to "strive for justice and peace and respect the dignity of every human being." This is, for me, the most challenging, if not impossible of the promises. Not a day goes by when respect of my fellow human beings is not an issue. Sometimes, I think that we have made that vow and dwell on it so that we can notice those times when genuine respect actually appears, when consideration and true compassion are present among us.

Those who grasp the depth of this promise have been disconcerted by the imprisonment of so called detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. This is no news. Walled off from the rest of the human race by name calling and military restrictions, these prisoners have been called "the worst of the worst" by government officials. Mahvish Khan, a translator and student of the law, has written a book, My Guantanamo Diary, which pulls back the curtain of Gitmo. The not so surprising discovery of the book is that the folks at Gitmo are in most ways persons, just like me. Sure, there are those who have plotted dastardly deeds agains Americans. Many are probably prisoners of war. But 87% of the detainees came into our custody having been "turned in" for a reward. Many of these are folks "just like me" which Khan interviews. The simple act of telling the stories of these ordinary people snared in the "war on terror" may be a first step toward living out the promise "to respect the dignity of every human being."

What surprises me about the book is not that human beings are about the same everywhere. What caught me off guard was the vehemence with which folks resist that self evident idea. In the climate of fear, complicity and name calling that pervades this nation, it should come as no surprise that the last thing many might want is a human face on the so called terrorists.

I commend Ms. Khan's book to you. It would make an excellent counterpoint to the prayers and devotional reading you will be consulting during the coming Advent or Lenten Seasons. Make a note of it.