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September 11th, 2001, events took place that, in the minds of many,
altered the course of history: in the name of God, the twin towers
at the World Trade Center, hit by brutal violence, came crashing down, burying
the lives and hopes of thousands of peoples.
We all saw it happen on TV, and we all heard the first stifled cry of
astonished bystanders, “Oh my God!”
There can be no explanation, excusing or ‘putting into context’ the barbarism of such a day. A round table of religious and theologians would not be able to enlighten our perplexity, nor transmit serenity and hope to a world stunned by the blasphemy, at the same time devout and suicidal.
Yes, as in the days of old, so at the beginning of this new millennium, flames of fire destroyed what was perceived by many as the golden calf and its electronic paraphernalia, swallowing with it the bodies of its worshippers. In far away places, young and old, danced with joy in the streets and city squares, exalting the triumph of God!
Children of Abraham, father in the faith to Moslems, Jews and Christians, swear that, with the power of their god, they will destroy their enemies. Priests and ministers, rabbis and ayatollahs, sheiks and imams guarantee promises and shower blessings over weapons and missiles, bearers of the divine curse on the children of evil and renegades of humanity!
I have the audacity to believe that people everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits.
Martin Luther King
Whom
will God hear? On whose side will the God of life and history be?
Where, indeed, is the true God?
Let him stand up! So cry the
victims the world over. Manifestations
of hatred rise to the heavens as prayers in vigil.
In a way, this is the day “when man in God’s image
inverted His plan, and molded his God in the image of man.”
While so many, deprived of the basics for a dignified human life, await a
heavenly paradise of boundless happiness and pleasures, the religion of
prosperity promises abundance and enjoyment of the goods of the earth, and some
day, a continuation of this life in heaven, with a few more fringe benefits and
some extra joys added. Here on
earth, meanwhile, riches continue to be the privilege of a minority, so often
insensitive and insatiable. What
does it matter if those ‘sinners’ do not turn to our god?
Their misery, rather than divine inheritance, is fruit of
their sins or of the sins of their fathers!
That’s how far goes our western (and Christian?) civilization!
America is justifiably defending itself against the inhumanity of a global terrorist network, but it must also recognize that hunger, injustice and repression are the breeding grounds of hatred and violence. As much was, indeed, said by the U.S. Conference of Bishops in a proclamation issued on the final day of their gathering in the middle of November. By a vote of 167 to 4, they overwhelmingly support the present campaign against international terrorism.
However, the nation’s bishops said the response must be part of a broader foreign policy that eases poverty, stops human rights abuses and helps to end violence. “Without in any way excusing indefensible terrorist acts, we still need to address those conditions of poverty and injustice which are exploited by terrorists.” This is the key challenge.
The international campaign must, then, look beyond the immediate battle against Al Qa’da and the Taliban. War is always a great tragedy. War alone is always the worst way to solve conflicts among nations and the problems of the world. War only brings more war, destruction, suffering and delay. We must acknowledge the grievances of the poor nations, and address them with determination. We should be extremely suspicious of divisions between good and evil that limit themselves to denouncing the consequences without analyzing the causes. We should be wary of dismissing at our own risk that part of the world that “does not count,” the two thirds of humanity who live in poverty. Pope Paul VI warned us that we must give back what we have taken from so many peoples lest their anger be terrible against us.
(Significantly, two thirds of those poor live in the Islamic world, with Afghanistan and Somalia ranking as the two hungriest countries in the world, according to the ‘hunger depth measurement’ set by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization).
We must again, as Abraham, set out to seek a new heaven and a new earth.
God will be with us on our quest, if in our midst there be no more masters and slaves, satiated and starving. Our feet firmly on the ground, and all partaking of the “fruits of the earth and of human hands,” we will discover a God who is wise, loving and full of mercy, be it in the Koran, in the Torah, or in the New Covenant.
Guided by God’s hand, we will be led to the new Jerusalem, the city where violence and corruption have no shelter. In that city, there are no temples, priests, soldiers, kings or lords. In its squares, children play free of any fears. Nobody starves or is humiliated because of skin color, age, religion or gender. Salvation, indeed, is not what we do in the name of God, but what we do to our neighbor in the love of God.
For peace to be among us, we must not be the instruments of our own oppression.
In the joy of people who share bread and wine, God reveals himself as truly font of life and light of the world. May it be truly so in the New Year of 2002. Peace.
(From Xaverian Mission Newsletter)