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“Somewhere along the line we pick up all of that baggage.  We learn to hate people whose skin color is different, whose beliefs in God are different from ours, who are not from our country, who….  You get the picture.  Where we learned this is not important, how we deal with it is.”
To such belongs the kingdom of God, The Modern Theologian

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How WE deal with it.

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Mike writes about something we all have to deal with at some point: “how do I deal with this.”

I read headlines of how someone else is dealing with “it”.  Someone far away from here.  Someone too young to be a “real” role model.  Someone only in their 30’s.  Someone who hasn’t been around that long.

“Jesus taught about love”

But the person I think of is not Jesus – or maybe is.  Who knows.

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Jacinda Ardern: ‘A leader with love on full display’

The main suspect is Australian, and the victims were from a number of different countries including India, Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan and Somalia. So when Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern appeared behind a podium to deliver a statement a few hours after the attack, it wasn’t just New Zealand who listened to what she had to say. “It is clear that this can now only be described as a terrorist attack.”

By so swiftly and decisively describing the shooting as a “terrorist attack”, Ms Ardern seemed to show an awareness and consideration of the fact that many people feel officials are reluctant to use this word when an attacker is white, even if that attack is politically motivated.

Her acknowledgement of the fear and sorrow of the Muslim community didn’t end there, either. She hugged the victims in Christchurch, wearing a black headscarf as a simple show of respect; she gave people the unifying cry “They are us”; and addressing parliament for the first time a few days later, she made a small but bold statement by opening her remarks with the Islamic greeting “As-Salaam Alaikum”.

But she’s combined this show of empathy with promises of concrete legislative and cultural change. A few hours after the attack, she announced a clampdown on the country’s lax gun laws “within 10 days”, and speaking to the BBC’s Clive Myrie she promised to “weed out” racism both in New Zealand and globally. “We cannot think about this in terms of boundaries,” she insisted.

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How WE deal with it.

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We is not you.  We is me.  We is me.  We is me.  Always.

“Jesus taught about love”

But teaching is only “teaching”.  What I do with that teaching is down to me.

Not the teacher – not the class – not the school – not anything to do with anybody else other than me.

Because “we” is always “me”.

First, second and always.

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Thank you –

paulfg

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