forgiveness

Here's a radical idea; that we take seriously the whole concept of Christian forgiveness and apply it to our foreign policy with Iran.

In the Lord's Prayer we ask that our trangressions towards other be forgiven as we ask others to forgive ours. We all know how much of a challenge it is to forgive. We all know it is more blessed to give than recieve. That's why the Lord's prayer asks 1st for forgiveness of our transgressions, it frees us to then forgive others. That's the psychological basis of The Golden Rule.

Now let us summon up the courage to face, quite honestly, our history with Iran over the past half century or so. In the late 1890's a British oil company found significant oil reserves in Iran, set up shop and after concessions were granted in 1901, began to exploit those resources, mostly for their own profit. In 1933 improved terms were granted to Iran. During WW2 Reza Shah Pahlevi, seeking to gain greater control over his nations oil reserves from the British sided with the Axis powers which resulted in a British-Soviet Union occupation of the oil fields in 1941. Reza Shah Palevi abdicated. His son, Muhammad Reza Shah Palevi succeeded to the throne and adopted pro-Western policies. (This is the Shah we are most familiar with.)

As I set here this morning reflecting on Sen. Obama's victory the strains of an old hymn run thru my mind. "There is a balm in Eilead that makes the wounded whole" or words to that effect. Maybe someone here can help me with this. What I am inspired, or guided, to offer is the thought that now that the Democratic party has a nominee, it's time to address, in a positive manner, the process of bringing the party together. Let not the victor gloat nor the loser feel aggrieved. Let us now apply the salve of forgiveness.

Now is the time for reflection, to acknowledge the good and the bad of the campaign and begin the process of reconciliation. Perhaps this is where the IPC and CL community can have a postive impact, just at a time when it seems most needed.

I propose we issue a press release that calls upon the campaigns of both candidates to acknowledge the damage done, and to, apply the power of Christian forgiveness in an effort to achieve reconciliation of the issues of racism and sexism that have been raised, ask for forgiveness one of the other and use this crisis as an opportunity to fully address the issues, and resolve them as best we can, not only as a political party but as a nation as a whole.

In Sal Sapienza's 2006 novel, Seventy Times Seven, Vito Fortunato gets lots of guidance from God, but the messages do not come via the burning bush. For Vito, the voice of God is mediated variously by George Michael, Madonna (the one that is "like a virgin," not actual the Ever Virgin Herself), a queeny flight attendant who loves Saint Augustine's Confessions, Cat Stevens (a.ka. Yusif Islam), a drunken woman on the subway, Deuteronomy, and Barbara Stanwyck. From these diverse sources, the message is always consistent: Choose Life.

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Last night my wife and I viewed one of the most personally powerful programs we've ever witnessed on PBS, "The Power of Forgiveness". It detailed, amongst many examples, how the Amish and a holocaust survivor learned to forgive, how 3 women who lost close relatives in the 9/11 event are learning to forgive, how forgiveness is good for our health, that our soul wishes peace and to begin forgiveness we must develop compassion for our transgressors and the like. Very moving. We have just ordered the DVD and book. You can view their website at: www.thepowerofforgiveness.com You may order the DVD and book at: etvstore.org or call them at: 800-553-7752

On this weekend we honor the sacrifice Jesus made for us all, remembering that He said, in His hour of greatest distress, "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do".

Recently I have been blogging about a white paper on bigotry, that to end intolerance it begins within each of us. This prgram just nailed it all down for me.