Forgiveness

It gets harder, this Sermon on the Mount. We have to remember that the Galilean wasn’t speaking to his “Base” out there in Judea. These were strangers. Most were there, probably, because they had heard of the miracles. They may have shown up for personal reasons. Then this dude springs the following on them.

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Matthew 5:43-44 (KJV)

If you wonder how Franklin Graham can stand to look at himself in the mirror each morning, join the crowd.

I’m not sure what he, the Galilean, not Franklin, would have done if a bunch of bandits had attacked just then. Maybe he was talking just about the normal kind of enemies, say the kind that run against you for political office. Such an “enemy” is not really out to do us either physical or lasting harm. They are, shall we say, “competitors” more than enemies. When did we begin to think of them as enemies and treat them as such?

If we want better to understand the current plight of our country, we don’t have to listen to an endless parade of pundits. Just consider Ruby Bridges. Whether one remembers or not, Ruby was a six-year old child who was the first black student to attend a previously segregated white school in New Orleans in 1960. It is at once a terrifying, cringe-worthy, and uplifting story about a young girl who marched among federal marshals and before a sweating crowd of people screaming obscenities and curses each morning and afternoon. On some days, they even carried a child’s coffin with an African-American doll in it.

Some so-called “mothers” led the crowd. They soon gained the nickname, “The Cheerleaders” and John Steinbeck, who made a special detour to watch them, reported that some of the crowd came just to watch the women in action. Their hatred had created a national following. Norman Rockwell even captured the time in a painting.

Throughout it all, little Ruby just marched by to her schooling. At first, she was the only child in the class, the white students refusing to attend. People saw her praying as she walked by. This, a grown Ruby now attests to. What was she praying for, or whom? The narrator in this video says that she told him she was praying for her tormentors. It may sound a bit convenient to our cynical ears, but if it is true, The Galilean has at least one victor in America’s recent history.

Again, if one wants to know what’s wrong with America now, watch a film of Ruby walking by the crowd. Those kids hanging with their parents in the mob are in their sixties now, or beyond. They have had a lifetime to teach their children who are now teaching their children.

What, exactly, are they teaching? Well you can bet your sweet buttooty it ain’t always The Sermon on The Mount.

Oh, and a brave parent of a white child eventually brought his son to join Ruby, then another, and another. Someone had heard of The Sermon. The crowd finally lost the battle, but judging from current headlines, not the war. But we press on, despite being called names ourselves. I like “Libtard” the best. Some of my friends prefer “Snowflake.” We keep on, though. With the image of Ruby Bridges in our minds, and the words from that Judean hill, it should be a litter easier. The Galilean would have it no other way.

Who was this man who broke the pattern? A Catholic? A Baptist? A Pentecostal? A Church of Christer?

No. He was a Methodist minister.