|More

 

Text

Translate

Disclaimer

This translation is not completely accurate as it was automatically generated by a computer.
Powered by

UMNS Commentary
By Glory E. Dharmaraj*

1:00 P.M. EST Sept. 10, 2010

A 45-foot-high billboard in the Wall Street district of Manhattan, just two blocks from ground zero, offers passersby a word of encouragement from United Methodists in 2001. A UMNS file photo by John C. Goodwin.

“Grant us wisdom, grant us courage for the living of these days” UM Hymnal #577

“There will be no peace among the peoples of this world without peace among world religions. There will be no peace among the world religions without peace among the Christian churches. The community of the Church is an integral part of the world community” Hans Küng.

This September is the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, which has become a landscape of untold loss and withheld sadness. We still have not gotten over the raw wounded-ness of the painful tragedy inflicted on our nation.

The community in which I live lost nine of its own on that fateful day. Those families and their friends are still struggling to cope with the loss and tragedy.

The recent developments of the Islamic community center and mosque two blocks from ground zero have ignited outbursts of indignation and raw emotions. Voices are raised and opinions are expressed from many sides on behalf of the living and the dead. I have been listening, reading and reflecting on some of the emotional debates for the last several weeks. And I am still trying to make sense of it.

The motivations behind these tensions are multivariate and interconnected: issues of identity, blaming others, religious differences and a generalized fear of “the other.”

Speaking on behalf of the dead?

In the maelstrom of debates and discussions, what really alarms me the most is the flood of presumptuous assertions and rash statements from various camps on behalf of the dead. How would they know?

I am aware of the impact of 9/11 on the psyche of various communities. Nonetheless, moving into a safer future is vitally important. Connecting with people’s pains is like connecting with God’s pain.

Glory E. Dharmaraj is an executive with the Women’s Division, United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. A UMNS file photo by Ginny Underwood.
View in Photo Gallery

Yet, we must remember that the past is a different place, whether it is a recent past or a distant past. Speculating about how dead people would react to contemporary controversies is invariably a tremendous exercise.

When the 9/11 tragedy was unfolding, my office was situated at the Church Center for the United Nations. Every day, I listened to the stories of the survivors and the heroic efforts of the firefighters and experienced the resilience of the volunteers.

In that close human space and human time, I also heard the media reports of the last- minute conversations that the hapless victims had with their families. Many of the perished called their families and dear ones to express their words of love, appreciation and hope. Many of them said, “I love you.” “Take care of the children.” “I hope to see you again.” “I love you no matter what.” None of them, in my understanding, asked the living to take revenge and execute vengeance.

I also realize that those who perished came from many different religious and cultural backgrounds. They came from more than 70 countries and spoke many different languages. Their stories and messages to their families should mold and shape our consciousness for a glorious present and a new future, not hatred and abhorrence.

Pushing aside thoughts about their own personal safety, they gave the world and the church a vision of the “agape” love and selflessness. In my opinion, it is presumptuous to speak for the dead and politicize the climate further into opposed realties and divisive contraries.

No time for hatred

There is no time for hatred. We should only be aware that the time we have on this earth is so transitory and so fragile.

In his novel, “The Shoes of the Fisherman,” Morris West describes the visit of a newly elected Pope to the streets and apartments of Rome. He comes across a dying man. The family has waited too long to seek help. The man has no hope. The Pope tries to comfort the family in the face of the impending death. A young woman who has been taking care of the dying man says, “They can cope with death. It’s the living that defeats them.”

Friends, it is the living that often defeats us, too. In death, we are the same. Only the living:

• can have a dialogue among themselves.
• can build bridges of understanding out of their own contexts.
• can find a seat for peace in the midst of the religious emotions that stomp in and out of the physical place and mental space called 9/11.
• can make time to become an ally of all that is life-giving.
• can make a place for prayer pilgrimage in one’s mind between opposed realities and forces of stagnation.
• can be the messengers who make constitutional and emotional sense.
• can realign themselves with peacemaking instincts.

We, the living, are wounded and yet resilient. We are called to be “wounded healers.” Let us ask God for wisdom and courage for the living of the hour and continue to engage in dialogue of life with people who follow other religious faiths.

*Dharmaraj is an executive with the Women’s Division, United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.

News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.