If Jesus were to return this Christmas, would you recognize him?
He could be holding a cardboard sign on an offramp. If you took the time to speak with him, would he tell how he felt about what’s done in his name, the frenzied shopping sprees, the messianic Republican politicians advertising his name on their sleeves, the pedophile priest network, the football player thanking him for a touchdown? And if he spoke of turning the other cheek, redistributing wealth, and being thy brother’s keeper, would he be condemned as a weak radical socialist?
Which politician said, “I can’t let people decide what is permissible or what is prohibited. It is God who gives the answers as to what is right and what is wrong”? Was it George W. Bush, Pat Robertson, Michelle Bachman, or Sarah Palin? Give up? It was Yousseri Hamad, spokesman for the Nour Party, a fundamentalist Muslim group. Have we become our own worst enemy?
Where is the Christian spirit of cooperation and forgiveness in Washington, D.C.? Our great country was founded on compromise. Shall we permit a minority of Tea Party conservative “patriots” and the uber-rich to occupy the heart and soul of our democracy, for ego, God, and gold?
It’s time for the vocal majority to re-occupy D.C. now.
Rich Stever
Vancouver
