IGNORANT AND BLESSED
“Imagine walking on a dusty road in Galilee nearly 2000 years ago and meeting up with a small band of youngsters, led by a young man.  The leader's presence catches your attention: he talks, the others listen, respond, argue, obey – care what he says, follow him.  You don't know who the man is, but you know he makes a difference to the people with him and to nearly everyone he meets.  People respond, some with anger, some with admiration, a few with genuine faith.  But no one walks away uninterested in the man and the things he says and does.” - Jacob Neusner

When our senior brother walked the face of this earth, He revealed in His person and in His witness what it meant to be one's brother's keeper.  The powerful message that He bore was due to the fact that He was God incarnate.  As the Holy Scriptures put it the Word became flesh, and dwelled among us.  But again, as the same scriptures note, the Word was not esteemed.  Instead, it was scourged, spat upon and crucified.

Two thousand years later, a cruel world still tramples truth under foot.  Innocent men, women and children are still being laid low by sword and gun.  Rwanda, Burundi, Kosovo, Monrovia, Baghdad and any number of other places have witnessed, in modern guise, Christ crucified.

For my part, I am convinced that our beloved Bahamas is today so caught up in its own crucifixion stories that few of its self-professed Christians are aware of the extent to which they too are complicit in the death of innocence.

Two examples would suffice to illustrate the point.  For instance, any number of Bahamians would, if given a chance, vilify and castigate their Haitian brothers and sisters.  And for that matter, any number of these self-professing Christians see nothing wrong with denying citizenship to people born in the Bahamas, and who know no other country as home.

The other example pertains to the rights of people who are ‘different’, whether because of their perceived or stated sexual orientation, disability, challenge or gift.  In the latest twist up, a number of bishops, apostles, evangelists, deacons and a smattering of wannabe cardinals; ersatz papal nuncios - most of them self-styled and self-appointed guardians of public and private morals - have weighed in with their righteous denunciation of gays and lesbians.  One bishop went so far as to suggest that if the authorities were ever foolish or sinful enough to broach the topic of civil unions or 'marriage' for such ‘queers’, he would bring an end to the discussion through an act of heroic murder and suicide.

When I heard the brother who was blowing hot and cold on this matter which had not been raised by anyone but him, I wondered what the Prince of Peace would have counselled had His advice been asked.  And with neither hype nor irony intended, a still small voice answered.  The report of all that is good and true is that the thought entered my spirit that our senior brother, Jesus Christ, would have understood and forgiven the brother who swore that he would blow up parliament, and presumably kill whoever was the Governor-General, the Prime Minister, his deputy, the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition, other members present and early, strangers in the gallery, and if the explosive charge was powerful enough, visitors to the Bahamas, residents and anybody else for that matter who happened to be around.

I do verily believe that Jesus, the Christ - God Incarnate - would have forgiven him. Indeed, I remember - again from my reading of the Good News - that Jesus Christ was fully aware of man's degenerated nature.  Having been cut off from all that is good, but yet in search of unity with God Almighty, Adam's offspring still yearned to do what is right, true and good.  And for sure, since God's grace is sufficient for all - including the bishop who contemplated suicide and murder - I am absolutely persuaded that he, too, has a reserved space in the hollow of God's hand.  But before he gets there, he, too, must confess his sins, purge his heart of all unrighteousness and otherwise learn that the Christ we worship and adore loves the sinner, while hating the sin.

Remember, too, that Jesus Christ was fully aware of the fact that the likes of Judas Iscariot would betray; the likes of Peter would deny; others would desert and yet again, the vast majority – the ignorant - would revel in the destruction and crucifixion of truth.

So, with that said, I can do no more today but to echo some of the Master's words: Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.  The ignorant are truly blessed.  Jesus saw to that.