The Amish and Forgiveness
In yesterday’s paper there is a prominent article on the Amish – first inviting the wife and children of Charles Roberts, the killer of their daughters, to attend the funerals of their children, the children he killed, and then – and this is the part that stuns me – attending his funeral.
A funeral is to mourn the victim. In a recent blog We Need to Talk About Kevin I talked about how incredibly hard it would have to be to forgive the killer of my child. When I wrote that, I was thinking of the years that it would take to achieve forgiveness in my heart, a very quiet and personal thing.
The Amish took forgiveness to a height I can barely begin to comprehend. First, to see past their own grief and reach out to the family of the killer – the family so damaged, so stigmatized – and so innocent. But in addition, to attend the funeral to honor the killer of their children? Holy Smokes. That sets a standard of forgiveness that amazes me. I just can’t wrap my mind around it.
God bless them. I wish them only well, I hope that this standard of forgiveness they demonstrated gives them true and genuine peace in their hearts. I know their example has given me something to ponder for a long long time.
Terrifying Scripture
In our readings for today, Psalm 109, one of the most terrifying psalms in the Bible. Some people call it the “cursing psalm.” It always gives me shivers up my spine.
Psalm 109
To the leader. Of David. A Psalm.
1Do not be silent, O God of my praise.
2For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,
speaking against me with lying tongues.
3They beset me with words of hate,
and attack me without cause.
4In return for my love they accuse me,
even while I make prayer for them.*
5So they reward me evil for good,
and hatred for my love.
6They say,* ‘Appoint a wicked man against him;
let an accuser stand on his right.
7When he is tried, let him be found guilty;
let his prayer be counted as sin.
8May his days be few;
may another seize his position.
9May his children be orphans,
and his wife a widow.
10May his children wander about and beg;
may they be driven out of* the ruins they inhabit.
11May the creditor seize all that he has;
may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil.
12May there be no one to do him a kindness,
nor anyone to pity his orphaned children.
13May his posterity be cut off;
may his name be blotted out in the second generation.
14May the iniquity of his father* be remembered before the Lord,
and do not let the sin of his mother be blotted out.
15Let them be before the Lord continually,
and may his* memory be cut off from the earth.
16For he did not remember to show kindness,
but pursued the poor and needy
and the broken-hearted to their death.
17He loved to curse; let curses come on him.
He did not like blessing; may it be far from him.
18He clothed himself with cursing as his coat,
may it soak into his body like water,
like oil into his bones.
19May it be like a garment that he wraps around himself,
like a belt that he wears every day.’
20May that be the reward of my accusers from the Lord,
of those who speak evil against my life.
21But you, O Lord my Lord,
act on my behalf for your name’s sake;
because your steadfast love is good, deliver me.
22For I am poor and needy,
and my heart is pierced within me.
23I am gone like a shadow at evening;
I am shaken off like a locust.
24My knees are weak through fasting;
my body has become gaunt.
25I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
when they see me, they shake their heads.
26Help me, O Lord my God!
Save me according to your steadfast love.
27Let them know that this is your hand;
you, O Lord, have done it.
28Let them curse, but you will bless.
Let my assailants be put to shame;* may your servant be glad.
29May my accusers be clothed with dishonour;
may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a mantle.
30With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord;
I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
31For he stands at the right hand of the needy,
to save them from those who would condemn them to death.
Dolphins in the Gulf
For the years that we have been living in the Gulf, we have heard people talk about seeing dolphins, but we have never seen any. Most people say “we used to see dolphins.”
My husband and I pray together every morning before he leaves for work. This morning, as we were discussing my father and my upcoming trip home, before praying, he said “are there dolphins in Kuwait?”
“What a weird question in the middle of all the serious things we are talking about, ” I thought to myself, and asked him why he asked that.
“It must be a log,” he responded, “but I am watching something appear and re-appear, and it reminds me of a dolphin.”
We got the binos, and to our unimaginable delight, it was a pair of dolphins, lazily swimming along, grazing on the fish who have been jumping the last few days.
In the midst of sadness and daily responsibilities, God smiles. It felt like such a blessing, seeing these graceful creatures going about their dolphin business. Our scripture readings for today remind us that there are miracles happening all around us, if we have the eyes to see them. We had a little miracle this morning. Thanks be to God!
Get Out of Jail Free Card
Who could be whispering my name?
I was in the Jarir bookstore, on my way to the airport after a three week visit to Saudi Arabia. My husband wanted me to get a feel for the place before moving there to be with him. To my surprise, I really liked Saudi Arabia, what little I had seen of it. And I really wanted to be with my husband. But who could be calling my name?
“I can’t believe it! Is that you, teacher?”
I turned to see a traditionally garbed man, whom I instantly recognized as my former student in classes I had taught back in the US.
“Khalid! Khalid! I am so glad to see you!” I exclaimed, and I was. Khalid was one of my very best students, before he disappeared from classes. He was bright, he studied hard, and from time to time, he would even practice hard and tell a joke in English. He was a student any teacher would remember. He had more maturity than the other students, who treated him with respect, but he also had a delightful sense of humor.
Instantly, my husband and two other men who had come with us to the bookstore were standing between Khalid and me. I knew they were protecting me, so I quickly explained who Khalid was, and introduced him to the men with me.
“You remembered my name!” he said with an astonished look.
“Of course!” I assured him, “You were one of my best students. I missed you when you left.”
“Truly God works in mysterious ways,” Khalid looked dazed. “I never dreamed I would see you again, and here you are, in my country.”
We had to leave. Khalid gave me his card, and asked that I call so his mother could invite me for tea. I told him I wouldn’t be back for a couple months, and he said he was hoping to start legal studies in London in January.
In the car, my husband and the other two guys were cracking up, slapping their knees, almost howling with laughter. I was annoyed; what was so funny about my running into an old friend?
“He’s a muttawa!” they exclaimed, continuing their cackles, “You’re friend is a muttawa!”
The muttawa, the religious police in Saudi Arabia, are kind of the boogeyman, and we scare one another telling Muttawa stories. The problem is that you never know what new rules are going to go into effect, or what old rules they will begin enforcing. Our embassy guidance, for example, was that we were NOT to cover our hair, that it was a choice made by Moslem women, but not a requirement for non-Moslem women. We were also told to carry a scarf and not to argue if a muttawa told us to cover our hair, but to cover, and to take it off again when out of sight.
We were told that if our abaya was too short, a muttawa might hit our legs with sticks. We were told not to laugh, and to keep our eyes lowered to the ground to avoid problems. We were told that sometimes you might be arrested and not even know what you were being arrested for, and to always carry your cell phone with the embassy number on speed dial. In short, we lived in terror of arbitrary powers of the dreaded muttawa.
“Khalid is muttawa?” I couldn’t believe my ears. My husband explained how you could identify muttawa, the short robes, the lack of egal, the sandals, and that Khalid had probably broken the rules he was in Jarir to enforce by having spoken to me.
I never saw Khalid again, not in the Jarir bookstore, not anywhere. I am guessing by the time I returned to live in Riyadh, he was in London studying. But I often think of his amazement, and my own, in that one-time encounter. I often think, as he said, that “God works in mysterious ways.” I wish him well.
For me, I was never again terrified of the Muttawa. Khalid was muttawa, and he was a good man. I carried Khalid’s card with me, and figured if ever I was arrested (never even came close) that I would tell them to call Khalid, and he would help me. I thought of it as my “Get out of Jail Free” card.
Going back to the Locard Exchange Principal . . . knowing Khalid as a student and as a person made a difference to me. It colored my ideas about the muttawa, made me less afraid. If the Locard Exchange Principal works on a social and spiritual level, I wonder if knowing me has colored his perceptions?
Fasting Question
Ramadan blessings to all our Moslem friends, and a question. I read the Qur’an, also, and am amazed at how alike many passages are in both our holy books. In today’s readings for our church is a passage on fasting. Is there a comparable reading in the Qur’an? Is there a tradition one way or the other?
Matthew 6
16 ‘And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.*
Mining the Kuwait Times: A Kuwaiti Hero
I confess. I’m a nerd, a geek, an introvert. One of my favorite activities is reading the newspaper.
Today’s Kuwait Times is a gold mine. Two separate organizations are starting up activities to protect and help expat laborers – one, KTUF or Kuwait Trade Union Federation says it will begin receiving the complaints and work with employees and laborors to solve the problems, and gives their phone number: 561-6781.
The second is a paid for add by the Embassies of India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Phillipines, Egypt and the United States, and says Familiarize Yourself with Kuwaiti Society: Useful Information for Foreign Workers and is sponsored by Project FALCon (Fostering Awareness of Labor Conditions.
All the above embassy phone numbers are given. The last line in the Useful Information for Foreign Workers is “Do not enter into an inappropriate personal relationship with your employer.”
(!) Good advice in any country, any nationality!
The Pope, in his visit to Germany, is quoted as saying Western societies had become “hard of hearing” about God, saying “There are too many other frequencies in our ears. What is said about God strikes us as pre-scientific, no longer suited to our age.” He seems to say that instead of sending material aid to Africa and poor Asian countries, we need to be helping them spread the Gospel. Hmmmm.
In Somalia, the new “Taleban-style” regime shut down a radio station yesterday for airing “music and love songs”.
“‘The group closed Radio Jowhar because the programs were un-Islamic,’ Islamic official Mohamed Mohamoud Abdirahman said. It was the only radio station in Jowhar, some 90 kilometres from the capital, Mogadishu. “It is useless to air music and love songs for the people,” Abdirahman said.”
Last, and not least, a big WOOOO HOOOOO for al-Qattan, a real hero who conducts restaurant inspections in Kuwait. Here is what the Kuwait Times says:
Being director of this team causes many inconveniences. “I feel embarrassed, at times when I have to ignore unknown numbers appearing on my cell phone after each inspection. The owners of the violating restaurants start calling their connections ‘Wasta’ to make me cancel their fines. As I like to do my work legally, I don’t deal with them. I can’t put the lives of people at risk as, if anything happens to any consumer due to food poisoning they will definitely question the municipality” Al-Qattan explained.
He gets my vote for Kuwait Hero of the Day.
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