Friday of the
Twenty-third Week in ordinary Time
(I Timothy
1:1-2.12-14; Luke 6:39-42)
Twenty-five years have
passed since the day of ignominy. On
September 11, 2001, a score of Muslim terrorists shocked the most powerful
nation on earth. They caused the death
of approximately 3000 inhabitants of the United States by crashing four
hijacked passenger jets into three fully occupied office buildings. Of course, the nation responded to the
outrage with the result of 300 times as many deaths in several Muslim countries
over the years.
In today’s gospel
Jesus speaks as a teacher and prophet.
He tells his disciples to remove from their eyes whatever causes them to
hate others. Whether it is fear or
prejudice, they must remove it so that they might see everyone as a brother or
sister.
How would he judge the
clash of civilizations between radical Islam and postmodern western culture? He would likely condemn the use of violence as
wicked. Then he would invite all parties involved to introspection and dialogue. He
would tell Muslims that all human beings must be respected with the full range
of rights declared by the United Nations almost eighty years ago. He would instruct the West to open their eyes
to see how lust, selfishness, and greed are eroding families and communities. Greater, more irredeemable tragedy will come
unless all reform their ways to promote love in truth and justice in action.
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