Reflections for 9/12/11

"The other war is the war not to conquer but the war to become whole and a t peace inside our skins. It is a war not of conquest now but of liberation because the object this other war is to liberate that dimension of self hood which has somehow become lost, that dimension of self hood that involves the capacity to forgive and to will the good not only of the self but of all other selves."(F. Buechner "Listening to Your Life" p. 244)

St. Paul often talked about the war within the self.  Probably where we get the notion that I'm my own worse enemy.  In the post 9/11 days we heard much about our lost innocence. And there's something to that. We certainly have lost a lot of valuable inner strengths.

The world seems to me to be more afraid than ever. I don't know whether that is factual or not. I don't know how you measure a fear level.  But I certainly hear the words, I'm afraid of as sentence starters more often than not.  We look for psyche boosters to tell us we're all right, and unfortunately turn to the old standbys of racism and self-protection.  We like to build fences where bridges are needed.  All of which point to a lack of trust in God's benevolence and mercy toward us.

And while I don't expect people with no belief in God, to trust God, I do wonder why those who believe in God or any god take the bait of cynicism and fear.  Perhaps its because we don't know how to forgive ourselves that we can't forgive others. Perhaps it is that we don't know what we really need to be happy so we keep substituting what we think we want. 

Blessings,
Ed