God's Other Face - and Ours

Nobody sensible ever said that love was easy. Much less meant to be so. But in spite of the fact that real charity requires real suffering, and sacrifice, I do continue to think that, too often, we exaggerate love's challenges: whether as a pretext for our own self-heroism and -glory, or as an excuse for letting ourselves off "love's hook." The point in the latter case being that "it's just too hard"; whereas in the former case, why, it's supposed to be hard, buddy - and should never, ever be anything else.

But especially in these busy activist times, I think we're prone to exaggerate both the hardships of love, and the ugliness, or unpleasantness, of those we are supposed to love. Or feel called upon to love. The reasons may be various, of course. But often they have something to do with the way we look at the universe. It could be our way of toughening ourselves against the perceived grittiness, or nastiness, or even malignance, of what is commonly called "real life," or the "real world."  Even as we perfunctorily continue to affirm its Creator's "goodness." Still in all, I can hardly help wondering: So far as we continually over-estimate, over-remember, over-prepare for the "war-and-conflict" aspect of life in the world, do we not also risk under-estimating, and even forgetting, the peace - let alone the love - of the God who made it?

For surely it can't be such a hard thing, to figure out how best to love the creature in front of me. It can't be so hard to be most alive to those of its characterisitics which are, one might say, most salient:  most intrinsic, if you will, or God-designed. And, of course, God-intended.

Or, to put it by way of contrast, NOT those of its traits which would likely be of most interest to a certain type of scientist, or other experimenter. Or bureaucrat. Or policy wonk. Or Amazonized manager.  I.e., NOT those traits that are, say, easiest to predict, and pigeonhole; to schematize and stereotype; to calculate or categorize; to dismiss or despise. Or be - continually - disappointed in. (Not that you expected all that much of the sorry creature in the first place.)

So of course, by salient, I don't mean any of these measurable, "scientific," "bureaucratic" traits, our sole focus upon which can make the uniqueness of any living thing that much harder to recognize and appreciate, much less love. I mean, rather, precisely those things about it that are most surprising, and in a pleasant way; that most unexpectedly exceeded our expectations, and disappointed our doubts and fears (or would, if just for once we allowed any creature a modicum of that delicious, serenely undismissive, undespising silence in which its real life could breathe.*)  

*Then again, who could afford even the mere time to do that, in this Great Operation of Life?

But in particular, I believe, any living - even human - creature would be easier to love, if only we could be alive, and alert, to something further about it. Or deeper within it. Something that's often if not nearly always hard to detect. And that sometimes can barely be sensed at all, despite our most strenuous efforts. Or at least, not apart from the Silence mentioned at the close of the previous paragraph. I mean that strange core of any creature's being in which, even more than it desires the wisdom, teaching or righteousness of its Maker, it hungers for His presence, and pleasure, and naturalness, and delightingness, and fascination, and absorption, and, indeed, all those things He most longs to be, for those who most utterly trust and delight in Him. As opposed to all those things He so often "has to be," towards those who most adamantly refuse to trust in Him (often, even while striving to serve Him), and so can find no pleasure or peace in Him.

In a nutshell? I think most people wouldn't be nearly so hard to love, if only we bothered to remember, and embrace, and (assuming it's not too hard) even love that soul in them - i.e., that core of each one of us - which is of so little interest to a certain kind of scientist, bureaucrat, manager, etc, precisely because, while it is easy enough for even our own minds and wills to oppress and boss around, it is so devilishly hard for anyone (other than God) to predict, and control.

Pray for the peace of Kyiv, etc. 

(Edited.)

The Nerve of Some People

So now Israel has the supreme gall to shut down the operations of Al Jazeera within its borders. And Progressive World Opinion, right on cue, greets the news with all the delicately calibrated, nuanced outrage we've come to expect from this Most Enlightened Point in All of Human Time. After all, why - in the name of sanity - would any decent country dream of muzzling such a fair-minded, compassionate, and meticulously balanced lover of both Israel and the Gaza Strip as Al Jazeera? And all the more so when you consider the indisputably decent country that hosts it . . . (or decent, at any rate, compared to those genocidal Israelis?)

Shall I tell you what I think is the one most revealing, and vital, and urgent hope for the entire Middle East today? (One clue: It's not the sort of hope embraced by most Hamasified Palestinians. At least not consciously.)

One day this maddening miracle called Israel is going to discover Who it is she really depends on, for everything. But most vitally for her wisdom, and real strength, and real survival. On that day she will learn also what are the real threats to that survival, in the fullest sense of the latter word: spiritually no less than economically; culturally, and Scripturally, as well as militarily and politically; in the garden, and prosperity, as well as in the desert and adversity. And that it is the former - the garden - which requires of each of us the kind of humility that is lowliest, most trustful, most solacing and gratifying. At least if we're actually to enjoy the garden, instead of just presupposing it, and taking it for granted. And so wasting and destroying it.

One day Israel is going to discover that her worst enemies are not those who are determined to destroy her no matter what the cost, to themselves or others (as bad as they are). Neither is it those who are determined to protect and preserve her no matter what the cost, to themselves or others (as misguided as they may be). One day Israel will know - hopefully not "too late" - that her deadliest enemies, both spiritually and physically, are all those who even now are saying: "Why yes, we'll let you live, and survive, and even thrive and prosper . . . on these conditions . . ."

In short, one day Israel is going to learn that her most insidiously deadly enemies are not the Washingtons and Londons, the Tehrans and Gaza Cities or even the Moscows of the drama; but rather all those sly, subtle middlemen - Dohas and Ankaras and even Beijings (plus God knows how many colluding Western entities and interests) - whose speciality it is to play both ends against the middle: who give sanctuary to, who glorify and radicalize and martyrize the one side, even as they profess to understand and intercede for - and plead with - the other. The very ones, in fact, who have done the most to foment the climate, not just of hatred and detestation of Israel, but of the smug, successionist  superiority of Islam to all things both Jewish and Western. Let no one say money doesn't talk.

On that day - just maybe, finally - the smarter Israelis (I wish I could be sure Netanyahu & Co will be numbered among them) will realize that NO implosion or collapse or breakup of Iran is going to prevent the infilling of that void by the likes of ISIS (or some yet grosser mutation). Any more than the collapse of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza prevented the rise of Hamas. 

Meanwhile pray - as never before - for the peace and sanity of Kiev. And the return to sanity of Moscow (and Macron). 

But above all, of course, pray for the peace and sanity of Jerusalem. And of all those who wish her well. Amen.