Piercing through the confusion with solidarity

Earlier this week a report came out that Christian militiamen, known as anti-Balaka, killed at least 70 people in the remote southwest of Central African Republic, at one point ordering a group of Muslims to lie on the ground and shooting them one by one. A Catholic priest, who helped bury the bodies, reported that similar attacks occurred there earlier in the month in which another 70 Muslims were murdered. Other Muslim witnesses, sheltered in a Catholic church, reported similar attacks elsewhere around the country. Human rights groups have documented hundreds of deaths since early January, when the Muslim rebel government crumbled and Christian fighters sought to avenge the regime's abuses.

What are we to make of all this? Individuals calling themselves Muslim kill Christians. Individuals calling themselves Christian kill Muslims in revenge. Neither of these statements makes sense as we’re not sure when and where it started and when and where it will all end. The one statement that does make sense is this: Catholic clergy protect Muslims within the shelter of the church from the Christians seeking to kill them. This is the one ray of light in what is otherwise a smothering darkness . . . a showing of solidarity between God’s children.

It is that ray of light that holds out hope for the future of these people. It is essential that the Muslim faithful witness Christians who are not only friendly and loving toward them but also willing to risk their own safety and welfare to protect them from harm by others, even from those who are known to be or calling themselves Christian. It is just as essential that Christians be able to witness the same behavior from their Muslim neighbors. Solidarity cannot be reserved for only between people of the same faith as this would serve only to place limits on the power of love. This is the point of our Lord’s telling of the Good Samaritan. We cannot break down the walls of hostility and mistrust between cultures and faiths without actions and deeds of solidarity between human beings regardless of culture and faith.

Within the comfortable confines of our own somewhat homogenous neighborhood we can have a difficult time grasping what makes people do things like this. And yet . . . do we find ourselves becoming irritated and ranting to our televisions, radios, computers and friends about perceived outside threats to our way of life. Why can’t aliens just follow the laws before coming into this country to take jobs away from our unemployed? And why can’t they understand and speak English? Why can’t the gay community just shut up and keep to themselves? Why don’t the drug and alcohol abusers just get help?

I think our Lord would teach us that the injured man on the side of the road that we might wish to avoid could well be an alien, gay or drug abuser . . . and perhaps all of these. Solidarity between God’s children comes first, understanding will follow.