Joee Blogs posted photos yesterday of Muslim protesters outside Westminster Cathedral in London. He took the photos not as a casual bystander or journalist but as someone on his way to mass.
The protesters were holding signs with sayings like, “May Allah curse the Pope” and “Jesus is the slave of Allah.” As you might expect, the photos generated a considerable response. Two things stood out to me as I read the post and the comments:
- Joee took time to pray for the protesters while he was at the cathedral.
- The level of hatred in the comments was disturbing.
First, kudos to Joee for being Christ-like in his attitude. He posted his photos to document what happened, not to stir up hate. He prayed for these Muslims, and early this morning he took action on his blog to stop the hate mongering:
Addendum: I’ve had to turn comment moderation on again since some of the comments show as much hatred as these extremists in the pictures. I’ll post again about this but I’d like three things to be noted:
1) These were 100 Muslims out of the 2 million (ish?) living in Britain. Thus this is hardly representative of all Muslims.
2) The Pope’s speech reiterated Christ’s words to love your enemies, and not to commit violence in the name of religion. Further, Christ gives us a difficult commandment (Mt 5:28) that even to think of evil is as bad as committing it.
3) I prayed the rosary for their intentions.
Among the commenters, there were undoubtedly non-Christians, but my sense was that many of those adding comments consider themselves to be believers. And yet–the protesters are called “animals” and various other names, culminating in this anonymous comment: “Oh to drive by that crowd with a Bren gun and give them the Good News!”
Truthfully, I’m more disturbed by the hatred in the comments than I am by the Muslim protesters. It’s easy to see extremists on the news and become angry, especially when their actions lead to murder, as in the case of the nun killed in Somalia this weekend. As we get angry, as our emotions rise, we have two choices: like Peter, we can grab the sword and rush in cause harm, or, with Jesus, we can say, “Put your sword into its sheath.”
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us clearly:
You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Joee has chosen to be a son of his Father by praying; may all of us who wear the name Christian do likewise.
Charis means grace, and that’s what this blog is about: grace, in all its—sometimes messy, always magnificent—manifestations. I’m Dan Butcher, and I invite you to join me in learning to lead a Christ-centered, grace-filled life. 
Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.