Spiritual Hiccups - Enemies

I'm not sure there is much need for me to jump into the fray over a the planned Qur'an burning by a few lunatics who call themselves Christians.  They have been repudiated by religious leaders of every stripe, and even by General Petraeus.  And while they have their supporters, the vast majority of Americans find these folks foolish, if not offensive.

However, I wonder if such folks are not engaged in a lunatic fringe version of behavior we all practice.  We all seem to need enemies, and the more frightened we are the greater this need.  Having an enemy is a great builder of unity and common purpose.  Many remember the unity America briefly experienced following the 9-11 attacks.  We were all one because we all had a common enemy. 

But that common enemy has proved illusive and hard to define.  So we find substitutes and stand-ins.  Saddam Hussein worked nicely for a while.  "Islamic Fascism" has a nice ring to it, even if no one knows exactly what that means.  If we can't agree on an external enemy, internal ones will do.  The bitterness of current partisan politics is a prime example of this. 

Because enemies are so helpful in building unity, people who are seen as "different" make great enemies.  If they don't fit into a particular vision of unity and oneness, then perhaps they are in league with the enemy.  Many Americans, who wouldn't think of burning a Qur'an, are nonetheless deeply suspicious of Muslims.  Their otherness makes them, if not an actual enemy, a group that bears watching.  But this is only a slightly subtler version of Terry Jones and his Burn a Qur'an day. 

The need for enemies seems to be a part of our human nature, and so labeling Muslims the enemy is hardly surprising.  But, as many have pointed out, it is behavior that seems terribly at odds with the teachings of Jesus.  He says we are to love our enemies and pray for them.  Paul writes that if our enemy is hungry, we are to feed them.  In other words, even if someone really is an enemy, the Christian response is to love them, to treat them as one of us and not as enemies.  And if this is how we are to treat genuine enemies, such as Osama bin Laden, how can declaring any group our enemy justify anything other than our love?

The Apostle Paul writes, "Do not be conformed to the world..." But the fact is we want to believe in Jesus while still living by the ways of the world.  We want to call him Lord, Lord, without actually doing as he says.  We want to react to our fears even though "perfect love casts out fear."

And so Terry Jones, the Florida pastor so much in the news of late, is a window into a darkness that lives in all of us.  And as such, he is a reminder of what a radically different way of living Jesus modeled and calls us to follow.