What I'm Reading Today: Jude
I have to admit to being a little nervous today about the various forms some people's anti-Muslim sentiments will take on this – the ninth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The recent controversies involving the construction of a mosque near the Ground Zero site and the media firestorm around Terry Jones' threat to burn copies of the Koran have whipped anti-Muslim sentiments to a level I haven't seen before. How tragically sad!
It's on just such a day that the reading of Jude seems so appropriate – for the small book starts with exactly the words I needed to hear this morning. "Relax, everything's going to be all right; rest, everything's coming together; open your hearts, love is on the way!"
Yesterday morning those words proved especially prophetic for me. Just as I started to worry about the energies that would be released today, a friend sent me a flier for an interfaith peace vigil to honor the victims of September 11 that will take place today from 11:30 AM until 1:30 PM at the Islamic Center of Southern California located at 434 South Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90020. The event is a wonderful opportunity for those of us worried about the possibility of hateful events occurring today to channel our energies toward positive ends. In other words, it's a chance for one four letter word (h-o-p-e) to beat out another four letter word (f-e-a-r). What a wonderful opportunity that is!
Chances are you are facing some circumstance this September 11 that is triggering some degree of fear or anxiety within you. It might not be a political or global situation. It might be something much more personal in nature. Whatever your concern is, listen once more to those wonderful words and make them the center of your day: "Relax, everything's going to be all right; rest, everything's coming together; open your hearts, love is on the way!"
May it be so.
Til next time …
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