Ground Zero Sacred? Really?

I did not catch the name of the person being interviewed on the radio today, but what he said intrigued me. In reference to the Park51 center in lower Manhattan, he said, “Why can’t they [presumably Muslims] build it somewhere else? Why does it have to be built in a place that is sacred to the rest of us?” Leaving aside the problem of lumping all of the world’s Muslim population into a one size fits all category of “they” (or the rest of us into “we”); I wonder what we do with the last five words of that question? He called the parcel of land called Ground Zero “sacred.”

Is it? Is it really sacred?

Oxford defines sacred as “concerned with religion or religious purpose; made or declared or believed to be holy.” I am not certain that Ground Zero can be called sacred, at least not in the way the word is being bandied about in the argument over Park51.

The logic behind the argument as presented is that this ground is a place where thousands of people died at the hands of madmen. Their lives were taken in an act of gross terror. Because of the massive scale of destruction the physical remains of some victims were never recovered. It is, in essence, a burial ground and the memories of the dead deserve to be respected. I agree. I am not sure that makes the site sacred. (It is interesting that there is no outcry about a new multi building complex devoted to commerce being built on the site. Would these opponents of Park51 allow a bank branch to be built on a cemetery?)

The sacred points us toward God. Sacred things and places point beyond themselves to the truth of God. Is that what Ground Zero does? Does it point beyond itself to God; to the holy?

The argument against building the Park51 center two blocks from this “sacred” ground is that the center is built by and for the Muslim community and it was Muslims who led the attacks on 9/11. Therefore, the center should not be built. By that logic, the reality the ground at Ground Zero points to is one of exclusion, unwillingness to forgive, prejudice and division. In what way is that sacred?

To point to Ground Zero and say this is the holy place is to point to the cross and say this is the end. As Christians we point to the cross not because it was a symbol of death but because it is a symbol of death defeated. The cross stands empty because the tomb stands empty. Ground Zero is not a sacred place if it points only to death and encourages a sense of revenge and animosity. If that is all the ground is good for, cover it up and let it be forgotten.

The terrorists who attacked that day did so because in their small minded way they thought our society was too small to include Islam and our ethic as a people to narrow to embrace difference. If Ground Zero affirms those ideas, it is not sacred it is sad. If it points to a reality that defies those ideas and gives the world reason to see a generosity of spirit rather than a spirit of exclusion, maybe it is a little bit sacred.

Time and our actions will tell.

The "Ground Zero Mosque" and Imaginative Christian Love

As a Christian who fully supports the building of the Park51 (aka Ground Zero Mosque), I am deeply distressed by the voices of some within the Christian community. I do not take it upon myself to apologize for them. I can speak only for myself.  I confess that like most Christians, I stray from the path of Jesus Christ more often than I would like to admit. I too see through the filtered lenses of my limited life experience and worldview.

What amazes me is that there are those within the Christian community who consistently conflate their own will with God’s and take it upon themselves to determine which of God’s children is deserving of their neighborly love. I am unconvinced that this is the result of meanness. It can certainly sound mean and even hateful at times, but I am unconvinced that these voices are the voices of bad people. I believe that they are the voices of unimaginative theology.

The apostle Paul reminds us that we all “see through the glass dimly.” None of us has a monopoly on wisdom or the mind of God. The God we worship and in whom we put our faith and hope is far bigger than ourselves. And Christ, the axis around which the church moves and has its being, has called us to a love that extends far beyond the boundaries of our own self-selected communities. Christ’s is a love that begs not mercy for itself but for those who raise it on a cross. Only a theology that can imagine a world beyond the pettiness of the moment can embrace such a thing.

The question before the Church regarding the building of Park51 is not one of freedom of religion or freedom of speech or liberty or even political tolerance. It is a question about our fundamental identity as the community of Jesus Christ. Can we, who follow Christ who forgave from the cross, imagine a world in which the mercy of God exceeds our expectations and imaginations? Can we look beyond our own fears and prejudices to see the many faces of God’s children?

Islam did not attack America on 9/11 and it certainly did not attack Christians alone. The evil perpetrated that day was equal-opportunity in its devastation. What happened on 9/11 was not an act of faith; it was an act of murder; of evil; of crucifixion. Crucifixion demands healing not hating. Nonetheless, some within the Christian community have chosen to react to that day with an ethic of fear and revenge. Protests and Koran burnings sponsored by churches have declared that there is no room in this nation for Islam.

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg said recently, “There is no neighborhood in this city that is off-limits to God’s love and mercy.” His words echo true in my heart and to them I would add that there is no neighbor that is off-limits to Christ’s love and, by extension, our own.

How we as Christians respond in this moment will testify to the world who and whose we are. By responding to the creation of the Park51 community center as an opportunity for healing and unity, we declare to the world that the act of madmen will not and cannot lead us away from the fundamental core of our being as Christians; the reconciling love of Jesus Christ.
This is a moment for Christian love in action. I pray that the sentiment of Mayor Bloomberg’s message to New Yorkers will serve as a reminder to each of us that we are called to love not those we choose but all God’s children.