forgiveness

Today a group called Equality Ride paid a visit to the campus of my alma mater, Messiah College. The purpose of the group is to protest organizations who have policies that they deem to be discriminative towards homosexuals. As I understand it, their method of protest is civil disobedience and frequently results in arrests. I believe that one of their goals is to bring media attention to the various organizations they protest and hopefully create pressure resulting in change. Of the various organizations they have visited, Messiah took a different response. Most places they have visited and refused them permission to demonstrate on their campuses. In a letter to the Messiah community from President Kim Phipps, the college maintained its position on homosexuality, but welcomed the group to campus and invited open discussion. They also strongly encouraged students to be welcoming and friendly to the group's members. Unfortunately a group unaffiliated with the Messiah community showed up to stage a counter-demonstration. This resulted in the police being called in to campus. I believe things calmed down with no arrests. I respect Messiah's position on this event. They are coming under fire from both sides of the political and religious spectra. They are willing to maintain their unpopular position, at the same time making it clear that it does not mean that those who believe it necessarily use it to look down on others. I believe this is the type of response to such a situation that Christ modeled. He did not stage angry demonstrations against the Romans, Gentiles, or really anyone else. Once again Anabaptists have brought our attention to the tangible relevance of Christ's teachings through their continual efforts to model them. Throughout their history this has led to their being treated much in the same way he was. Once again I am grateful for and humbled by their willingness to do so.