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SUNDAY SPECTATOR
January 9, 2011
On running away
Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest."As every educated reader will know, the remark is from the Gospels (Matthew 11:28), and quoted directly from Jesus Christ. As St. Augustine said of this passage: "I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are very wise and very beautiful. But never anything like this." My own remarks today will be like a letter to the Copts who have settled here in Ottawa, who have been celebrating their Christmas -- along with all those other Eastern Christians who have hesitated to embrace the calendar reform of Pope Gregory. (As a conservative myself, I'm not entirely without sympathy.) But I am not writing to them as Catholic to Copt, but as Christian to Christian; also as Canadian to Canadian, and over my shoulder to "all men of goodwill." And I think the very first thing to say is, Merry Christmas and God bless all of you and yours. And may the same God, who created the heavens and the Earth, call from each of us the echo of His infinite holiness. As anyone who reads newspapers will be aware -- or for that matter "overhears" from talk radio, or from the chatter of the Web -- the Copts of Ottawa, as those who have settled all over the world, have reason to feel that they are under siege. And this is especially discouraging to so many who left Egypt expressly to escape the persecution of Christians in that country -- which was once the cradle of Christendom. They came to places like Canada in the belief that they would be safe here; that this was a free, and prosperous and -- yes, a Christian country. They felt sure that they could overcome the difficulties of mastering a new language, and new social customs, and that they could work and raise their children here, in safety. Of course, no emigrant can foresee all the implications of his journey. As so many Canadian immigrants have discovered, especially those who have returned to their first country to visit or retire, under the sometimes excruciating lash of nostalgia, you can never go home again. You have been changed by the very experience of emigration, and you will henceforth be a traveller in this world, and perhaps a foreigner even to your own children. Which is not entirely a bad thing. We are all wayfarers through this world; and to those who have the character and formation to know that this is so, the constant reminders of exile are useful. The recent bomb blast in Alexandria was hardly an isolated event, and well before that happened, Islamist websites were posting the names, faces, and home addresses of leading Copts in Ottawa, as well as elsewhere, with instructions to kill them; and addresses of churches with instructions to bomb them. Direct threats have been received by many Copts. And even here -- in a free country, where the liberty of worship is supposedly guaranteed -- they may be privately advised to keep their heads down, and not make their memorials to the dead, or their celebration of Christmas, too conspicuous. This is not as it should be. Freedom -- including especially freedom of belief and worship, at the heart of all other freedoms -- has always required courage. It requires the refusal to be intimidated, and that in turn demands the solidarity of the whole society against those who would intimidate. I was very moved to see, from Egypt this week through the Internet, pictures of so many Muslims who -- in defiance of Islamist threats to explode more bombs -- stood outside the Coptic churches during the Christmas services, in solidarity with the Christians inside, holding as symbols boldly aloft both the Cross and the Crescent. These, and not the "Islamists," are the Muslims of true faith. The Islamists are the true atheists, or worse: for they invoke a god who makes demands of them indistinguishable from the devil's. Canadians, too, must learn to perform such spontaneous acts of solidarity when our neighbours are threatened. We must not think, "the police will take care of it," for the police follow orders, only. We must have the courage to give the orders, and when necessary, risk our own necks. In all the wonder and beauty of Christmas, this fact is prefigured: that the infant Christ came into this world a wayfarer, as we came; to suffer, with us; in exile, like us. This Jesus who, among other earthly acts, stood in solidarity with the woman caught in adultery and prevented her from being stoned. This was not a political act. Christ left no instructions for managing the affairs of states; had not one single word to say on any of the "issues" of that day, or of any day. He said, give unto Caesar what is Caesar's. He said, my kingdom is not of this world. He said, come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And He did not run away. David Warren
© Ottawa Citizen
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