I Thought We Were A "Christian" Nation?

The issue that seems to be all-consuming in this country is the story of the proposed Islamic prayer center two blocks away from where the World Trade Center once stood. The opponents keep calling it the "Ground Zero Mosque." They are upset that Muslims would want to have a place near this "hallowed ground." Really, what they don't like is Islam because Islam is "furrin'". People who are "those people" are not welcomed by many in this country. Republicans are proposing to cut off governmental services to the children of illegal immigrants. Never mind that the people who sweep the floors of Congress, pick the tomatoes, and wash the hotel sheets in this country are mostly Mexican, and in many cases, illegal immigrants.

Interestingly, then, we have the language of the collect for this week:

Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a
sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us
grace to receive thankfully the fruits of this redeeming work,
and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

If we look at the life of Jesus, we would see a man who would be the first to welcome the Muslim and the illegal immigrant to the table with him. It is through Jesus that we are supposed to understand that, once we remove the labels, we are all one. If we "follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life," we'd be more careful about who we are condemning as unworthy. If we were to love our fellow human beings in the same way that Jesus modeled for us, how different would the world be? Would we be able to see love as abundant rather than a scarce resource to be guarded?

For the record, the "hallowed" ground that was the World Trade Center has already been defiled. I have seen on another blog photographs of what else is within two blocks of this monument to a horrific historical moment: a McDonald's, a Burger King, a Dunkin' Donuts, a pizzeria with the kosher symbol, and many street vendors hawking tacky New York City crap. If the Muslims can't have their prayer center, then perhaps Jesus needs to do a little tossing over of some tables and such.