Re-membering

The drumbeats for war march on, and the world around me begins to feel more and more surreal. Why is it that we have so little imagination for other alternatives? Our local parish’s sign out front reads: “We have family in Iraq. Seek peace.” We’ve made buttons that proclaim the same, and I find myself explaining that as a Catholic I believe all human beings are part of my family. Not in the sense of “they must be Christian,” but meaning that we, as human beings, are precious and created in the image of God, however we might understand that.

There’s a group of artists that are trying to help people “get this” by posting snapshots taken of people just hanging out in Baghdad (Baghdad Snapshot Action). This small and simple gesture has led to two people being arrested in NYC, and charged with a misdemeanor for their efforts. Apparently it’s too dangerous to remind people of the ordinariness of what we’ll be disrupting in Baghdad, if we go forward with this war.

On a similar note, a group of churches, synagogues and mosques in the Twin Cities is planning a march this weekend, a “Funeral Service for the Not Yet Dead” (March 16, 2 pm, St. Paul Cathedral, walk to the Capitol).

I pray that these small gestures will magnify our imaginations and help us to re-member (literally, perhaps, to put our bodies back together) how connected we are to each other and to all of creation.