If you've watched any of my podcasts, video or audio, or if you've seen my posts on blogs or sites like YouTube, you know that I speak of whether or not someone "gets it." And here, we have two cases, very dramatic opposites, of someone who doesn't get it and someone who does. The one who doesn't get it misses based on something which should be common knowledge among people in his position. And The one who does get it is someone who might surprise you - so many of us thought that he didn't! First, there's Representative Peter King, a Republican member of the House of Representatives, and chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. He's leading an investigation into Islamic extremists in the United States and on his way to that, he makes broad-brush statements against the whole of Islam, as if they were all radicals. And he criticizes American Muslims for not doing enough to oppose terrorism as if there weren't an abundance of Muslims serving in the armed forces - as one example of where he's wrong. He's burning a lot of bridges for us! And then, let's look - perhaps with amazement - at someone who seems to really get it! Pope Benedict has written a book which shows his courage, scholarship, and espeically his willingness to open doors and build bridges. I'll offer some quotes to show you what I mean. One in particular sound like something a Wiccan might teach, and it is definitely something which Gnostics have been teaching for centuries! I'm not going to hold my breath until he welcomes me as a fellow clergyman, but he did extend something which few expected, and it's worth celebrating! And when people get it, it's the stuff that miracles are made of! Blessed Be!
