Lessons in grace often come from where you least expect them. Many of you may have heard of the passing last week of Fred Phelps. Phelps was the founder ofWestboro Baptist Church, which was known most for its virulent hateful signs proclaiming God’s hatred of the homosexual community and for the pickets at the funerals of American service personal.
Unfortunately many in the world used the brush of Fred Phelps and his followers to paint the entire church.
With Phelps’ death there were many who came very close to celebrating the end of his hate fueled crusade.
Then there were words of grace, not from the church but from George Takei, known by an entire generation as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS Enterprise. More recently Takei has been known as a spokesman for the gay community. On the news of Fred Phelps death Takei tweeted to his more than one million followers, “Today, Mr. Phelps may have learned that God, in fact, hates no one. Vicious and hate-filled as he was, may his soul find the kind of peace through death that was so plainly elusive during his life.”
You may not agree with Takei’s life style but his words, at least in this case, are worth listening to.
Unfortunately many in the world used the brush of Fred Phelps and his followers to paint the entire church.
With Phelps’ death there were many who came very close to celebrating the end of his hate fueled crusade.
Then there were words of grace, not from the church but from George Takei, known by an entire generation as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS Enterprise. More recently Takei has been known as a spokesman for the gay community. On the news of Fred Phelps death Takei tweeted to his more than one million followers, “Today, Mr. Phelps may have learned that God, in fact, hates no one. Vicious and hate-filled as he was, may his soul find the kind of peace through death that was so plainly elusive during his life.”
You may not agree with Takei’s life style but his words, at least in this case, are worth listening to.
Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.
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