Empathy 

Contributed by Stephen Wickman, St. Thomas Episcopal, McLean

“Why Have Empathy for Those Who Never Extend It?” is how Qasim Rashid begins a brave essay that reflects on the death of Charlie Kirk Reflections on the Death of Charlie Kirk.  It is well worth the time to read his thoughts in full, but here is a summary:

Rashid argues that Kirk rarely extended empathy and often poured contempt on many groups of Americans, including Muslims, engendering hatred. 

And he returns to a verse from the Qur’an for guidance: 

“O ye who believe! be steadfast in the cause of God, bearing witness in equity; and let not a people’s enmity incite you to act otherwise than with justice. Be always just, that is nearer to righteousness. And fear God. Surely, God is aware of what you do.” — Chapter 5, Verse 9 

Rashid detests and works ferociously to counter what he views as the hatred that Kirk engendered but at the same time does not allow these injustices to make him retaliate in kind.  As he puts it: “I will not allow his fear of the other infect my ability to see the humanity in every person.” 

And here is an important comment from the niece of Rev. Martin Luther King:

‘And now while his family and this nation grieve, some are calling him a racist. A white supremacist. Even a fake Christian. Such accusations are conversations unbecoming to a Christian,” she continued. “In the final analysis, Charlie stood for life, for faith, and biblical truth. He wasn’t afraid to say the name of Jesus in the public square, and he paid a price for it. Now is not the time to attack Charlie. It’s the time to lift up the banner of Christ as the member of the one blood human race Charlie Kirk did. His legacy of public discourse of bringing difficult conversations to the table mattered. He caused us to think and to pray. Charlie has gone to meet his maker. May he rest in peace. May we honor him today by praying for his family and by answering this question: Where will you spend eternity?’

“Such empathy or hard “love” is a basic premise of all our faith traditions.  I disagree with Kirk on most things, but especially on his treatment of the LGBTQ community, Muslims and “progressives,” but like Rashid’s, my faith requires me to respond with kindness even as I express my disagreement. 

In the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church, there is a prayer for one’s “enemies” that carefully balances responsibility on both sides of a conflict: 

“O God, the Father of all, whose Son commanded us to love 
our enemies: Lead them and us from prejudice to truth: 
deliver them and us from hatred, cruelty, and revenge; and in 
your good time enable us all to stand reconciled before you, 
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” 

In that spirit and in the spirit of Islam and other faith traditions, let us extend our empathy and love, without prejudice, to the Kirk family and his supporters. 

This blog post is the expressed opinion of its writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Tysons Interfaith or its members.