Extremists for Love

        Two events this week have saddened me. One is the terrible terrorist attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, which reminds us again that hate and religious extremism are frequent bedfellows. The driver of the truck that plowed into crowds of people in the French Quarter, killing 15 and injuring many more, is said to have been inspired by ISIS, the group of Islamist extremists that arose in Iraq and Syria partly in response to the occupation of Iraq by US forces. Ironically, the killer appears to have been a US citizen who may very well have served in the armed forces himself.

        There is a place for extremism in the world. God calls us to follow the example of Jesus, who was a radical proponent of love and compassion, an extremist for justice and peace. He was such an extremist, and his extremism posed such a threat to the political and religious leaders of his time, that he ended up on a Roman cross. Actually, he didn’t “end up” there; God put the divine stamp of approval on Jesus’s extremism by raising him from the dead and giving him the name above all names, in the words of Paul.

        The second sad event of the week has been the death of Jimmy Carter. I would not call him an extremist per se, but I would describe his work before, during, and especially after his presidency as tenacious and tireless. He put the good of our country and, indeed, the world above his own good. You didn’t hear about Mr. Carter receiving six-figure speaking fees. He didn’t use his name and public forum to enrich himself. He didn’t hole up in Georgia after his defeat in 1980 to lick his wounds and feel sorry for himself, but rather he got out into the world to do good.

        Everybody knows about the Carters’ deep and longstanding commitment to Habitat for Humanity. But did you also know about the Carter Center’s work in scores of countries to protect democracy by assuring free and fair elections? Did you know that their work in a number of African nations has led to the nearly total eradication of river blindness?Did you know he wrote with wisdom and conviction about how to find a way forward in seeking a just peace in the Middle East? (Nobody could argue with his bona fides—after all, he brokered a peace deal between Israel and Egypt that stands firm to this day.) Did you know that he is the only ex-president ever to win the Nobel Prize for Peace?

        And did you know that for decades he took his place in the sanctuary of his Baptist church in Plains and taught a Sunday School class for adults? Mr. Carter was by all accounts a faithful and active Christian disciple who never wavered from his commitment to justice, peace, and compassion, all of which were rooted in his even deeper commitment to walking the way of Jesus.

        We have lost a statesman and a saint. Jimmy Carter has gone on to his rest in the warm embrace of God, where he will enjoy a reunion with his beloved Rosalynn, and where he will see the smiling face of Jesus bidding this faithful disciple welcome and ushering him to his seat at the great banquet table of eternity. It is for us who remain on pilgrimage down below to carry on the work so nobly begun in the strength and power of the Lord Jesus Christ. If we are to be extremists, let us be extremists in the mold of Mr. Carter: extremists for justice, extremists for peace, extremists for love.