The award of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama stunned the world, including himself. At 5:00 a.m. on the day of the announcement, before going to the Missouri Zen Center as usual, I read the first email of congratulations to The Peace Alliance, an initiative to establish a U.S. Department of Peace. I wondered if this were another dream, like those we created recently in a brainstorming session at the Fourth Global Alliance Summit in Costa Rica.

It turned out to be real. The satellite TV news from Japan reported citizens’ voices from Hiroshima and other cities throughout the country: hope for humanity to make a world without nuclear weapons, etc. On the way back home from the Center, I listened to NPR conveying pros and cons and doubts from all over the world. The Global Alliance listserv posted joy and anger and calls for a realistic approach. Eventually, exuberance…

The Anti-Defamation League said in a statement Thursday afternoon that it would meet with Parkway West Middle School officials”to discuss a broad, structured program of anti-bias education and response.”

The response in question comes after news Wednesday that Parkway would discipline a handful of sixth-graders who had organized “Hit a Jew Day” at the school.

From Post-Dispatch education reporter David Hunn on the newspapers “The Grade” blog:

According to a Parkway School District representative, the students started with “Hug A Friend Day,” moved to “High Five Day,” “Hit A Tall Person Day,” and then, finally, this Monday, to “Hit A Jew Day.”

The ADL said the family of a Jewish student who had been hit contacted the organization, which in turn contacted school officials. The news “comes at a time when the regional office is seeing increased reports of anti-Semitic bias incidents against the Jewish community,” according to the ADL statement.

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Today in church we read the story of the stoning to death of Stephen, the first Christian martyr (Acts 7:51-8:1). He was stoned to death for insulting the religious leaders who had Jesus put to death and for claiming to see Jesus now at the right hand of God. Watching this happen, a young man named Saul approved of the killing.

Saul grew up and eventually became a Christian–Paul the Apostle. In his old age, we can suspect that he looked back at the murder he witnessed in his early life, interpreting it a bit differently. This should challenge Christians to look within ourselves as well, to question the righteous indignation we hold on to. We can never be completely sure that we will hold any of our beliefs forever, as if our faith and understanding will never change, but we should be particularly suspicious of the beliefs we have that…