INTERFAITH ALLIANCE STATE OF BELIEF RADIO APRIL 27, 2013 RUSH TRANSCRIPT: Mike Rogers

Click here for video Click here for audio [REV. DR. C. WELTON GADDY, HOST]: Perhaps youve seen the essay that begins, "Dear Dzokhar, you don't know me, but you tried to kill my family." It was written by Deacon Mike Rogers, and it offers a profoundly spiritual response to what came very close to being a profoundly personal tragedy for its author. And Im very pleased to welcome that author to State of Belief Radio. Mike, welcome. [REV. MR. MICHAEL ROGERS, S.J., GUEST]: Thank you for having me. [WG]: Tell us, what moved you to write and post this letter? [MR]: It was about four in the morning on the day after they captured Dzhokhar, the day after they captured their suspect. And I was at home, and I had just gotten in from having a meal out with some friends here in Rome, and I couldn't sleep. And I'd been thinking about, obviously, everybody at home all day. I'd been thinking of my friends and family who are on lockdown; I was getting pictures of SWAT teams walking up and down people's streets. And the neighborhood where they found him was actually where my province of Jesuits is headquartered. So I was looking at a neighborhood that I know very, very well, on the news from here in Rome. And at the same time, I was thinking about this person that they were chasing through the streets of Watertown. They shut down the entire city of Boston to find him. And being a human being, just with empathy, thinking, you know, no matter what this person did, I can't imagine how utterly afraid I would be in that moment. And so there were a lot of emotions; a lot of things turning in my head and things that I took to prayer. And at some point I just realized, you know what, the only thing I can do is also pray for this person. And so this letter is in fact in some ways my prayer. It's my speaking to Dzhokhar, but

it's my way of saying to God: this is what I have, these are the feelings that are in my heart and the things that are in my head, and so I need to write this down. And I wrote it down just as a Facebook status. It was meant to go to my friends and family back home, who had just survived this crazy day; the ones who had just survived the bombing - and that's where it all started. [WG]: Your words are so contrary to the vengeful tone many commentators routinely take in the aftermath of this kind of horrific violence. I know you're just weeks away from your ordination as a Jesuit priest. Do you find this kind of empathy in scripture, in life experiences - where do you draw from? [MR]: Well, I think I find it first in scripture. You know, as I said before, the Gospel of John is something we can take seriously, or not. When Jesus says to Peter, for example, in the garden: "Live by the sword or die by the sword," we can choose to take that seriously or we can neglect it. I find that empathy for Christ even in those who are coming to take him away to prison, those who are coming to begin the process of his Passion and death, to be the kind of thing that I, as a Christian, am challenged by; I as a Jesuit am challenged by every day of my life. And I've grown. I was thinking about the reality that on September 11th, in fact, my father was in New York City, and we couldn't find him all morning because the cell phone towers were out. And I was thinking about the fact that over the course of the past ten years, my response has changed, because I don't think I felt as empathetic or as forgiving that day. But I think the other thing that's changed in me over the course of my formation, now leading up to my ordination on June 8th, is that I have had the chance to spend ten years in prayer. I've had the chance to spend ten years meeting people all around the world who have so many different life experiences. And you know, I realized to some extent, too, that all we can really hope to do sometimes is love somebody the best way that we know how; the best way that we can. And so loving this young man is, of course, holding him accountable for his actions, if in fact he is proven guilty - and there's no questions about that. But it's also a sense of: do I love this person by praying for them? Can I keep doing that? Yes, absolutely. Can I continue to look at this person as a human being? Because that's the challenge sometimes, I think. We choose not to look at somebody as a human being. And I refuse to do that - even to somebody who, as I wrote, tried to kill my family. [WG]: I have to confess that as inspiring as your words are, it's also profoundly heartening that tens of thousands of people have found your sentiments to be worth sharing with others. That gives me hope. How does it make you feel? [MR]: Well, I'm humbled by it, deeply humbled by it. When I woke up after about six hours of sleep on Saturday morning and saw that it had been shared already

to thousands of people beyond people that I knew, I was already humbled by it. So I think that's the first thing. I think I'm grateful, particularly at this moment in my life; you know, when you're coming up towards a big moment in your life like my ordination, to have something like this as an affirmation of your ministry is not a bad thing. But I think most importantly I am grateful that I could help people begin to think about it, begin to talk more about it, begin to share it. And I think for so many people, the comment that I've heard is, "This is what I was thinking and praying about, too," and people saying "thank you" for that. So if I could give voice to that, if I could give voice to something that could help bring maybe a little more peace into the world or maybe some healing into the world, then I am profoundly grateful to have been able to be a part of that as well. So, you know, humbled and grateful - I think those are the only things that really come to mind at this moment. [WG]: Is there just a paragraph of the letter that you could read for us now, and we'll link to it from our website so that all of our listeners can read the whole thing. [MR]: Sure. I think the one that really strikes me, as somebody who has so many friends and family there, and somebody who realizes he was shaped in who he is - even in this response, I think a part of my response comes from having lived in Boston - so I think I'll read the paragraph about Boston: "Dear Dzhokhar, you failed because Boston was neither bowed nor afraid. You set off a bomb, and the city gave blood for the victims. You escaped initial capture, and the city opened its doors to strangers. You were at large and making more bombs, and we gathered in prayer at Garvey Park and at the Cathedral. You went on a rampage, and people stayed home in an orderly fashion and opened their homes to the police during the search. Dear Dzhokhar, you failed because light cast out the darkness. And the man who knew that his boat just didn't look right wasn't afraid to call it in." [WG]: If you were to summarize your message very briefly, what would you say? [MR]: I think that my message is something I learned through reading the speeches of King, and listening to Gandhi, but first and foremost, obviously, the message of Jesus Christ. So the message is probably best summed up by something that Martin Luther King said: "Hate can't drive out hate; darkness can't cast out darkness. Only light, only love can do those things." I'm paraphrasing, obviously, but I think that's what it really comes down to in the end. We can choose to forgive, and love, and help build a society where these things don't happen because we've gotten to the root of it. And I think that's the core of the message.

[WG]: Deacon Mike Rogers has deep connections to Boston and the marathon. He overcame fear and anger and wrote the much-circulated letter to the surviving bomber, which begins with the words Dear Dzhokhar, you dont know me, but you tried to kill my family. Mike, I am so grateful that you added your voice to all thats being said in the aftermath of this horrific tragedy. I wish you all the best for your ordination and ministry, and I am certain well be reading more from you in the future. Thanks so very much for being with us today on State of Belief Radio. [MR]: Thank you very much. State of Belief is based on the proposition that religion has a positive and healing role to play in the life of the nation. The show explains and explores that role by illustrating the vast diversity of beliefs in America the most religiously diverse country in the world while exposing and critiquing both the political manipulation of religion for partisan purposes and the religious manipulation of government for sectarian purposes. Each week, the Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy offers listeners critical analysis of the news of religion and politics, and seeks to provide listeners with an understanding and appreciation of religious liberty. Rev. Gaddy tackles politics with the firm belief that the best way to secure freedom for religion in America is to secure freedom from religion. State of Belief illustrates how the Religious Right is wrong wrong for America and bad for religion. Through interviews with celebrities and newsmakers and field reports from around the country, State of Belief explores the intersection of religion with politics, culture, media, and activism, and promotes diverse religious voices in a religiously pluralistic world. Author of more than 20 books, including First Freedom First: A Citizens Guide to Protecting Religious Liberty and the Separation of Church and State, the Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy leads the national non-partisan grassroots and educational organization Interfaith Alliance and serves as Pastor for Preaching and Worship at Northminster (Baptist) Church in Monroe, Louisiana. In addition to being a prolific writer, Dr. Gaddy hosts the weekly State of Belief radio program, where he explores the role of religion in the life of the nation by illustrating the vast diversity of beliefs in America, while exposing and critiquing

both the political manipulation of religion for partisan purposes and the religious manipulation of government for sectarian purposes. Dr. Gaddy provides regular commentary to the national media on issues relating to religion and politics. He has appeared on MSNBCs The Rachel Maddow Show and Hardball, NBCs Nightly News and Dateline, PBSs Religion and Ethics Newsweekly and The Newshour with Jim Lehrer, C-SPANs Washington Journal, ABCs World News, and CNNs American Morning. Former host of Morally Speaking on NBC affiliate KTVE in Monroe, Louisiana, Dr. Gaddy is a regular contributor to mainstream and religious news outlets. While ministering to churches with a message of inclusion, Dr. Gaddy emerged as a leader among progressive and moderate Baptists. Among his many leadership roles, he is a past president of the Alliance of Baptists and has been a 20-year member of the Commission of Christian Ethics of the Baptist World Alliance. His past leadership roles include serving as a member of the General Council of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, President of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Chair of the Pastoral Leadership Commission of the Baptist World Alliance and member of the World Economic Forums Council of 100. Rev. Gaddy currently serves on the White House task force on the reform of the Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Prior to the fundamentalist takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), Dr. Gaddy served in many SBC leadership roles including as a member of the conventions Executive Committee from 1980-84 and Director of Christian Citizenship Development of the Christian Life Commission from 1973-77. Dr. Gaddy received his undergraduate degree from Union University in Jackson, Tennessee and his doctoral degree and divinity training from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.