Malachi 3:1-2
Lo, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me; and suddenly there will come to the temple the Lord whom you seek, and the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Yes, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who will endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like the refiner’s fire, or like the fuller’s lye.
In today’s reading, Malachi was giving the suffering Israelites hope for the future and foretelling the coming of John the Baptist. However, he was warning them as well because they were asking God for justice, not mercy. They wanted to prosper like their neighbors who were not worshiping the one God. But they were not being honest with God. So, asking God for justice in this case might bring them the refiner’s fire or the fuller’s lye so that they would remember to ask for mercy. One person in our world today did not demand justice for wrong done to him; rather, he asked mercy on the sinner and showed God’s merciful love.
When September 11, 2001, rocked the United States, some people wanted what they called justice. In fact, it was really revenge on people who had not even done a crime. This caused many innocent individuals to suffer. One of these was Raisuddin Bhuiyan, known as Rais who was a Bangladeshi American working in Dallas, Texas. After 9/11, Mark Stroman decided to get revenge by killing people he thought were Muslims. On September 15, he killed a Pakistani immigrant. Less than a week later, Stroman came into Rais’s store with a double-barreled shotgun. Assuming he was going to be robbed, Rais began gathering money from the register to give the man. Stroman asked him, “Where are you from?” Before Rais could answer, Stroman shot him in the face. Someone in the store called 911, and Rais rushed to the barbershop next door for help. Then on October 4, Stroman killed an Indian immigrant, before he was finally captured. From prison Stroman sent a letter brimming with hate to a friend, admitting the killings were revenge for 9/11.
Rais went through numerous surgeries. The doctors were able to save his eye but not his vision. Also, he had 35 pellets lodged on the right side of his face. Rais lost his job, his home, his money, and his sense of security. Then, in 2009, he made a pilgrimage to Mecca and experienced a transformation. He realized that Stroman, now on death row, was a man like himself and forgave him. He even went further and worked with the legal system and the Islamic Community to try to save Stroman from execution. While he was unsuccessful in that cause even though working to the end, he certainly made a difference in Mark Stroman’s life. They had been reconciled years earlier, but hours before the execution, Rais and Mark spoke on the phone. Rais said, “I forgive you and do not hate you.” Mark responded, “Thank you… You touched my heart! I would never have expected this.” Rais said, “You touched mine too.”
Rais Bhuiyan started a movement called “World Without Hate” to stop hate crimes by educating people and by working with Amnesty International. Both men faced the refiner’s fire. The love shown by Rais Bhuiyan is like God’s mercy: life-giving forever.
Rais Bhuiyan is today’s Ornament of Grace.
OBSERVING THE BEAUTIFUL ORNAMENTS
Have you ever demanded justice from God for what has happened in your life? How is that different from loving mercy?
Learn More
Heart to Heart, a Catholic Media Ministry: htoh.us
420 W County Line Rd, Suite 200
Barrington, IL 60010
Submit a prayer request: htoh.us/prayers
Support our ministry with a financial gift: htoh.us/donate
