Greetings to all in the name of the Prince of Peace:
Reflect for a moment on these words of scripture:
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.”
They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Then reflect for a moment on the words we’ve read in the news recently, words that are based on the philosophy of “might makes right,” words that tell the stories of shootings and bombings and military interventions abroad and at home. It’s hard to miss the disconnect. In church we celebrate the Prince of Peace, but our world celebrates something very different.
Because we have romanticized Christmas for so long, it’s easy to forget that Jesus was born into a world of Empire, into a world ruled by “Roman might makes right.” We celebrate the magi who brought gifts to the infant Jesus, but forget that as a result of their trip, a paranoid, narcissistic ruler put hundreds or thousands of children to death – forcing Jesus and his parents to become refugees, fleeing a violent tyrant to save their lives. A couple decades later, the Roman Empire executed a man whose main message was “love your neighbor.” As the Teacher writes in Ecclesiastes 1:9: What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun. Alas.
For me, these reflections expose some naïve beliefs I can no longer hold. I believed that the world was progressively getting better: more peaceful, more just. I believed that wars and colonialism were things I read about in history books, a thing of the past. I even believed that racism was mostly a thing of the past, basically solved by the Civil Rights movement. I believed that the United States would never use military force to occupy its own cities and intimidate its own citizens. I believed the Justice Department would, well, seek justice, seek to prosecute those who perpetrate violence.
These reflections also remind me of some things I still believe, more than ever. I believe we are called to be peacemakers. I believe we are called to be non-violent, but also to seek to make peace, to build bridges, to listen and work together and try to de-escalate tense situations. I believe we are called to live without fear – or rather to carry on in the face of fear — not because there is nothing out there to fear, but because allowing fear to intimidate isn’t worthy of the one we claim to follow. I believe that no matter what happens on earth, no matter the rejection and violence we may face, that God loves and holds us forever. And I know that come what may, and though I know at times I will fall short, I hope to represent the compassionate of God and to shine the light of God’s love in all I do and say.
Dios les bendiga!
Pastor Jay
Regional Minister and President
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Arizona
