Peace - A Christian Responsibility

 

Eileen Mahoney in her poem “In Waters Deep” writes: In ocean wastes no poppies blow/ No crosses stand in ordered row,/ There young hearts sleep…beneath the wave…/ The spirited, the good, the brave,/ But stars a constant vigil keep,/ For them who lie beneath the deep.

 

A few days ago, we paused to remember- whether by recited poem, a moment of silence, laying a wreath, marching with the pipes, humming Eternal Saviour Strong to Save along with the band, chilled by the fly-over or canon shots.  The day and ceremonies hold a mix of emotion as we particularly remember wars that for many are a distant memory. When reflecting on war, we try to connect ourselves to war – some through family history, hearing veterans’ stories, knowing currently serving military personnel; crossing paths with those from other wars, welcoming displaced persons, knowing people from both sides of the same conflict.

What does war mean -in our day to day lives- when it is not physically here, and yet it is - in a detached nefarious shadow-effect kind of way; and when it is a real on the ground possibility. In a war-torn world, how should I be, how should the church be- when it comes to war, - are we responsible, are we idle, are we lazy- talking about war, protesting war, supporting war, sending aid because of war?

 

I find returning to the written work of Lutheran pastors and theologians from the time of WWII helpful when reflecting on war – a post World War world. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in the Cost of Discipleship, wrote:

The followers of Christ have been called to peace. And they must not only have peace but make it. And to that end they renounce all violence and tumult. In the cause of Christ nothing is to be gained by such methods…His disciples keep the peace by choosing to endure suffering themselves rather than inflict it on others.  They maintain fellowship where others would break it off. They renounce hatred and wrong. In so doing they overcome evil with good, and establish the peace of God in the midst of a world of war and hate.  

 

The Letter to the Thessalonians talks about Christian community and responsibility. The writer commends the community to keep away from believers who are living in idleness, points to the dangers of improper, irresponsible, and disordered work; and berates the busybody meddlers. The letter writer is not talking about “Anyone unwilling to work should not eat,” as meaning a simple loaf of bread. The whole letter is about Christian responsibility (work), and being steadfast in Christ, sharing the Gospel (bread). Within the community people are being irresponsible with the gift of the Gospel they have received, and some are getting in the way – interfering and meddling- with others who are going about sharing the Gospel they have received. As we come to the end of the letter, the writer adds a blessing for the Thessalonian community, “may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with all of you.” Peace.

 

As I reflect on war and Christian responsibility I return to Lutheran theologians in the aftermath of WWII. In an article on the work of Paul Tillich, an author asks readers to consider: how many soldiers have gone to war with some notion that ‘the nice God’ they believe in, will in the end make everything turn out okay? A theology and belief that many of us hold; in bad times, God will make it better, and if not, God will set all right in eternity. But, once in the trenches, reality has soldiers longing for and hoping for peace, -peace- not a religious sense of hope, the coming of God or eternal life; rather, peace on earth now. Hearts are filled with an immediacy for peace.

 

I too hope for peace – and the peace for which I hope is not in the coming of God at the end of time, or an offering in eternity – the peace I hope for is now; human beings getting along. What makes my sense of peace different from some is that I, like Bonhoeffer, believe peace to be a Christian responsibility, growing out of the Christ within, meeting the Christ in the world. Peace is big picture God vision.

The church needs to hear the letter to the Thessalonians as a letter to the church today. The church has fallen into idleness, living day-to-day unto itself, losing hope through an inadequate concept of God; failing to work for peace in the grander vision of the kindom of God.

 

The Gospel talks about Herod’s Temple, newly renovated. It has been an 80 year rebuilding project. The Temple has been enlarged, with new foundations, white marble, blue/scarlet linen tapestries, siler-plated gates, and gold-plated doors. It is magnificent. Within a generation, the Temple becomes a living illustration of Jesus’ words. War is at the Temple’s door – reality- the Temple is destroyed, 70 AD. The promised peace to be realized through the great Temple lies in ruins. Peace is nowhere to be found.

Even without peace, faith did not die with the destruction of the building – Judaism and Christianity both have continuing histories, despite the Empire… and many Empires that followed…

Jesus did not promise peace.

When you hear of war and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes, and in various places famines, and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. Before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you… because of my name. (Lk 21: 11-13)

 

There is an intriguing and mysterious story, full of hyperbole, about the Winchester Mansion in San Jose, California. After the death of an infant daughter, her mother, father-in-law, and husband, Sarah Winchester, a well-educated socialite and widow of the Winchester gun company owner, bought an eight room farmhouse and turned it into a Victorian-Gothic styled mansion with 160 rooms, 10,000 windows, 2000 doorways some that lead to blank walls, stairs including some that go nowhere.  When she died in 1922 the house had been in constant around-the-clock construction for 38 years. The mystery and intrigue is wrapped in figuring out why millions and millions of dollars were spend on such a place. One story tells the tale that Sarah was haunted; or believed she would be haunted by the ghosts of those killed by the guns manufactured by her husband’s company, unless, that is, she kept building. Another story tells that she would die if she stopped building. It seems that constant construction was her search for peace.

 

I wonder are we searching, or do we have peace? Do we make peace? Peace at what cost? Peace from what trauma? Peace created by busy-ness; idleness? Peace in creating – a vision of something different from the battlefield of life? Peace in my father’s house there are many rooms? Peace -now?

 

Peace. In a war-torn world,

The followers of Christ have been called to peace. And they must not only have peace but make it. And to that end they renounce all violence and tumult. In the cause of Christ nothing is to be gained by such methods…His disciples keep the peace by choosing to endure suffering themselves rather than inflict it on others.  They maintain fellowship where others would break it off. They renounce hatred and wrong. In so doing they overcome evil with good, and establish the peace of God in the midst of a world of war and hate.