VIOLENCE JUSTIFIED IS TRUE PEACE DENIED

Section of recent wall art by Ande Gaines McCarthy--from American indigenous theme

I have an ongoing dialogue with friends.  Is one obligated to take up violence as last resort in defense of friends, family, or country—or should one fully embrace pacifism, nonviolence?

I believe in the second, and to be precise, active confrontational prophetic (inspired) pacifism is not passive.  It’s not from that root word, but from Pace – “Peace be with you.”  An opposite sense to all that is apathetic and complacent.  It strikes at the root of the lie that is violent activism.

The New Evangelization we talk about in our church now will prosper only if we return to the full Gospel message of Jesus, how he taught and lives an unconditional nonviolent merciful love for all of us.  As the scriptural scholar {whose text was our guide in the scripture class I took as a seminarian in 1965} has said, “If we cannot know from the New Testament that Christ totally rejects violence, then we can know nothing of His person or message.  It is the clearest of teachings.”  -- Fr. John L. McKenzie S.J.

We must be about teaching and ministering to God’s merciful nonviolent love of friends, and yes, enemies.  We should be working and praying for our young people to never be involved in war, in the military science of killing people.   Instead, well-prepared national and international and mission service should be a requirement for all faithful citizens, but we must begin to put away the sword as Jesus told us when He took up His cross.  Out-violencing the enemy never brings peace.

There is a craziness, anti-god inside every person on earth’s brain, ready to take over.  Its name is fear.  Feed it, and it will.  Feed mercy, and the true God is always with you.

Christian heroism is to not engage in the violent fight, but to create and offer healing remedy of the conflict.  Undeniably there is often great physical risk in not seeking instead the most powerful weapons.  Yet this is the spiritual path promised, to the salvation that conquers death. 

From Ande's backyard garden

Jesus never justified violence as His way.  In recent gospel readings He is Eucharist with us, the sustaining bread of life.  He walks body and soul with us.  Incorporating Him moment to moment we can meet all life’s conflicts and challenges without resorting to that ultimate human tragedy—killing another.  Neither war, nor abortion, will end, nor evangelization succeed until we, with our Savior, renounce justified violence.

The Last Supper- by Bohdan Piasecki