As I write this, I am just hearing news that the United States and Israel launched what our president is calling ‘pre-emptive attacks’ on the country of Iran which are part of what he named as ‘major combat operations.’ And while I am not shocked by the news (because our president and the Department of War have been both preparing for this and preparing the public justification – without congressional authorization, mind you), my heart sinks.
In 1965 as part of a submission for a miniature art show, artist, printmaker and activist Lorraine Schneider created a piece of art that remains relevant to our world. In a piece entitled “Primer” that simply said, “War is not healthy for children and other living things,” Schneider speaks volumes about the costs of war (even so-called ‘limited strikes’).
In our first reading today from Genesis 12, Abram (who has not yet been renamed), is told by God to leave the space and place where he is comfortable and familiar and go to a new place whereby God will make his people a people where “all the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you.”
There are two key movements here: (1) leaving what is known and familiar and trusting God and (2) being a blessing to others. This passage lands differently today as I read it – especially when I think about warfare.
To what degree are we willing to try – and I mean really try – principles of non-violence and leave behind the familiar ways of war as the way to address conflict and aggression?
Do the children of Iran find blessing in us this day? Do the plants and animals and rivers and forests of Iran find blessing in us today?
Fast forward to our gospel from Mattew 17. Today we hear the famous story of the “Transfiguration.” In it, Jesus takes Peter, James and John up a mountain. While they are there, Jesus’ face shines like the sun and he becomes radiant. It’s a scene that can only be described as a mystical experience.
During the experience, his disciples see him conversing with Moses and Elijah, and they hear a voice say, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” The scene ends with Jesus alone with them on the mountaintop.
The gospel writer, Matthew, wants readers to know that Jesus embodies both the liberating energy of Moses and the prophetic energy of Elijah.
[Note: It’s also REALLY important to keep saying that while someone like Moses is mentioned, it was not just Moses alone who liberated Israel from the Egyptians. People like Moses’ sister, Miriam, were central figures in the liberation of the people but – through patriarchy – get erased like a lot of other central women figures. Jesus embodies their energy too, and remembering this community of leaders also helps to decrease the power of the narrative of the single, heroic, male leader who gets everything done by himself…).
I imagine that if a similar transfiguration took place today, Jesus would be with great figures of the liberation and prophetic traditions.
I wonder who you’d imagine him speaking with?
In light of today’s reflection, I’d imagine him conversing with the likes of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, Dorothy Day, and/or St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi.
And what can you imagine these ancestors in the faith saying to him and us of the attack on Iran?
Furthermore, when I pause and reflect on all of the mystics whom I am familiar with – across all faith traditions – I cannot think of one who has advocated for war following their mystical experiences. After seeing the one-ness of humanity, how would one promote harm to others and to this world?
Timothy Snyder is an American historian and author. In a piece he published on the day we found out about the strikes in Iran, he raises serious questions and objections to a war with Iran. And as part of that reflection, however, he says that, “None of this is a defense of the murderous regime in Tehran. The Iranian government has been engaged in the mass murder of peaceful protestors [among other things].” But, he says, “one can certainly imagine [other] ways of addressing Iranian authoritarianism and corruption…Unfortunately, [all that this administration] has to offer is its own authoritarianism and corruption.”
He goes on to say that, “A war is a time when we will be told not to ask questions. But a war is actually when questions must be asked.”
Just pause right now. What is coming up for you?
Our final reading for today from 2 Timothy 1 says, “Beloved: Bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.”
Part of the hardship that I think we are being called to bear for the gospel is to oppose war and to advocate for non-violence. And while we may not think that our efforts amount to much, it is incumbent upon us to keep speaking up and committing to non-cooperation (as much as we can).
In his prescient and powerful Beyond Vietnam speech in 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. said that, to him, faithfulness to the gospel and efforts “to the making of peace is so obvious that I sometimes marvel at those who ask me why I am speaking against the war.”
He goes on to say, “Now, it should be incandescently clear that no one who has any concern for the integrity and life of America today can ignore the present war. If America’s soul becomes totally poisoned, part of the autopsy must read Vietnam [you can substitute Iran here]…”
“Somehow this madness must cease. We must stop now. I speak as a child of God and [sibling] to the suffering poor of [Iran]. I speak for those whose land is being laid waste, whose homes are being destroyed, whose culture is being subverted. I speak for the poor of America who are paying the double price of smashed hopes at home and death and corruption in [Iran]. I speak as a citizen of the world, for the world as it stands aghast at the path we have taken. I speak as an American to the leaders of my own nation. The great initiative in this war is ours. The initiative to stop it must be ours.”
On this day I pray for peace and I pray for justice. And I pray that a spirit of nonviolent resistance may awaken within us the “life force more powerful than all the weapons of the world (Gandhi).”
3 Comments
Karen D
Thank you for taking the time to- and understand a tight timeframe – to write this relevant response to the recent Iran attack. War is not the answer, as you eloquently point out. I wrestle with the decisions of our current Administration and appreciate your insights from Timothy Snyder and MLK Jr , as well as what we are taught from the bible.
When will we ever learn?
Thank you Mike. You truly make a difference and give us Hope.
Courtney Davis
One of the many reasons I appreciate reading your posts, Mike, is your fearless writing or, put another way, your courage (because courage is not the absence of fear) to say what needs to be said…to make it plain even when doing so may be unsettling to genteel folk and the powers that be. Also, I can always count on you to masterfully contextualize the daily readings so that they directly engage with current events, e.g. the strike on Iran by a man and his evil legion who don’t have sense enough to fear God. The thing about the Transfiguration story that makes my heart race and hair stand on end is that one sentence, “When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid.” What comes immediately before and after fades into the background, at least it does to me. Prior to my illness, I was blessed with two divine encounters, one here in Rochester at St. Padre Pio Chapel and the other upon entering All Souls’ Chapel in London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral. What most has stayed with me about those two encounters was the instantaneous and seemingly innate need, upon sensing the overwhelming presence of God, to bow my head and make myself small. In that moment, my ego fled like a cockroach at the flick of a light switch, and the sudden awareness of my insignificance juxtaposed against the vastness of God and universe utterly obliterated any traces of self-satisfaction and arrogance that I’d walked through the doors with. You could say that, like the disciples, I was very much afraid and HUMBLED. I was put in my place, and rightly so, like a responsible, loving parent does when a know-it-all t’ween gets too big for their britches. Both chapel encounters left me with the knowledge that Yes, God Is Real (cue Mahalia Jackson) and that the woman at the well wasn’t lying when she got back in town and told people Jesus “told me everything I ever did” (John 4:29). Indeed, ma’am, ev-er-y-thing! Of course, like a true follower of Christ, I knew these things before I walked into Padre Pio and St. Paul’s, but after the encounters… I knew KNEW. Despite the occasional short-lived bout of amnesia (hence Lent, scripture, confession, communities of faith, etc. to help keep believers on the straight and narrow), I still know and have a healthy fear of God. So, it is extremely difficult for me to comprehend how a man hawking bibles bearing his own name (though that tells you all you need to know right there) has the audacity to put himself before God. One of the greatest courses I ever took as a theology student was taught by John Cavadini, an amazing scholar of Augustine. What he taught his students, while meticulously walking through Saint Augustine’s Confession, is that, in simplest terms, the definition of sin, according to Augustine, is human pride. And to him, pride means to arrogate (to claim or seize without justification) God’s place to oneself. The person who puts himself and his interests over and above God – who believes he is God- is a person lacking in fear of consequences, faith in the cross, and (among many other things) a well-formed conscience. Sound like anyone familiar? War is, therefore, nothing but whim, spectacle, violence as entertainment. It is a flex of ego armed with stolen power. Mindful of yesterday’s scripture, if I pray for my enemies and those who trespass, if I seek their redemption and in doing so seek peace wherever conflict may breakout, I pray the Instigator-in-Chief and his Legion soon discover what it means to be read like a book by Jesus and be overcome by a healthy fear of God. Thank you, Mike, for the prompt and the space…
Sue Staropoli
My heart aches too, Mike, as I hear about this new….and all …. wars. It is heartbreaking to see the irreparable harm to so many by those who choose violence as a solution to problems. May we stay strong in our voices for nonviolence as the only path to peace and healing in our country and world. Thank you for being a voice of light and love in the darkness.