Pastor's Page: October 23, 2011
Nonviolent Resistance and Christian Spirituality
"But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if
anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if any one forces you to go one mile, go
also the second mile." (Matthew 5. 39‐41)
There seems to be plenty of anger simmering in the lives of Americans these days as we try to deal with
what has been called the "great recession", an economic downturn reminiscent of the Great Depression of the
1930s.
46 million people, two thirds of them children, are living in poverty. Our government defines the poverty
level as an income annually of $22,000 per year for a family of four. There were more than 1 million home
foreclosures last year, and this year a similar number, leaving people without shelter and deprived of their real
estate. 14 million workers have no employment and cannot provide themselves and their family the basic
necessities for life. Meanwhile our Congress is polarized, with no willingness to compromise and the people
suffer. 50 million people currently have no health insurance.
Jesus Christ has instructed us not to return evil with evil, but to return evil with good. He has told us to
pray for our persecutors, and even to ask God's blessing on them. We are to be a people of forgiveness and
compassion. This is a great challenge. As a church, we have too often come up short when attempting to live up
to the demands of the gospel. The religious leaders who opposed Jesus during his public ministry had gotten
caught up in the minutia of the Torah. Jesus repeatedly challenges them to remember that people must come
first. The law of God revealed in the sacred writings tells us of a God who has an infinite love for all human
beings made in his image and likeness. The Commandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai, and the teachings
related to those Commandments, are all mandates of compassionate concern for people.
Jesus is the human face of God. Love drives him to promote life. Teaching in the synagogue on the
Sabbath, Jesus encounters a man with a disfigurement: his right hand is useless. The religious leaders have
interpreted the Sabbath laws literally and do not allow any work on the Sabbath, even the work of healing the
sick. Jesus shames them and their interpretation, by healing the man: "I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do
harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to destroy it?" (Luke 6. 9)
Human life is of paramount importance. Whenever we see life threatened or violated, we act like Jesus
did, to set people free and to defend them. When people are impoverished and do not have work, we do what
we can to alleviate their suffering, just as Jesus did.
How do we promote life? In our democracy we can vote and lobby our civil officials and representatives.
We can vote people out of office or into office. We can get involved in nonviolent actions such as the March for
Life held each year in Washington DC and protesting our government’s allowance of abortion. We can become
active in Birthright or in The Life Center in Deer Park or in our own parish Respect Life Ministry.
When people are discriminated against because of their race, religion, gender or sexual orientation, we can
protest by writing letters to the media or our congressional representatives.
Being a Christian means being involved in nonviolent resistance to evil. The Holy Spirit gives us the
courage to speak out boldly and intelligently about life issues in our society. We can act nonviolently through
marches, sit ins, lobbying, voting and engaging in forms of protest.
Peace and love,
Father Bruce
|
