Rev. Dr. Rebecca L. Kiser
A Vision
of Peace for the World
Nov 10, 2019 Veterans Day Micah 4
I grew up
at the city line of Washington, DC - my parents had worked in DC, and they knew
their way around - so we went downtown to events pretty often. As our aunts and uncles and cousins would
come and stay with us to go sightseeing in DC, so we went to the national
monument a lot. One Nov 11, we noticed
that there were flags all around the monument for a change - and we especially
remarked it because Nov 11 is my sister’s birthday. She claimed they were for her - I remember
being jealous, because they didn’t put flags around the monument on MY
birthday! Of course the flags weren’t
for my sister, although she could always get a reaction from me when she said
it.
Nov 11 -
the 11th month, the 11th day, the 11th hour - that was the day in 1918 that the
armistice began, when we all laid down of arms at the end of the war to end all
wars. Although the papers weren’t signed
until June 28, 1919, the day the fighting stopped and the arms were laid down
has been considered the end of what we now call World War 1, because, unfortunately
there was a World War 2 shortly after.
Hopefully, and God forbid, there will never be a World War 3… although
certainly wars of lesser scope have continued.
Nobody
wants another war, a more local war or a World War, with the devastation to
land and people. Nobody really wants more
wars where crops are destroyed, hunger is rampant, more people are killed,
normal peace and security are lost, and survivors flee to other countries as
refugees for safety. While some military leaders are noble and seek to be their
best even while having to order terrible things, others seem to find an outlet
for their inner aggression, and enjoy the power over those they get to label as
“enemies,” as if that makes any outrage allowable. Even those who went for the Crusades, and all
other wars, returned with discouragement and inner hurts at what they’ve had to
see and do, if not outer wounds as well.
I don’t
want to glorify war on this Armistice Day, where we originally celebrated the
final laying down of arms. I like that celebration – that arms are laid down,
fighting is over. Somehow we’ve switched to calling it Veteran’s Day. Its a day of mixed and complicated emotions.
While we certainly want to acknowledge those who had to participate, some who
died, some of whom returned maimed in body or in spirit even though they
survived - we don’t want to glorify war itself.
Most of us, if we explore inside ourselves, are torn - we don’t want the
violence, the bloodshed, the destruction of land and crops and families - although it seems like sometimes that war is
the only alternative to stem evil rising in one place or another. Christians from the early church founders
have pondered what makes a war “just,” what makes killing of others “allowable”
for followers of the Prince of Peace - who was himself killed by violence, although
he did none. Christ-followers have felt their
faith called them to chosen differently in times of war, from those considered
it their duty to the country to take arms against great threats to the peace of
many innocents, to those who opted for alternative service, or conscientious
objection. Most of us grieve that wars
become necessary, and are grateful for those who have had to endure what
they’ve had to endure, in order that more peace might abound, those enslaved
might be free, and those oppressed may be released and given opportunity for
better life.
War seems
to ultimately reveal the great distance between the calls for peace in our
Scripture, and the great sins
and evils humans are capable of wreaking on one another for greed and power, to
the point that it must be resisted and restrained. Although thinking and caring leaders seek
alternative pressures and negotiations, embargos and such to try and rein in
those who would abuse their power and attempt to invade and conquer other
countries, there are always those who seek to make profit from war, and may
even encourage wars in order to enlarge their own wealth. Literal war, killing and maiming and invading
and the significant loss of life - it is a mixed bag of unfortunate necessity,
given the scope of evil humans are capable of.
We see the sin we are capable of, the coveting of what
another country has, the greed for expansion of power and influence, the lust
for power over whole other races. And we
have compassion for what this does to the other countries and its people, and
we see the dangers to the whole human story if those powers succeed. Its a difficult place to be, to declare war
for those reasons theologians have declared “just.” Its a moral dilemma for a thinking and caring
person, this calling for others to lay
their lives on the line for a greater good. We ask a lot from them - if we
expect them to not have difficulties in their own souls, if we expect them to
return easily to pre-war life, if we expect them to not be hardened to killing,
if we expect them to return to a love for enemies, as the Bible expects.
It almost
feels too idealistic to read passages like that in Micah 4 (which is almost
identical to a passage found in Isaiah 3); yet these visions from generations
past contains words and images that have grabbed grieving and bereaved people
by the heart, even starting way back before the time of Jesus. These are words from our Jewish ancestors in
faith, dreams and visions of a time when the city of God will attract those
from all nations to come, and learn, and walk in the paths of God’s peace. At
that point, GOD will judge, or arbitrate between the nations, so nations don’t
have to fight it out in the devastation of wars. In that blessed day, those words we love say,
we will beat our swords into plowshares, and our spears into pruning
hooks. In other words, people won’t need
the implements of fighting any more, so those metal swords and metal spears,
instruments of war, can be turned into farming implements. Ok, that’s still old fashioned in terms of
instruments of war, so how about this?
We can use our defense budgets for education, or for infrastructure, or
for the arts. All that money spent on
weapons...wow.
Isaiah 11
adds another visions of peace which we call The Peaceable Kingdom, where the
wolf and lamb lie down together, the cows and bears eat side by side, the lion
become a grazer of straw, and all shall be peaceful, no more ‘nature red in
tooth and claw’ even. Then Isaiah goes on in ch 65 to say God will make a new
heaven and a new earth, where no more will there be cries of distress or
weeping, no more an infant that lives for a few days, or bearing children to
see them die in calamities; no more raising crops that another person harvests
(or burns so you can’t harvest it); we who build the houses will live in them,
and anyone who fails to make it to 100 years would be considered too
young. The years of the prophet
Isaiah’s work embraced many times of conflict, and many hopes for conflicts to
cease.
So
Veteran’s Day is a time of mixed feelings - grief for those who died, relief
perhaps for those who returned, recognizing that they are not totally the
innocent person who first left; an expansion of heart that the conflict is over
and arms are laid down. Certainly a
country that asked this fighting of their citizens owes them decent care for
wounds inner and outer. Countries like
ours, who have not had foreign soldiers foraging and destroying our very land,
need to give thanks for being spared - although we have fought among ourselves
and our inhabitants.
Certainly,
as followers and disciples of Christ Jesus, the Prince of Peace, we need to
reaffirm the texts that carry a vision for peace. We need to consider the words and actions of
our Redeemer, who saw all humanity as in this fight against sin together, an
inner struggle against powers that can grab us and deceive us. Jesus saw no one
as an enemy, and chose his own submission to an unjust death instead of
violence. We are fortunate to have had
examples of those learning to resist with non-violence, and returning no one
evil for evil, but doing good to those who hate us. We weigh these calls from our Scripture
against the large-scale effects of evil, greed, power and what it does to
people. We examine our own motives, the
often ugly desires that seem to rise up in us despite our prayers and
dedication to God.
I find I
more easily respond to this day if I call it Armistice Day, and look to our
veterans in the light of their courage in fighting for a laying down of
arms. I don’t respond easily to a day
that glorifies war. It isn’t a simple
thing, being involved in wars. I do acknowledge
the wisdom of not forgetting what people have given for the good of the world,
of remembering the awfulness of what we asked of them, and the compassion for
what we owe them in thanks and in health care.
A day to acknowledge how life has been able to percolate along in this
country, as in not many others where war has destroyed their
civilizations.
So its a mixed
bag, this Armistice / Veteran’s day. I
chose in our worship today to emphasize the great themes and hopes of peace and
understanding, and to recognize the gifts we’ve been given from those who gave
their lives. May God indeed bless our
leaders with wisdom to keep us from lightly seeing war as an easy solution, and
requiring the same sacrifices from other generations. And may our leaders not neglect the
responsibility of this country to care for the physical and mental needs of
those who fought for us. AMEN.
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