Some words from Bishop Oscar Romero
A church that doesn't provoke any crises, a gospel that doesn't unsettle, a word of God that doesn't get under anyone's skin, a word of God that doesn't touch the real sin of the society in which it is being proclaimed. And what gospel is that?”
There is no dichotomy between man and God's image. Whoever tortures a human being, whoever abuses a human being, whoever outrages a human being, abuses God's image.
There are many things that can only be seen through eyes that have cried.
Beautiful is the moment in which we understand that we are no more than an instrument of God; we live only as long as God wants us to live; we can only do as much as God makes us able to do; we are only as intelligent as God would have us be.”
Let us not tire of preaching love; it is the force that will overcome the world.”
You can tell the people that if they succeed in killing me, that I forgive and bless those who do it. Hopefully, they will realize they are wasting their time. A bishop will die, but the church of God, which is the people, will never perish.”
Peace be upon you
On Thursday August 26th, 2 suicide bombers in Afghanistan took their own lives and another 170 with them. There were no winners in this incomprehensible act. Those who perpetrated this atrocity must surely have believed that they were doing exactly the right thing. Their cause was something worth dying for and in some extreme places of any religious spectrum, people have convinced themselves that this is the will of their God.
The deaths at Kabul airport got me thinking really hard as I am unable to comprehend why someone would go to such lengths.
In my pondering I also remembered some of the martyrs of the 20th century who also laid down their life for their belief.
Is there a difference? Both died for what they believed in. Both believed their cause was right. Both thought that they were doing God a favour and probably themselves as well.
There are two important differences and I offer them up for your reflection. As always, I hope that they will be helpful and perhaps together we can understand this tortured way of thinking.
One of the differences between a Christian martyr and a suicide bomber is that for the Christian martyr death finds them, not vice versa. The Christian martyr did not get out of bed one morning, brush their teeth, scratch their head and make a conscious effort to die. Many knew that death was a possibility, but they did not consciously and actively choose to take their own life.
Take for example Bishop Oscar Romero, nominated for Nobel peace prize in 1979, He was the Bishop of El Salvador. For some time he had publicly spoke in defence of the poor and the victims of the local government’s wide spread violence.
There were threats to his life and on March 24th 1980, not that long ago really, most of us were alive when this happened, he did what he always did and publicly went to the altar to offer eucharist for his people. That was when and where he was martyred.
He knew that it was always a possibility, but he did not actively and consciously choose to kill himself.
The other important distinction which you have probably realised by now, is that the Christian martyr does not take other peoples lives with their own.
The suicide bombers in Afghanistan killed another 170 people. The difference is very easy to spot.
We are very fortunate to live where we live, in this place and in this time, here in Western Victoria. I don’t think any one is going to shoot me at the altar today and I don’t think there has been any suicide bombers in our shire..
Now the other question that made my head hurt when the Afghanistan incident occurred was this. As people of a loving God, what should our response be to such atrocities? What is the way forward?
One religious leader astutely said this.
“The contemporary world, with its open wounds which affect so many of our brothers and sisters, demands that we confront every form of polarisation which would divide it into two camps. We know that in the attempt to be freed of the enemy without, we can be tempted to feed the enemy within; so to give way to the anger of others is the best way to take their place”.
There is the retaliatory line which I am not convinced is the right way, or the path Our Lord would have taken.
One of the world leaders argued this way.
“To those who carried out this attack, know this,” “We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay.”
And another leader offered these insights on behalf of the nation they lead when a similar event occurred.
“There were words spoken by a community who, in the face of hate and violence, had every right to express anger but instead opened their doors for all of us to grieve with them. And so we say to those who have lost the most, we may not have always had the words.
We may have left flowers,, sung songs or simply embraced. But even when we had no words, we still heard yours, and they have left us humbled and they have left us united.
What words adequately express the pain and suffering of men, women and children lost, and so many injured? What words capture the anguish of our community being the target of hatred and violence? What words express the grief of a city that has already known so much pain?
I thought there were none. And then I came here and was met with this simple greeting. As-salaam Alaikum. Peace be upon you.
They were simple words, repeated by community leaders who witnessed the loss of their friends and loved ones. Simple words, whispered by the injured from their hospital beds. Simple words, spoken by the bereaved and everyone I met who has been affected by this attack.” End of quote
Yes.. this I think is the way forward. Into the face of anger and hate we gently say “Peace be upon you”.