December 30, 2012
As you know, this weekend was the Feast of the Holy Innocents which commemorates the slaughter of the innocents murdered by King Herod. I would like to begin by sharing with you my experience this past Friday when several Catholic Worker communities marched along the highway leading to the main entrance of the Pentagon to mourn the children who continue to be victims of violence. During the procession, the group halted twice, and the leader read a litany, followed by the response , “God hear our prayer.” When we arrived at the entrance of the Pentagon, we gathered in a circle, and as the group repeated the litany, some of the participants dropped to the ground to represent the victims of violence. As the police proceeded to arrest them, the crowd sang, “And they shall turn their swords into plowshares, and nations will learn war no more.”
Sister Megan will read the litany and ask that you respond with “God hear our prayer.”
Remember the 20 children who died in Newton, Conn.
Remember the 400 other children in the US under the age of 15 who die from gunshot wounds each year.
Remember the 1,770 US children who die each year from child abuse and maltreatment.
Remember the 35 children who dies in Gaza this month from Israeli bombardments.
Remember the 168 children who have been killed by US drone attacks in Pakistan since 2006
Remember the 231 children killed in Afghanastan in the first 6 months of this year.
Remember the 921 children killed by US air strikes against insurgents in Iraq.
When I agreed to speak at 8th Day, I was given a date in November, but then was asked to switch dates with someone else. In changing the date, I didn’t stop to think I would be giving the sermon on the last Sunday in 2012. I also had no way of knowing that just a few days before we were to celebrated the birth of the Christ Child, the nation would become another “…Rachel weeping for her children because they were no more… In his article that appeared in the Sunday NY Times following the murder of the children, Ross Douthat recalled for us the rage of Herod, the slaughter of the innocents, the myrrh that prepares bodies for the grave, and finally the Cross that looms behind the stable – the shadow of violence, agony and death. For us who believe that the Cross is a symbol of hope, I ask myself how we can continue to be joyful in the face of so much pain.
One of my favorite cartoon characters is little Linus of “Peanuts” fame, who informs Lucy that the world is a better place now than it was five years ago. “Why do you say that?” she asks “Well,” he replies, “I’m here now, and five years ago, I wasn’t around.” How many of us have Linus’ belief that his very existence is sufficient reason to rejoice and be glad?
Parker Palmer tells us that a person’s spiritual journey entails both inner reflection and an engagement in a specific work that will encourage the building of the beloved community. He tells us that to be a follower of Jesus doesn’t mean we should spend time in navel-gazing, neither should we lose ourselves in a frenzy of social action. He warns us of the danger of expecting immediate results in our struggle to bring about the reign of God’s truth and, justice, as it is a given that we will never be able to declare victory once and for all. But, we can find ways to stand in the gap between what is and what we long to accomplish - and be prepared to die without having achieved our goals. The question remains how I can effectively “stand in the gap,” and do the next right thing.
When a friend of mine shared with me that his wife was pregnant with their first child, he added with a grin, “I suppose this means I’ll have to start growing up.” Now that our country has transformed Barack Obama’s triumphant cry made four years ago from a “Yes, We Can” into a “Yes We Will,” I wonder if we are as ready as my friend is to “grow up” as a nation, and fulfill the original dream of our nation’s founders of becoming a United States of America.
In acknowledging that America’s role has changed since the 18th century and now is part of a world that is becoming more interdependent, we recognize that we face economic disaster as the gap between the rich and the poor – the haves and the have nots – the one percent and the nine-nine percent, increases. We are beginning to talk about the dangers inherent in climate change, and we question the feasibility of relying on the military to protect us from nuclear annihilation.
Confucius tells us that true wisdom begins with the ability to identify the true nature of a debilitating disease, and the question that we face is whether we able to name the disease – that is to say, the dis-ease that has infected us as a people.
I think of the eloquent words of a military leader who led us successfully through a world war and later became the 34th President of the United States. In his farewell address to the American people, Dwight Eisenhower testified to the disaster that would result from relying on military force to ensure the security and stability of our government
“Every gun that is made, every warship that is launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed. The world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under this cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron.”
I wonder what President Eisenhower’s response as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe would have been to the US military’s deployment of drones to combat terrorism. Would he have questioned the legal basis for defining the limits of where drones can and cannot be used, and demand a rigorous criteria for deciding which people are targeted for killing? Do we also mourn the countless numbers children who are this moment becoming the innocent victims of US drone attacks? Or should we term the killing and wounding of those who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time “collateral damage” - the unfortunate consequences of a “just” war. Should the men and woman who return from battle so emotionally and physically damaged that they are at risk of suicide or of becoming violent, also to be considered “collateral damage? We embrace the slogan “no child will be left behind,” but who will nurture the orphan or the child of war- damaged parent? Is it justice to allowing national, state, and corporate power structures to reap the benefits of mass incarceration by building and supporting prisons for profit where disproportionately long sentences are meted out to the poor, and to those belonging to ethnic and racial minorities?
I would like to cite two passages from scripture written centuries ago which are not part of today’s lectionary, but to my mind describe the nature and consequences of the di-ease that has infected 21st century society. In Deuteronomy, Moses outlines what God requires of the children of Israel in order that they may enter and prosper in the Promised Land, along with the consequences of refusing to obey. (Deut. 30:11-20)
Surely this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away...No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe. “See,” he continues, “I have set before you life and prosperity, death and adversity. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.” He ends with the simple plea. “Choose life.”
In spite of Moses’ warnings and plea to “choose life,” we are presented with Isaiah’s description of the breakdown of society following Israel’s return from captivity.
The way of peace, they do not know,
And there is no justice in their paths.
Their roads they have made crooked;
And no one who walks in them knows peace.
Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us;
We wait for light, and lo! there is darkness;
and for brightness, but we walk in gloom…
Our transgressions are indeed with us,
And we know our iniquities…
talking oppression and revolt,
conceiving lying words and uttering
them from the heart.
Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands at a distance;
for truth stumbles in the public square,
and uprightness cannot enter.
Are things any different today? “Things are falling apart, the center does not hold.” declares Yeats, a 19th century poet.
Art Laffin, of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker wrote this version of Ps; 146 just before the presidential election in which he suggests a cure for the pernicious evil that plagues society since the beginning of time.
Do not put your trust in princes and presidents,
in mortals, in whom there is no salvation.
When they die they, too, return to earth;
on that very day their plans perish.
Happy are those whose hope is…their God
who executes justice for the oppressed;
who gives food to the hungry;
who labors for the common good;
For the Lord sets prisoners free,
and opens the eyes of the blind;
the Lord raises up those who are bowed down
and loves those who do what is right.
The Lord watches over strangers, refugees and the homeless
and upholds the orphan, the widow and the immigrant.
To all earthly rulers,
to all who hold political power, to people everywhere—
take notice: do what God requires—
…follow God’s commands, not opinion polls.
End all poverty, killing, and warmaking;
beat all swords into plowshares;
eradicate racism, sexism and all forms of discrimination;
stand with and for the victims;
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice;
who care for the earth and practice nonviolence;
who do the works of mercy and peace;
who work for reconciliation for all peoples…
What should I do then in order that I may “stand in the gap,” knowing as Yeats did that things still continue to fall apart? Luke tells us in his gospel that when a crowd representing different levels of society asked this same question of John the Baptist, his reply was direct and to the point. “Do Justice and feed the poor.”
I am reminded of the rather rude expression, “put your money where your mouth is.” For in reviewing the 8th day Budget for 2013, I see how this small community has responded to the command to care for the poor by supporting missions that serve those who have become alienated from the rest of society and deprived of their voice, so that they also will enjoy full citizenship as members of God’s beloved community. I will conclude my sharing by admitting that I am often tempted to define for others what “standing in th gap” means for them, but then I recall the words of caution spoken by Julien of Norwich.
“Therefore you must overcome the habit of judging how you would make yourself acceptable to me. When you do this you are putting your providence, your wisdom before mine. It is my wisdom that tells you “The way you are acceptable to me, the way I want to love you, is the way you are now with all your defects and deficiencies. I could wipe them out in a moment if I wanted to, but then I could not love you the way I want to love you, the way you are—now”
And I take comfort in Jesus’ words when he tells his followers: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you…Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not let them be afraid.”
Amen and Alleluia