Peace is elusive

 

A couple of years back, I read a story on the internet that dealt with the police finding a young boy who had been kidnapped by some drug dealers who were in the country illegally.  As with all “news” articles these days, there were plenty of comments by readers to the story.  One of the comments—certainly not the only one to worry me, and certainly not the vilest, brought home to me just how insidious the Evil One is.  The pure evil and ignorance that it embodied created a dread in me that I felt to the bottom of my soul, primarily because the author’s stated objective was to achieve “peace” through violence.  It read:

“I don't care how much I'll end up paying for tomatoes or turnips, every illegal alien needs to be rounded up, branded (for ID purposes) and booted back across the Rio Grande.  Those that return should be shot on sight.  Their bodies can be fed to livestock in the area.  Anyone that hires an illegal alien should be hung from the nearest strong tree.  Yes, these measures may seem a little harsh to some, but they are necessary lest we lose our country and our peaceful way of life.” 

As Jesus drew near Jerusalem, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace– but now it is hidden from your eyes.” (Luke 19:41-44)

Peace is elusive. It’s especially elusive when peoples and movements believe deep in their hearts that peace can only be attained by the taking of human life.

Hatred begets war and war begets hatred.  Some, like the author of the comment above, believe the illusion that peace is attained by the taking of human life and destroying homes, communities, cities and countries. This illusion is easily believed.  For many, it’s based upon the law of common sense: if you eliminate the person who is trying to kill you, then you believe that you can live in peace.  When we begin to act upon these beliefs, then the temptation becomes to strike before “they” strike, whoever “they” are.  The enemy is no longer considered human beings, no longer our brothers and sisters, no longer God’s children.  They can be disposed of with any destructive measures at our disposal.

Rather than peace, this way of life is lived in fear.

There are plenty of stories in Scripture that are filled with images of violence, death and destruction.  The Book of Maccabees tells the story of the occupation of Israel by the rulers of the Hellenistic Empire established by Alexander the Great.  After he had conquered Israel by the sword, he then began to conquer them by abolishing their identity: destroying the Temple and what it stood for, forcing public acceptance to a pagan power and pagan gods and stripping them of their cultural heritage.  When push came to shove, some of the Hebrews became “zealous for the law and for those who stand by the covenant.”  No matter how powerful the opposition was, how big their armies and how numerous their political leaders, the Hebrew people’s desire to live the covenant faithfully, was not dealt a deathblow (1 Maccabees 2:15-29).

The reaction of Mattathias to seeing the covenant violated is very similar to the reaction of Moses to seeing his Hebrew kinsmen being beaten—striking out in anger with the sword.  Afterwards, both fled to the mountains, to escape the wrath of the oppressors (Exodus 2:11-22).

Fidelity to God and God’s love will always conquer the destructive ways of human beings. That’s the contradiction, the contradiction of the Cross.  At the middle of the Prayer of Consecration at Mass we proclaim the “Mystery of Faith”: “Dying you destroyed our death, rising, you restored our life, Come Lord Jesus!”

Love is stronger than hate.  Love will always bring new life.  Faith is the lens by which we understand our relationship with our God, and the values of peace and forgiveness, preached by God’s Son, Jesus.  Hope is the virtue that allows us to walk into a deadly situation, confident that God is there before us.

Jesus wept when He saw the people of His day believing that they had discovered the formula for staying alive, built upon the abandonment of their relationship with God.  Little do we realize that this formula of an eye for two eyes, a death for five deaths is not a winning formula.  Every nation that has made this formula their foundation stone has witnessed the destruction of their temples, not leaving one stone upon another.

The New Testament invites us to cast our lot with Jesus, the Prince of Peace!  May the Peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ be always in our hearts!