What Now?

I post this on Mother's Day because if I could have one wish for today, it is that no one's son or daughter would ever have to die in a war or by violent actions again. Many say it can never be, but the unlikeliness of the possibility doesn't stop me from promoting peace; seemingly impossible dreams come true every day for those who won't stop trying to change the world.

There are those who call me naive (and worse) for the way I interpret the teachings of Jesus, especially in light of my blog last week, which ironically was followed just hours after I posted it by the announcement of the death of Osama bin Laden. Even though I fight my own feelings of creeping cynicism every day, I stand by what I believe Jesus meant when he instructed us to "love our enemies."

For civilization to continue, criminals must be brought to justice. I believe the military operation last week which resulted in a criminal's death was as close as we can get, by earthly standards, to justice being served. But it has been ten years since the 9/11 attacks on the U.S., and it is not justice which prevailed during that time. I believe when the first Iraqi civilian died because of the actions of our government, justice was replaced by revenge, and we became more like our enemy and less like Jesus.

Even those who want to subscribe to (and do some fancy twisting of its application) the Old Testament rule of "an eye for eye, a tooth for a tooth" would have to admit that once the civilian death toll in Iraq and Afghanistan reached just one more than the number who died on 9/11 -- a milestone we passed many times over, several years ago -- then we could safely say we became no better than our enemy.

The Old Testament is full of tales of war and vanquished foes. But, ultimately, it would seem, all of that fighting did not serve the Jews well; they are a nation living in the shadow of violence on a daily basis. That is one reason why the teachings of Jesus were so radical in his day; many Jews were expecting a conquering king, not someone who was more interested in promoting love than encouraging revenge.

To frame the context of what Jesus told his followers about loving their enemies, we need to realize they were living in a time when the Romans were a cruel occupying force, and Herod was willing to slaughter babies to stay in power. Wouldn't it seem a real leader would want to do something about that situation? Yes, and I believe Jesus taught what he did about our enemies, because he knew what works, and what doesn't.

Instead of a temporary victory over Rome, Jesus wanted to break the cycle of violence forever when he said in Matthew chapter 5, "You have heard that is was said, 'an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also." And, "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Chapter 12 in the Book of Romans is what could be called a Christian's "war manual." It concludes, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

The past ten years have been a disaster for peace. Thousands of our own troops are dead, thousands more maimed, and it is widely accepted that in Iraq, alone, over 100,000 civilians (perhaps many more) have died because of "the War on Terror." Billions of dollars have been spent. And worse, our society seems to have become immersed in a culture of revenge and hate.

As a result, there are difficult questions we need to ask ourselves. Is this the way a "Christian nation" should represent Christ? What have we really accomplished? Is it possible we have become no better than our enemy? And, finally, what now? We have killed one foe, but what about the next and the next and the one after that? When and how will the violence ever end, and at what cost to the Spirit of Jesus?