With the opening liturgy of Advent, a new liturgical season begins. In hearing the Gospel from the Feast of Christ the King (last Sunday) and hearing the Gospel for today, you have probably noticed it to be the same Gospel only written by a different evangelist. So why begin Advent by looking at the “End of the World”? Is not Advent about remembering the incarnation of Christ in the person of Jesus at Christmas?
The answer is yes and no.
THE SEASONS OF ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS
The Seasons of Advent and Christmas are about the incarnation of Jesus, however, with a different and distinct emphasis. Advent is really about our preparing for the End Times, when Jesus comes again and all of life is subsumed into the wholeness of God. As Christians we look in eager anticipation for this cosmic event when all of Creation is made right. However, as we look to this coming of Jesus in all cosmic glory, we remember the humble beginning of Christ in Jesus at his birth in the stable of Bethlehem, when the Christ, through whom all life was created, lived in solidarity among the poorest of the poor of Creation.
For the many years I directed liturgy and music, I was looking for hymns that expressed the true theology of Advent. Let’s face it, it is easy to liturgically over dose on the O Antiphons, as found in the chant, measured or not measured, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” For those who have been sentenced to sing this chant ad nauseum all four weeks of Advent, you almost wish to experience the end of the world. (Note: the O Antiphons are found liturgically in the Liturgy of the Hours, Evening Prayer, beginning on December 17th … not before December 17th).
There are many Advent hymns, “People Look East”, “O Come Divine Messiah”, and so forth, that are really focused not on the second coming of the Christ, but on the first coming of Christ in the person of Jesus.
As I reflected on the readings for this first Sunday of Advent, the liturgical musician in me sought out what might be a good Advent Hymn to express what this liturgical season is all about. The answer might surprise some people. It is the wonderful gathering hymn, composed by Marty Haugen many years ago, entitile, “Gather Us In.”
GATHER US IN
Now Catholic traditionalists, will probably cross themselves three times, and give me the evil eye for even suggesting this. Catholic traditionalists hate this hymn. They base their loud objections because the name “God” is not explicitly sung anywhere in the hymn, even though the word “God” though not in the third person, is really expressed in the second person (think of the word “you” as expressed to the person of God).
What traditionalists and restorationists ignore is that the hymn is about the “REAL PRESENCE OF JESUS” gathered together in the assembly of the baptized. We, who are the baptized, ARE also the real presence of the Christ, as the apostle Paul said over and over and over and over again in his letters. Whenever Paul used the word Christ, he was referring to the real presence of Christ in the Christian community.
What I would like to focus on is the fourth verse of the hymn. These is the hymn text that Marty Haugen wrote in the fourth verse.
“Not in the dark of buildings confining, not is some heaven light years away. But here in this place, new light is streaming, Now is the Kingdom, Now is the day!
“Gather us in, and hold us together. Gather us in and make us your own. Gather us in all peoples together, Fire of love in our flesh and our bone.”
If we truly believe that those baptized into Christ ARE the real presence of Christ in the world, our lives will be lived in making the reality of God’s Reign, already present, visible to all people around us. We are called to be already living in Reign of God already here, already present. If we truly believe that the Reign of God is fully present right now in our present time, we will live lives that are holy, lives that are not self-centered, lives that are not selfish, lives that are lived in service to others, lives of peace and justice, lives that recognize that ALL life is Sacred and reflect the real presence of God.
That is how Advent is meant to be lived. That is how we best anticipate and bring forth the living Christ to all people as we remember the birth of the Christ in the person of Jesus at Christmas.
About a week ago, I posted on Facebook that in going through some totes at home, I found some cards that my sister, Mary Ruth, sent me. Below is the message Mary Ruth wrote to Ruthie and I in February of 1988, 9 years before her death. At the time she wrote the card to us, she had almost died during a very long surgery. I remember her telling me that her internist had told her that he wished she had terminal cancer, because her suffering would be less. He told her that she would probably live another 10 years, and those years would be very, very difficult for her. Much of what he said ended up true. I am SO thankful that I have found her card to Ruthie and I.
Mary Ruth as a toddler.
As you read Mary’s message to Ruthie and I, she states an important truth. In the end, death does not kill a person. The body may die, but the person does not die. It is impossible for Death to sever the bond of love that exists between people. The bond of love we share with others lasts into eternity. When Mary writes that she will be with us in this world or the next, she is speaking the truth. I remember at her Vigil Service, her internist, who was an admitted agnostic, saying to me, that Mary is finally standing tall and healthy, freed from the illness that crippled her life so much. Of that, I am certain.
Mary Ruth and I in Butte, Montana.
BACKGROUND
Mary Ruth was sick with Crohn’s disease long before they had a name and a treatment for it. From the time she was 15 years old to her death at 42 years old in 1997, she was in and out of the hospital sometimes 3 or 4 times a year.
Mary Ruth as a high school student at Our Lady of Peace High School, and her pet dog, Nicodemus (he was born deaf).
She had multiple surgeries gradually cutting out diseased sections of her small intestine and then resectioning the remainder. At the end of her life, the 30 feet of small intestine we all have was reduced to just 3 feet for Mary. The only way she could receive nutrients was through hyperalimentation, a kind of tube feeding that delivers nutrients. The side effect of hyperalimentation is that it robs all the calcium from a person’s bones. At the time of her death, Mary suffered from osteoporosis so severely that she was bent over, and her bones so brittle that coughing would cause her to break a rib.
Mary Ruth and Ruthie around 1971.
In spite of her disease and all the many surgeries, Mary Ruth received a B.S. in occupational therapy at the College of St Catherine’s. She was a sought after occupational therapist, specializing in working with those in cardiac care. After her illness forced her to go on disability, she continued to learn, earning a Master’s Degree at the University of St Thomas, and, at the time of her death, working on a Doctorate. In addition to her education, Mary Ruth was an exceptional artist and created a series of greeting cards that were sold in the Roseville area of the Twin Cities.
Mary Ruth as a student at St Catherine’s.
THE MESSAGE SHE WROTE IN HER CARD
“Dearest Bob and Ruth,
“I want to thank you for being at my side and at the folk’s side during the latest ordeal. You both have always been there for me and I greatly appreciate it.
“The gorgeous music box brought me much comfort during the long and lonely nights. All your visits were great and did much for my psyche.
Mary as a young occupational therapist.
“Most of all, Bob, I want to thank you for my gorgeous song. As you saw, it brought tears to my eyes. It’s really beautiful and I am touched by the sound and touched because of the love you shared writing it. I’m so very lucky to have 2 songs written by you. You truly have the gift.
“I don’t think I’m worthy of such beauty, but I still thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Andy, Luke, and Aunt “Dee”.
“I also wanted to thank you for taking the time to talk to me on that most difficult day. It takes a lot of courage for you and the folks to let me control my destiny. The MD’s have told me so many times that I was dying and then I didn’t. Part of me says the fight isn’t worthy it anymore, the other side says your work isn’t finished yet.
Andy, Meg, and Aunt “Dee”.
“I’ve always hoped and prayed that I could grow up with you and Ruth and the kids. Whether I do or not, spiritually, I’ll always be by your side whether in this world or part of the next. I promise I’ll never leave your sides.
Mary Ruth and our her niece, Joan.
“I love you all so deeply. I can never repay all your kindnesses and love you’ve sent my way but I’ll keep trying.
Mary Ruth at the time she wrote this message.
“Thank you all for your specialness and all your sharing of self.
I’m so proud to say to everyone that you’re my family.
Much, much love, kisses and hugs,
Mary”
Mary Ruth, Meg, and Beth at Easter. You can see the toll Crohn’s Disease had taken.)
I am so thankful this Thanksgiving in rediscovering this message from my sister, Mary. Even though twenty-four Thanksgivings have passed since her death, I miss her as much as I did that first Thanksgiving following her death. As time passes, I find that she was right about being at my side. In some ways, I feel her nearer and more present to me than ever. Happy Thanksgiving Mary Ruth!
The burial sites of my Dad (left) and Mary Ruth (right).
Anthony Huber, killed by Kyle Rittenhouse (photo from CNN)
Like so many others, I was shocked and angered at the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse this past Friday. I was equally upset with the behavior of the judge, who seemed to be overwhelming prejudiced in favor of Rittenhouse. The bottom line remains, this seventeen year old kid, crossed State lines with an AR-15 semiautomatic weapon, open fired on three unarmed men, killing two of them, and severely injuring the third. Regardless of the position of the judge, who refused to allow the prosecution to call the men Rittenhouse shot and killed, “victims”, it is clear that the deceased and Mr Grosskerutz ARE victims of extreme violence. For Rittenhouse to walk away without any repercussions for his actions is a gross miscarriage of justice. For Rittenhouse to be praised and lauded by the “gun gods” of our nation as an example of American justice, including members of Congress, is not only vile, disgusting and scandalous, but it is extremely dangerous.
Joseph Rosenbaum, shot and killed by Kyle Rittenhouse (photo from CNN)
SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS
America’s Idolatry of Gun and Violence
The worship of guns in our nation is very disturbing. It is one thing to own a shotgun or a deer rifle for hunting, it is another thing to own weapons that have no other purpose than to destroy human life. The relaxation of gun laws in our nation has effectively declared “an open hunting season” on all human life. The proliferation of military grade weapons with white outrage, white privilege and vigilantism, and the belief that in owning a such a destructive weapon the owner elevates his testosterone to compensate for an apparent lack of male sexual deficiency (remember the old military axiom, “This is my rifle, this is my gun. This is for shooting, this is for fun.”), we have the perfect storm for an increase of death and destruction in our nation, in our states, in our communities, and in our neighborhoods.
Owning and Firing Gun as a False Rite of Passage.
Rittenhouse, an immature, 17 year old overly indulgent adolescent (some might call a brat) with an over-inflated ego and bravado, believed that in his wielding a AK-15, he would, single-handedly, restore justice in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He also falsely believed that in hanging this dangerous weapon around his neck and parading through the streets of Kenosha, he would somehow undergo some “rite of passage” that would transform him from being a little boy into becoming a “man”. His own testimony on the witness stand illustrated far too clearly how false this “rite of passage” was. When confronted with the crime he committed and finally cognizant of the possibility of a long prison term he could face, he broke down and “cried like a baby”, revealing to the world that he remains a very vulnerable, scared, little boy.
The Elevation of Rittenhouse as a Gun “Patriot”.
More disturbing and destructive for Rittenhouse is in being acquitted of the crime he committed, he remains clueless as to the tremendous harm his irresponsible act of stupidity and bravado has caused, not only destroying the lives of his victims and their families, but, also, how destructive his acquittal is to justice being accomplished in the United States. This is made significantly worse in his being elevated, lauded, and worshipped by the gun lobby, and those in Congress who have sold their souls to the gun lobby; paraded about as some kind of patriotic gun god who embodies the soul of the United States. If Rittenhouse is foolish enough to believe the chum bait these enemies of justice are flinging at him, he will only sink lower as human being, never maturing into becoming a just, responsible, adult male.
Gaige Grosskreutz, critically wounded by Kyle Rittenhouse. (Photo from CNN)
RELIGIOUS RESPONSE TO SENSELESS ACTS OF VIOLENCE AND INJUSTICE
What is the Christian response to all this gun violence that is ripping apart not only the bodies of those killed and injured, but ripping apart the lives of the victims’ families, and our communities?
Reciprocal Justice and Hammurabi’s Code
I acknowledge within myself, and all of humanity, a visceral response of anger to injustice. When someone commits a crime, we all feel this urge to “get even” for the wrongs committed by the one we perceive as guilty. Our response of reciprocity is best expressed by the television police detective, Barreta, who was fond of saying, “When you do the crime, you gotta to do the time.” This visceral response goes back as far back as ancient Ur (the city from which Abraham came), in a code of law issued by the Sumerian ruler Ur-Nammu, who in the twenty-first century B.C.E., first established a law of retribution for criminal acts. This was later codified by Hammurabi two centuries later as an “Eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,” and, later adopted and codified into Hebrew law (Exodus 21:22-24 and Leviticus 24:19-21). Literally, this code of law said that if one plucks out the eye of another, the injured party has the right to pluck out the eye of his attacker.
God as a God of Retribution
This, sadly, is also reflective in how God is perceived as a God of retribution. In the Hebrew Scriptures, the behavior of God toward those in opposition was very retributive. When the Hebrew Prophet, Miriam, who was Moses’ sister, objected to her brother Moses’ seemingly lack of concern for the welfare of the Israelites, God punished her severely by inflicting upon her a disease that disfigured her and ostracized her from the Israelite community. Moses was similarly treated with harsh retribution by God in striking the Rock at Meribah, instead of just speaking to the Rock. For this seemingly minor breach of behavior, Moses was condemned by God to die and never enter the Promised Land.
The Pentateuch is filled with stories of a very vengeful God of retribution, from the fiery destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Great Flood that drowned all but Noah and his family and those animals he rescued, asps sent to bite and kill people who opposed God, and so on.
God as a terrible Judge
Our human perception of God as a terrible judge of retribution has carried over to Christianity. All one has to do is read the text of the hymn, “Dies Irae”, from the old Catholic Requiem Masses, to experience the very human belief of a God who demands fierce retribution from those who are in opposition to God, regardless as to how minor or major an offense is committed.
Here is a portion of the long text of this hymn once sung at the end of a funeral Mass.
Day of wrath! O day of mourning! Heaven and earth in ashes burning! oh, what fear man’s bosom rendeth, When from heaven the Judge descendeth,
On whose sentence all dependeth. All before the throne it bringeth. All creation is awaking, To its Judge an answer making.
Worthless are my prayers and sighing, Yet, good Lord, in grace complying, Rescue me from fires undying. … With Thy sheep a place provide me,
From the goats afar divide me, To Thy right hand do Thou guide me. When the wicked are confounded, Doomed to flames of woe unbounded,
Call me with Thy saints surrounded. Low I kneel, with heart’s submission, See, like ashes, my contrition, Help me in my last condition.
Needless to say, this is the stuff of horrific nightmares for Catholic kids, such as I, 60 years ago, who had to sing these verses at Latin Requiem Masses (of course, we sang Requiem Masses to get out of school). If one thinks this is just isolated to Catholicism, one is gravely mistaken. The “righteous retribution of God” is the stuff of much “Hell fire and damnation” sermons spouted at the services of ALL Christian denominations.
Is it any wonder that with a human visceral response of retribution combined with a religious understanding of God as a bloodthirsty God of Vengeance for wrong acts, that Christianity has been as viciously cruel in its response to perceived human grievances? People burned at the stake on the part of ALL Christian denominations, executions by being hung, drawn, and quartered, the torturous devices of Medieval Europe (e.g. the Iron Maiden), the torture of the Spanish Inquisition and so on, is only reflective of a widely accepted perception of the nature of God as a God of Wrath, and God as a Terrible Judge.
Perceived Righteous Reciprocity in our Entertainments Of course, this human idea of vengeful reciprocity is not just isolated to religion but is very much present in our entertainments. Do not audiences cheer when Rambo eviscerates the “bad guys” with bursts of machine gun fire, Dirty Harry practices his own vigilante justice toward a serial killer with his 45 caliber weapon at close range, and the good, old boys from Lethal Weapon movies shoot, strangle and blow up their enemies. Violent reciprocation for injustice is not only accepted but lauded by many as Divinely instituted. Yet, in the midst of the horror and carnage of the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln was very cautious as to the Union’s relationship to God. When someone once confidently proclaimed that God was on the side of the Union, Lincoln responded, “It’s not a question of whether God is on our side, but, rather if we are on the side of God.”
Exposing violent retribution for what it truly is rare in our modern entertainments.
WHAT DOES JESUS TEACH US
In the four canonical Gospels, Jesus erases the Hebrew Scriptures image of God as a God of retribution and violence. Rather, Jesus reveals God as a God of love, a God in love with ALL creation. Following the Beatitudes in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, Jesus abdicates the Mosaic law with a new commandment.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on (your) right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow. (Mt 5:38-42, NAB)
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Mt 5:43-48, NAB)
Upon being crucified, Jesus did not call on God to destroy those who were torturing him and executing him. Rather, Jesus calls out to God from the cross, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” (Lk 23:34, NAB) As we read here, Jesus calls upon God to love and to forgive the very people who plotted his death, betrayed him, and executed him.
Clearly, the portrayal of the vengeful, angry God in the Hebrew Scriptures is revealed to be an inaccurate portrayal by the teachings of Jesus, who we, as Christians, believe is the Logos, the Word of God, and the Son of God.
How do we, as Christians, hold people accountable for their crimes? The Christian response to crime and grievances, is not retribution. Rather, the Christian response to crime and grievances is restorative justice.
Rittenhouse tried for the crime of firing upon and killing these men was found not guilty. He did not receive a jail sentence for the horrific violence he perpetuated upon citizens of Kenosha. Would the reciprocal justice of Rittenhouse serving 10, 15, 20 years of jail time alter the behavior of Rittenhouse? We will never know. However, Rittenhouse walking away from his crime, without being held accountable for his behavior, guarantees that he will not alter his behavior. What is needed and what was lacking at the trial of Rittenhouse was “restorative justice.”
In the biographical movie of Ron Kovic, “Born on the Fourth of July”, we see a form of restorative justice. Ron Kovic enlists in the Marines and does two tours of duty in Vietnam. He is involved in a kind of Mi Lai massacre, and retreats with his unit following the massacre. During the retreat, Kovic accidentally kills Wilson, a member of his own platoon. He reports to his commanding officer that he was responsible for the death of Wilson. He is told by his commanding officer to cover it up and forget about it. Shortly after, Kovic is critically wounded in a firefight, ending up paralyzed from the chest down. What follows for Kovic is a long tale of redemption, and culminates when he goes to the grave site of Wilson, the man he had accidentally killed. Following this visit to the gravesite, he goes and confesses his guilt in the death of Wilson to Wilson’s parents and widow. While Wilson’s widow is unable to forgive Kovic, Wilson’s parents do forgive him.
In the movie, “Schindler’s List”, we also see a form of restorative justice when Schindler, a war profiteer, sells all of his possession to save the lives of the Jews who work as prison labor in his factory. And while not guilty of any crime, in the movie, “Forrest Gump”, we see Forrest, suddenly very wealthy as a shrimper, take half of his wealth he has gained and gives it to the family of his best friend, Bubba, who had been killed in Vietnam. It was Bubba who suggested to Forrest that they go in the shrimping business.
Probably one of the most striking stories of restorative justice, is one of Mahatma Gandhi’s words to an Indian Hindu man. At a time of great violent fighting between Muslim and Hindu factions in India, a Hindu man came to Gandhi crying and feeling hopeless. He told Gandhi that he killed a Muslim boy. When Gandhi asked him why he did such a deed, the man responded by saying it was because Muslims killed his little son. Gandhi said to him, that in order to heal his soul, the man must go and find a boy whose parents had been killed. He was to raise the boy as his own son. He told the Hindu man, “Make sure you find a Muslim boy and raise him as a Muslim! Then your soul will live again.”
Restorative Justice for Kyle Rittenhouse Redemption for Kyle Rittenhouse can be found only in an act of restorative justice. If Rittenhouse truly wants to undergo a rite of passage into manhood, he needs to do the following acts of restorative justice.
First, he must throw away his guns and a life style that believes that gun violence and gun justice is the only way to achieve justice in the United States.
Secondly, and most importantly, he must make restitution to the families of the two men he slayed, and to the man and his family who he critically wounded. The restitution can begin by his falling to his knees and asking forgiveness of the families of the victims he killed and wounded.
This must be followed by a lifelong promise and commitment to serve the families of those he killed and critically wounded. Using the Code of Hammurabi as a metaphor, instead of “sacrificing his eyes” for the eyes he plucked out, restoratively, he must become the eyes and serve those whose eyes he plucked out. The lives of those he slew cannot be restored. However, he can serve the families of those he slew in their absence.
The purpose of Rittenhouse’s life changed when he shot and killed these men. His life can no longer be spent in serving his own selfish interests. He sacrificed that when he pulled the trigger that killed and wounded these men. His purpose in life must now be devoted to the survivors of those he killed and injured. It is in doing this that Rittenhouse will make his rite of passage into true manhood.
Since the judge and the jury refused to hold Rittenhouse accountable for his crime, Rittenhouse must now hold himself accountable, for that will be the only way that he will be able to heal his soul. The path for a just life for Rittenhouse is clear. If he refuses to do this, he will never be free from the ghosts of those he slew. They will follow him and haunt him for the rest of his life.
This solemnity once was simply known as the Solemnity of Christ the King. It seems in more recent times to take on the longer title … bringing to my mind that Jesus Christ is now a member of the Marvel Universe of super heroes. However, before we begin to envision Jesus Christ as a Marvel super hero, heavily muscular, dressed in bright colored leotards with a big JC emblazoned on his chest, we need to unpack all the images, religious and those influenced by social media of Jesus the Christ. My approach to this is from the alternative theological orthodoxy of St. Francis of Assisi.
Liturgically, this solemnity marks the end of the Catholic liturgical year, and the beginning of the new liturgical year next weekend as we celebrate the First Sunday of Advent. That being said, what does it mean to entitle Jesus Christ as Lord and King of the Universe?
Viewing this feast through the eyes and the mind of Francis of Assisi, gives us a wonderful insight into the feast.
The Alternative Orthodoxy of Francis of Assisi
The theology of Francis of Assisi saw the incarnation of Jesus not as one that was redemptive. Jesus did not come to atone for sin. God did not need a blood sacrifice in order to love what God created. The purpose of Jesus was to reveal that God loves us inherently for who we are. There is no exclusion in the theology of Francis of Assisi, but rather inclusion. Jesus was born among the poor in a stable, and that that alone revealed to humanity that we were already redeemed. The inclusivity of Jesus is revealed in that he lived among those despised, those most hated, and served them, teaching them that God loved them regardless of their imperfections. The most revealing sign of the inclusiveness of God’s love is Jesus’ solidarity with all of humanity, even being executed alongside criminals.
The First Incarnation of the Christ
In the theology of Francis of Assisi, and the Franciscan theologians, Bonaventure and Duns Scotus, the first incarnation did not occur at the birth of Jesus, but rather at the very beginning of the universe, created over 5 billion years ago. This is supported in the Prologue of John’s Gospel (the Gospel of the Day on Christmas and regretfully, rarely if ever proclaimed at Christmas), in which it was through the Logos or Word of God (think Jesus) that all life began, God’s breath (think Ruach, the female tense of God’s Spirit) breathing life into that which was created. Essentially from that very moment, the DNA of Christ, God the Word, was imprinted in ALL which was created, both animate and inanimate. In other words, all created things, be it a rock, vegetable, animal, and human, bear the living image of God. Period! This theology explains the behavior of Francis of Assisi who addressed all of Creation as Brother or Sister (see The Canticle of the Creatures, or Canticle of the Sun), and could be found removing earth worms from the path of horses’ hooves on the highways and byways of Assisi. It also explains why Franciscans are and must be people of non-violence and environmentalists. Quite simply how can we kill life, whether it be human, animal, or environment, if we see the face of God imprinted upon it all?
This also reveals, in the words of Fr Richard Rohr, Franciscan and theologian, that God is very comfortable with multiplicity and pluralformity. For within all of Creation, each different manifestation shows us the eternal inclusiveness of God. In other words, God is all about harmony of all of the parts and things of Creation.
The Second Incarnation of the Christ
In Franciscan theology, the second incarnation of the Christ was at the birth of Jesus. As was stated above, in the union of God with humanity at the birth of Jesus, God showed all of humanity God’s human face.
In this time of extreme tribalism, in which humanity is broken into extreme factions, evident in our courtrooms, evident in our politics, evident in the violence in our neighborhoods and cities, the wars between nations, the misogyny, the racism, and in the religious intolerance of humanity.
The second incarnation of God in Jesus of Nazareth illustrates God’s harmony with all of humanity. Jesus the Christ is the living sign of God’s harmony with all of life, as opposed to the polarization that humanity likes to heap upon our understanding of God and life. Building upon the harmony of God in all of Creation’s various parts, can only one religious understanding of God state that it and it alone holds the full and complete knowledge of God? The Psalmist would say no. The apostle Paul would say absolutely not! For who knows the mind of God? This question reaches an emphatic answer, “None of us.” Neither Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Shintoism, Buddhism, or any other religion in the world can contain the full and complete understanding of God. Rather, as in nature, God is revealed a little in each of these religious understandings. I think it rather telling that the Great Commandment of Jesus is present in various different forms in all of the world’s major religions. This illustrated vividly for me the truthfulness in the statement that within all these different religions exists the harmony of God.
So as we close out this liturgical year, how do we go about evaluating how well we have lived the life God has given us this year? In what way, has the harmony implicit in God and manifested in Jesus the Christ, been lived out in our lives?
As I look over my own life, I continue to find brokenness in my life. With the violence and disharmony, the selfishness and self-centeredness present in all areas of human life, I find myself getting caught up in all that disharmony. In other words, I could have done better.
Action Steps
What are some action steps I can take in order to make my life more cosmic (cosmos means harmony), more harmonious with all of life?
The First Step
The first is simply healing the brokenness that continues to exist within my own life. Just as the world is broken into factions, so within all of human life, mine included, exists broken factions, disharmony. In my prayer, I am calling upon God to not take away my broken, sinful nature, for as St Paul writes in 2nd Corinthians, it is in my sin (the metaphor Paul uses is “the thorn in my side”), my brokenness that the power of God is revealed. Rather, I am seeing my brokenness and sinfulness as a blessing from God, for my sinfulness is revealing to me that I am powerless in healing myself, and am totally reliant upon God to heal my brokenness.
The theology of Francis of Assisi recognizes that we not strive to be perfect, for perfection is something that applies only to God. Rather, we strive for poverty, recognizing within ourselves our powerlessness, and our imperfections. When we can own our vulnerability and our imperfections, then we are in solidarity with the vulnerability and imperfections of all people. Jesus never expressed anger at sinners. Rather, the only people Jesus confronted were those who thought they were perfect and would not acknowledge their own vulnerability and powerlessness over the sin in their lives. When we all can acknowledge our vulnerability and powerlessness, we can also know that we are beloved children of God, that God loves us, cares for us and believes in us, in spite of our imperfections.
The Second Step
The second action step is to continue to pray for not only those with whom I am in solidarity, but to pray for those who are diametrically opposed to me. The prayer is not for God to throw lightning bolts at those with whom I vehemently at odds (unlike the psalmist who asks God to bash the heads of his enemies on the rocks). Rather, I pray that God’s self may grow within them, that their understanding of God may grow and that they begin to choose paths of harmony.
Third Action Step
The third action step is to begin to live that second action step. In other words, to emulate the harmony and love of God toward those with whom I find myself opposed. However, I have tried to be more inclusive in my prayer life. Included in my daily prayer are intercessions for not only those who think like me, but also for the welfare for those diametrically opposed to what I think is important. What I need to do is emulate more in my life is acting upon that for which I have been praying.
Fourth Action Step and Third Incarnation of Christ
The fourth action step requires an understanding that what the Christian community calls the “second coming of Christ” has already occurred at Pentecost, when, through the power of the Spirit of God, the breath of God, the fullness of Jesus the Christ was passed on to the apostles and to those whom the apostles baptized. As the apostle Paul tells us in Romans, we have been baptized into the death AND into the resurrection of Jesus the Christ. We, who are baptized, ARE the third incarnation of Jesus. This is why when the apostle Paul uses the word, “Christ”, he is referring to the full presence of Jesus the Christ within the Christian community. Our work is the same as that of Jesus, in his second incarnation, namely, to reveal the real presence of God in our world.
I think we mistakenly think that our mission as a Christian community is to “build up the Reign of God” in our world, as if God’s Reign is completely absent in the world without us working to build it here. On the contrary, the Reign of God in our world was already present at the moment of Creation. Our purpose, our mission in life is to reveal to all that Reign of God is already fully present here in our world.
So my fourth action step is to peel back, so to speak, all that covers the real presence of God’s Reign for all to see. As the apostle Paul tells us in 2nd Corinthians, as we get closer to death, we begin to see that which is truly real, that which has existed from the beginning of time. All that we see, all that we experience in life is transitory, a smokescreen that has masked the reality of God’s Reign.
This will require me to first peel away in my own life, that which masks the Reign of God present in me. As little by little, I peel away the masks I have created for myself in order to fool myself and others to think I am someone different from who I am really, I reveal in each unveiling the Reign of God within me. In the disrobing of false identity and the false selves I have constructed, I rid myself of the disharmony in my life and find harmony. As I work toward harmony in my life I must also simultaneously work toward harmony in the world around me. In my working for harmony instead of disharmony, in my working for God’s justice and peace in our world, in my prayers, in what I say, and in what I do, I, in solidarity with others, will reveal the Reign of God that is around us and within us.
Fifth Action Step
My fifth and final action step is to accept that in all the previous four action steps, I will do this imperfectly.
All this steps are expressed wonderfully in this poem by Francis of Assisi
Dear God, please reveal to us your sublime beauty
that is everywhere, everywhere, everywhere,
so that we will never again feel frightened.
My divine love, my love, please let us touch your face.*
I believe that is our doing of all these steps, we will fully acknowledge the reality of God Reign in our lives and that Jesus the Christ is really the Lord and King of the Universe.
Auxilary Bishop of St Paul and Minneapolis, Joseph Charron, once shared a story about the military burial of a war veteran. He said that the area around the gravesite was wet and slippery because it had rained the night before. As the American Legion Honor Guard raised their rifles and fired off a volley of gun fire in honor of the dead veteran, the mother of the dead soldier, slipped in the mud and fell. The grandson of the fallen woman cried out, “My God! They shot Grandma!”
I honor and respect the great sacrifice of all men and women who have served in the armed forces of the United States, many suffering death in combat, and, as equally, many suffering horrific physical and psychological wounds from their experience in combat that scars them and plagues them for the rest of their lives. I cannot begin to imagine the horror they have seen, and the demands that combat placed on them, morally and emotionally, that changed their lives forever. I have seen many of these men in the parish homeless shelter of St Stephen’s Catholic Church in South Minneapolis, so scarred from their combat experiences that they could never again slip into the normal pattern of civilian life following their service in the armed forces. The psychological damage being so great for them, that they turned to self-medicating with alcohol and street drugs in a desperate attempt to shut off the memories of war.
Homeless War Veterans
On this Veterans Day, 2021, I am thinking of those men who were coming into the parish homeless shelter at St Stephen’s during the time of my assignment at the parish. In many ways, the homeless shelter at St Stephen’s was a living memorial to war veterans, many of whom had been irreparably harmed by combat. At that time, many of these men were the casualties of the Vietnam War. As I was reassigned to another parish by the Archbishop, the first number of those who fought in the 1st Gulf War started to trickle into the homeless shelter. I am sure, that number has been swelled tremendously by those who suffer incurable mental injuries from both the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars.
Are the Ways We Honor our War Dead and Combat Veterans Appropriate?
In Memorial Park of New Prague, they have just finished putting up another big memorial honoring those who have served in our armed forces. In every town in the United States, on the grounds of every park, every capital throughout the United States we will find numerous memorials to those who fought and died in our armed forces. Every park has decommissioned weapons of war, cannons, helicopter warships, and so on, that killed and tore apart the bodies of human beings, soldiers and civilians alike.
What I find it so ironic is that the very weapons which killed, horrifically maimed, and psychologically damaged our veterans, are used symbolically to honor them. The rifles that fired off the volley of shots at every military burial, are replicas of the very weapons that have killed thousands, millions of the bodies of our veterans buried in our church, civil, and national cemeteries. The cannons that litter our parks, once used in war, are just replicas of the explosive rain of shrapnel that killed and maimed many of those we honor on this day.
I wonder if the very symbols by which we attempt to honor our veterans, in truth, really dishonors the sacrifice that they made, and, ironically, glorifies the warfare that destroyed their lives.
Building Memorials That Truly Honor and Respect our Veterans
I think the most powerful memorials to our war veterans, are not the statues of warriors on horseback, nor the lifting of the flag on Iwo Jima which glorify combat. Rather, the most powerful memorials to our war veterans that speak viscerally to people are memorials like the Vietnam War Memorial in whose inscribed names of the fallen men and women of that war speaks not only of the great sacrifice they made, but the reality of the horror and folly of warfare.
To truly honor those who have been killed and maimed physically and mentally by warfare, the time has come to rid our parks of weapons of mass destruction, e.g. cannons, and melt them down into farm implements. To quote Isaiah 2:4b and c: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.” (NAB) Rather than the honor guard firing off a volley of shots, far better to leave the rifles unloaded and silenced in their pickup trucks. The haunting melody of taps, blown on a bugle, alone expresses volumes of the honor, the sacrifice, and the grief at the death of a veteran, especially a veteran of war.
What Would Jesus Do?
Throughout the Gospels, never does Jesus speak honorably of warfare and violence. In fact, he is quite explicit against it, so much so, that at the very time of his arrest, subsequent torture and execution, he reprimands Peter for cutting off the ear of one of the men arresting him, saying, “Those who live by the sword, die by the sword.”
Perhaps, the best way to honor the lives, and sacrifice of the lives of our veterans, is to erect memorials to honor those who work for peace as expressed by Jesus in the Beatitudes.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” (Matthew 5:3-12, NAB)
