Blessed, and Powerful, are the Peacemakers
Blessed, and Powerful, Are the Peacemakers
A Sermon for Pleasant Street Church, UCC
October 4, 2009
Rev. Reebee Girash
Texts: Luke 22: 47-51; Matthew 5:3-10
Luke
47 While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him; 48 but Jesus said to him, “Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?” 49 When those who were around him saw what was coming, they asked, “Lord, should we strike with the sword?” 50 Then one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. 51 But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him.
Matthew
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
In East Germany in the eighties the government arrested anyone who protested their oppressive regime. There were Stasi spies watching. Freedom of speech did not exist. Dissatisfaction with the regime was growing but its expression was dangerous. Some folks wanted out – other folks wanted to stay and change the regime. Few liked the status quo – but few had cause to hope for change.
There was one place where people could speak truthfully and openly about their human situation – that was the church. Every Monday night since 1981 people gathered in the Nikolai church in Leipzig to pray for peace, to talk about change, and to ready themselves to demonstrate.
Leipzig seemed like a powderkeg on October 9, 1989. In the weeks before, police had roughed up protesters and made many arrests. The government planned to crush the resistance. October 9 was shaping up to be a showdown. Hospitals were cleared to prepare for injuries. The police geared up for riots. The government readied for a German version of Tiananmen Square.
And the pastors of the downtown churches continued to preach non-violence. To the police and the government: non-violence and change. To the demonstrators: non-violent resistance.
~~
Jesus was a healer, a prophet, a miracle worker. Someone who had the power of God at his disposal. Someone who could turn water into wine; five loaves into thousands; blindness into sight. The devil tempted him once to use that power for his own gain – to establish an earthly kingdom. But Jesus would not. His own message – resisting the oppression of Rome; turning away from the hypocrisy of the Temple elite; touching the untouchable, forgiving the unforgivable, practicing love and justice and showing people how the world could be – his own message was so threatening to the powers that be that tensions began to build. Romans and Pharisees and chief priests began to plot. They sent spies to catch him. They gathered swords and clubs and made ready for a fight. The question was, how would Jesus use his power? If he could walk on water, could he not fly away from the soldiers? If he could lift a paralyzed man to his feet, could he not push back his attackers? Could he not climb down from the cross? Peter wanted him to escape. Those who went with him to the Mount of Olives – they brought swords. What would Jesus do? He could conquer this world with a wave of his hand. All he had to do was to use their tactics. All he had to do was to use violence.
They came for him in the night, where none would see it. Judas betrayed him with a kiss. His followers couldn’t take it. “One of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear.” If it had turned into a battle, you know Jesus could have won it. It’s what they all wanted him to do.
“But Jesus said, ‘No more of this!’ And he touched [the slave’s] ear and healed him.”
It looked like his attackers had won.
But then came Easter.
Jesus didn’t need the sword to win the ultimate victory.
That victory was for all, everywhere, even those who hated him. That victory changed everything.
Looking upon him on the cross, the centurion said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!” (Mark 15:39) “This man was righteous.” (Luke 23:47)
When you meet violence with non-violent resistance, you break the cycle. You defeat violence and all that it stands for. You change the equation.
Thomas Merton wrote, “Christian non-violence is not built on a presupposed division, but on the basic unity of man (sic)…[It is out] for the healing and reconciliation of man with himself…the nonviolent resister…is fighting for everybody…The meekness and humility which Christ extolled in the Sermon on the Mount and which are the basis of true Christian non-violence, are inseparable from an eschatological Christian hope which is completely open to the presence of God in the world…” (“Blessed Are the Meek: The Roots of Christian Nonviolence,” 1967, in The Universe Bends Toward Justice: A Reader on Christian Non-Violence in the US) In other words, when we choose to use non-violence instead of violence, we choose to believe not just in the short term, but in the way God is working to bring healing and justice to the world, in the long term. We could win a swordfight, but that would be just a battle. Instead, we are called to turn swords into ploughshares and plant seeds of peace.
Through the 20th century, some skeptics have looked upon non-violence as a weak strategy, equating it with passivity. Theologian Walter Wink dissuades us from that idea: “Jesus was no less committed to opposing evil than the anti-Roman resistance fighters. The only difference was over the means to be used: how one should fight evil.” Instead of passivity or violent opposition, Jesus presented a third way, which Wink calls militant non-violence. What the NRSV translates as “Do not resist an evildoer.” (Matthew 5:39) Wink translates, “Do not let evil dictate the terms of your opposition.” (“Jesus’ Third Way,” 1987, in The Universe Bends Toward Justice: A Reader on Christian Non-Violence in the US)
In Jesus’ time, the people he was preaching to – the oppressed – had no hope to win freedom through violence. But, it is sometimes possible to change the hearts and minds of the oppressor by responding with non-violent resistance. And it is possible to empower the oppressed through the practice of non-violence. Among the benefits of non-violent resistance to the oppressed, Wink says the oppressed can, “seize the moral initiative, find a creative alternative to violence, and assert [their] own human dignity.” (Several copies of Wink’s article on this subject are available in the Narthex.) The twentieth century has also shown us that non-violent resisters can bring defeat their oppressors, through the power of non-violence.
~~
The peace pray-ers came out from the church, into the crowds, and the chants began:
We are the people!
No violence!
We are the people!
No violence!
And the police, in the face of a crowd of non-violent resisters, could not bring themselves to use force. The government realized they were no match for this non-violent power. And that was die Wende – the Turning Point.
Thanks be to God for the power of non-violence.
Amen.