Blessed are the peacemakers

Bloggers can be peacemakers. Therefore I join Jim West in proclaiming, let there be peace.

In Matthew after the ear is cut off by the unnamed person Jesus says: Put away your sword for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. In Mark, Jesus reminds his captors that they did not need weapons and that they could have apprehended any day of the week as he taught in the Temple. Likewise, in Luke. In John, we are told it was Simon Peter who cut off the right ear. Jesus said in John, “Put your sword into its shealth; shall I not drink the cup which the Father has given me?” Only in the Gospel of Luke does Jesus teach us by his example. Jesus restores the ear and heals the servant of the high priest.

The problem of war and ethnic hate is illustrated by this example form American history. In 1916, the U.S. had a thriving German ethnic culture. In many neighborhoods German was an American tongue. In 1917, after the U.S. entry into WWI, German shops were destroyed, despite the American flags they hung in their windows. German-Americans were beaten and killed in mob violence. Sauerkraut became "Liberty Cabbage," the German language a mark of shame. By the end of the war, German-American culture effectively disappeared from the American mainstream. Yet as a pseudo-underground, the German-American Bund became a fertile breeding ground for the support of fascism.

"Those who don't learn from history are condemned to repeat it." I pray that our generation will at least make different mistakes.

I am concern not only will that our role as peacemaker, in making expedited delivery of munitions to Israel and Saudi Arabia will lead to a new level of violence in the Middle East, but also it lead to more violence in the United States. Our society and our government make money by supplying munitions of all sizes and shapes purely for entertainment purposes only. Why do you think we are experiencing new level gun violence in our cities? Next week Hezbollah will launch missiles from another site in another country and our government will provide more munitions leading to another level of violence made possible by our role as the world’s largest supplier of munitions.

Actions have consequences. We should pray that our actions be peaceful in the extreme even if it means that our economy might suffer. However, Jane Jacobs demonstrated that the manufacture of weapons is destructive in its economic effects. Therefore we should be supplying peacemakers that are not munitions and are not destructive in its economic effects.

Let there be peace. Our government should be creating a new Peace Corps for the Middle East including Iraq and Afghanistan. What a novel idea!

P.S. The Peace Corps has been in existence for forty five years. It has no presence in the Middle East (except Jordan), Iraq or Afganhanistan.

Copyrighted 2006

Religion

Christianity

Gospel of Luke