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VISION OF JUSTICE IN A WORLD
OF TURMOIL
An interfaith Gathering held at the Sherborn
Community Center on March 10, 2002. Organized by the Social Justice
Committee of St. Theresašs Catholic Church
Address by Lewis M. Randa
I am deeply gratified to be with you today as we give voice to our
shared vision of a Peaceable Kingdom in a world which is gripped
by the realization that no one is exempt from the horrors of war,
for to be a civilian is to be a target.
I would like to share with you an extraordinary prayer that requires
that we rethink the notion of forgiveness, and realize that to full
forgiveness demands from us much more than we are often willing
to give. This prayer was found on the body of an anonymous woman
in Auschwitz.
O Lord,
Remember not only
the men and women of good will
but also those of evil will. And in
remembering the suffering they
inflicted upon us,
honor the fruits
we have borne thanks to this suffering
--- our comradeship, our humility,
our compassion, our courage,
our generosity, the greatness of heart
that has grown out of all this;
and when they come to the judgment,
let all the fruits that we have borne,
be their forgiveness. Amen.
In the spirit of this prayer, I ask, are we willing to accept that
the good that has come from the heinous crimes of September 11,
like this very gathering, and thousands like it throughout America,
can be offered up towards the hi-jackers forgiveness? Is this something
we're willing to do, or wish to do, or are capable of? Would doing
so, like the author of this prayer intended, be a good thing for
humanity? Have we evolved sufficiently to see the wisdom in forgiveness?
The unspeakable attack on the United States on September 11th is
viewed by the vast majority of the world as Americašs baptism by
fire, for in no uncertain terms we are the newest member of a club
where there are no winners, except those with stock in the weapons
industry ū but in the world of spirit and conscience, they are the
real losers.
As General Dwight D. Eisenhower said following WW II, "Every gun
that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies,
in the final sense, a theft from those who are hungry and not fed."
But the theft doesn't stop there. Each time we use violence to attempt
to settle disputes or seek retribution or to even the score or annihilate
an enemy, we turn a deaf ear to the teachings of a man who sought
to teach us otherwise.
Dear God, we plea, teach us your ways.
Why is it so hard to stop our addiction to fighting fire with fire,
even when we know down deep in the long run it makes matters worse?
Why do we continue Lord, to kill people to show people that killing
people is wrong? Each time we go to war, we become so much like
our enemy that it's hard to tell us apart. Even in victory, even
after all the ticker tape parades in the lower east side of Manhattan,
we are no more secure, no more at peace, no more able to find the
face of love in the mirror that haunts us.
Over 58,000 Americans were killed in the Vietnam War, but perhaps
the most telling statistic of all (and itšs not the 500,000 Vietnamese
civilians who were killed) but the over 60,000 American GIs who
returned to America and committed suicide.
War is the death of morality. War is an abomination.
So let us seek, in the words of the War Resisters League, "an end
to militarism that has characterized this nation for decades. Let
us seek a world in which security is gained through harnessing the
power of love and compassion, international cooperation ... not
through violence, escalation and retaliation."
Dear God, Lord of Creation, we ask your guidance.
We know that we are all your children, and to kill anyone for any
reason, is to kill your child. We also know that you are Love and
that the first casualty of war is love, which means when we go to
war, we are killing you.
We asked you to forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who
trespass against us. But tell us Lord, should we stop praying that
prayer, since we don't really mean it.
Are we to take seriously the prayers we pray? Are we to strive to
become these prayers? Can we ever reach the point, Lord, when we
become the prayer you pray? Though a devote Hindu, Gandhišs beliefs
in nonviolence were rooted in the Sermon on the Mount. And he made
a most remarkable observation about Christianity when he pointed
out that there are those who believe in this man from Galilee, and
those of simply believe him.
As a Quaker, I count myself among those who believe him, for when
he said, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless
those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you, he gave us a
remedy for putting an end to the cycle of violence, for putting
an end to war. He reminded us of the power of love, for love is
the only solution.
He also instructed us to turn the other cheek.
But can we do that?
What are we to do when attacked?
What vision can we hold that will guide and sustain us during these
times of uncertainty, fear and caution -- these times when a war
mentality has swept through our country, and insodoing, swept the
ideals of nonviolence and pacifism from our public discourse?
Dear Lord, our anguish and grief have been palpable these past few
months, our anger and desire for retribution at times overwhelm
us.
What rule can you give us that will help us become your instruments
of peace?
The events of September 11th have led many to question your teachings
about peacemaking. To speak your words Lord is viewed as unpatriotic.
Please give us a code of conduct so that you may recognize us as
makers of peace.
I can almost hear the God of the Universe saying, have you forgotten.
I couldn't have made it any clearer or more simple. It's in every
religion on earth, and it makes more sense that any philosophy,
doctrine or dogma.
"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
This is a golden rule for everyone. It's not just for parents to
teach their children, only to have them lose their abiding trust
in the rule because adults and councils of government ignore it.
When America goes to war, it ostensibly sends a message to our children
that the Golden Rule is for fools, some sort of platitude to be
taken lightly when it is a prescription for action under the most
serious of times.
To the Japanese who survived the 1945 attack by American planes
which completely destroyed 6 major cities and incinerated 70,000
civilians, leaving 180,000 more to die slow deaths, what America
experienced on September 11th was but a fraction of what other countries
have gone through on their own soil for hundreds of years.
Each day over the past decade, 2,174 people die as a direct result
of war. Nine out of every ten are civilian. Half are children. Most
of these innocent victims are killed by weapons manufactured in
United States of America, the largest distributor of weaponry in
the world. It is, I regret to inform, our bread and butter.
So dear God, is there something to learn from the Vietnamese, the
Cambodians, Salvadorans and Nicaraguans who have suffered so as
a result of our foreign policies and war making? And how about the
Germans, Italians, and Japanese, the previous axis of evil? How
did they come to terms with their hatred and need for retribution
against the United States? And how about the American Indians whose
way of life and culture we extinguished? What can they teach us
about forgiveness?
We know so little.
But this much is clear, and that is this: WAR IS THE REAL ENEMY.
So I submit to you today, that my vision of a peaceful world is
one of a Quaker who holds that Pacifism is the highest calling of
our species.
So who are these people called pacifists, you may ask?
A pacifist is one whose life centers around peace and nonviolence,
and who is engaged in creating models for social change through
their thoughts, words and actions. Pacifists are anything but perfect.
We simply seek to embrace a vision of a world that perfectly reflects
compassion, gentleness, kindness, forgiveness and love. We know
that this implies sacrifice and risk, but so does war. Even more
so.
I would like to close with a prayer that the students at The Life
Experience School share each day. It is an adaptation of the prayer
of St. Francis of Assisi by the Japanese co-workers of Mother Teresa.
It says best what a pacifist life is all about.
Lord,
When I am hungry, send me someone to feed;
When I am thirsty, send me someone who needs
a drink; When I am cold, send me someone to
warm; When I am sad, send me someone to
cheer; When I need understanding, send me
someone who needs mine; When I need to be
looked after, send me someone to care for; When
I think only of myself, draw my thoughts to
another.
So let us pray as though everything depends on God, and work as
though God depends on us for everything. Amen.
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