Love is the response to evil
Ordinary Sunday 19, 10 August, 2003
Fr Neville Connell
Assistant Priest, St Peter's, Eastern Hill
Who would be a prophet in Israel in Old Testament times? They had the
unenviable duty to declare the Word of the Lord, in season and out of
season, palatable and unpalatable. And as often as not, thus earning the
enmity of kings or the people, or both. And losing their lives into the
bargain.
So it seemed for poor old Elijah. He had, it appeared, triumphed over the
four hundred prophets of Baal (l Kings 18:17-40); that is, God had
triumphed over the four hundred prophets of Baal through Elijah, and now
the prophets were dead.
But, King Ahab's wife Jezebel was anything but happy; she then promised
the same fate for Elijah, and all his elation evaporated. He fled. In
the wilderness he pondered his lot and prayed. God found him, fed him and
sent him on his way to the holy mountain of Horeb, where God met him in
his desolation.
God met Elijah not in a strong wind, not in an earthquake, not is a fire,
but in a faint, murmuring sound, or as in older translations, a still,
small voice.(1 Kings 19:1-12).
We must be very careful lest we expect God to behave in the same way as
we behave in the face of hurt, fear, disappointment, anger; lest we
create God in our own image.
We have had two very disturbing events during the past week. The passing
of sentence on Amrozi, and the discovery that the six Melanesian Brothers
whom we had thought still to be hostages, were in fact murdered some time
ago. And although we grieve over the senseless, mindless murders in Bali and
Jakarta, the murder of the Melanesian Brothers is desperately poignant
and sad, and very significant for the Australian Church, which has
supported the Church in Melanesia since the 1850's. It is quite possible
that the martyr Bishop John Coleridge Patteson (1871) preached in this
Church.
The almost circus-like atmosphere in the courtroom in Denpasar was a
great challenge for Christians. And one must applaud the forbearance of
those judges in the face of much provocation.
We have a commandment, who are Jews and Christians, and in a way, those
who are Moslems too, for they are taught in the Quran to respect the
'people of the Book'. The sixth Commandment says quite simply, "You shall
not kill" or in another translation, "You shall do no murder".
This very blunt Commandment has been treated to all kinds of
interpretations and manipulation over the centuries, as people seek to
balance it with human sinfulness. The Just War Theory is one such very
sincere example.
But the First Commandment, the most fundamental, begins, "I am the Lord
your God ... you must have no other God besides me" (Exodus 20:2-3). No
other God. God is our Creator, he has given us our lives, given us great
freedom, enormous freedom, even to try to make ourselves into gods, to
supplant, ignore the Lord who is God.
Life is God's gift; oh yes, a man and a woman in sexual activity have the
precious gift of bringing about a new life, but the Church has always
taught that they share this gift with God, who gives them their own
lives. The couple procreate, with and on behalf of God.
This leads me to reflect that a Christian must be very reluctant to
rejoice at the death penalty imposed on Amrozi, or in months to come, on
his associates. His, their lives, are God's gift, too, even if they have
been distorted, disfigured by others since they were young.
We live in a climate of fear and uncertainty, which leads us to want
severe measures against those who threaten us. Let us remember that God
met Elijah not in a mighty wind, earthquake or raging fire, but in a
still small voice.
Let us rather find hope in the witness of those six Melanesian brothers.
They went to see Harold Keke on a mission of peace, to ask about another
Brother who was rumoured to have been killed by Keke, and if so, to
recover his body for burial at the Mother House.
They went, as always, with just a few necessities, as Jesus taught his
dicsiples to do. The Brothers are usually the spearhead of the Church,
going into unevangelised areas, to live with the people, to prepare the
way for the Gospel. They have been, and are, messengers of the love of
God.
The love of God which is at the heart of our Second Reading today,
(Ephesians 4:30-5:2). "Try the, to imitate God, as children of his that
he loves, and follow Christ by loving as he loved you."
It starts with us in our own personal daily lives, in our ongoing
conversion, turning to the loving way of Jesus, begun when we were
baptised, and strengthened by Jesus, present with us in the Eucharist.
Jesus who describes himself as "bread of life" in today's Gospel Reading,
(John 6:41-51). "Never have grudges against others, or lose your temper,
or raise your voice to anybody, or call each other names, or allow any
sort of spitefulness". At its heart is forgiveness. "Be friends with one
another, and kind, forgiving each other as readily as God forgave you in
Christ.
These words undoubtedly inspired those six Melanesian Brothers, and all
who have suffered for their faith in Jesus and his Love.
This love is our only possible response as Christians to evil.
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Views is a
publication of
St Peter's Eastern Hill, Melbourne Australia.
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