Peacemaking in a New Age

             I never miss a new piece by Benedictine Sister, Joan Chittister, when it appears.  One of the recent ones she penned concerned peacemaking.  For anyone who knows Chittister, this is not surprising.  She has spent most of her life working for peace and other social causes.  She has been part of the Erie Benedictine monastery that is a beacon of these kinds of concerns, I remember a few years ago when I was invited to speak at the monastery.  Part of me felt inadequate, since I was unsure I had anything to share with these active nuns and their friends.  However, I did it and figured by going there, I would learn far more than I would give to them. 

            Chittister’s latest writing begins with a note of irony about peacemaking.  She writes, “It's very difficult to talk about peace in the United States without starting a fight.”  As often the case, I laughed.  Irony invites laughter as a response to the craziness of the idea just stated.  But irony also points at a truth.  Chittister is clear and I join her in thinking every one of us who claims to be Christian---or more broadly, religious---ought to be reticent to participate in any way of life that is rooted in violence.

            For her the root of violence includes threatening violence.  Of course, this is where it gets tricky, because that is the route the United States takes to ensure peace.  We threaten violence in order to secure peace.  That is at the core of our nuclear deterrence policy.  This is exactly what the good Catholic Sister is taking on in her article.  But she is not alone.  In fact, she is using her name and reputation to leverage the recent publication of a pastoral letter by New Mexico Archbishop, John Wester, called “Living in the Light of Christ’s Peace.”  Since I don’t know him, I appreciated this alert.

            Part of her story includes narrating the time she visited Hiroshima.  I also have visited that Japanese city where the US dropped one of the atomic bombs toward the end of WW II.  She shares memories of visiting the museum where pictures of that day stop you in your tracks.  Seeing the aftermath of that released fury against the people was truly astonishing.  Like Chittister, I saw what she saw and recounts: “I saw the clothes that had been radiated into pieces of brick wall as the person who had been wearing them literally disappeared into the ether.”  I also am aware of the arguments for a just war. 

            It is easier to deal with that story in the 1940s; it was a long time ago.  But today we. Are aware of the same kind of things potentially being planned.  It is for our time the New Mexico Archbishop is addressing.  It seemed important for me to share it, because many may never know about his spiritual witness and call to peace. However, the story is really not Chittister’s, but that of Archbishop Wester. 

            His words are powerful for me because his diocese is at the center of our nation’s approach to defense.  The so-called “American Nuclear Soul” is right there in his land.  In his archdiocese sits Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories.  He recognizes his land is where the nuclear weapons were created and manufactured.  He is now calling for a “serious conversation” about the continuing production of such weapons to bring peace.  Again, I note the irony.

            I am sure some folks will inherently be against this notion.  It will be easy to point to Russia, China and others as being ready to pounce on any perceived American weakness as an excuse to take control of our world.  Such arguments appeal to two seemingly contradictory aspects of the American psyche.  On one hand, there is an appeal to our macho nature.  This appeal touches on the tendency for Americans to feel stronger, better and any other comparative trait you want to introduce.  The other appeal is to our fear.  In order to cope with our fear, we prepare our deterrents.

            Maybe it is because my own Quaker tradition is also part of the Christian community known for its peacemaking.  However, I also know that a commitment to peacemaking is not a requirement for being Quaker.  It is left up to our conscience.  Of course, many Quakers have served in the military.  I respect that.  But I also am sure that being Christian and Quaker (or Catholic) means taking seriously the message of Jesus.  Certainly, one of the serious parts of his message was the Sermon on the Mount.  One aspect of that Sermon was the call to be peacemakers---and the consequent blessing that comes from that call to peacemaking.

            One of the things I most appreciate about Archbishop Wester’s pastoral letter is the reasonableness of it.  Sure, it is a reminder that Jesus calls all of us to peacemaking.  And yes, the implications of the Genesis creation account is that we are all children of God and, therefore, brothers and sisters.  But at the bottom, all the Archbishop is asking for immediately is that we begin and continue a conversation.  Can we not talk?

            He is not asking to get rid of the military.  He is not denying there is sin and evil in the world.  The question is how to deal with this reality---in ourselves and others.  I join him in working for peace in a new age.