Notes From Day Seven: Remembrance Day and the end of the old order

Canadians live under the shadow of two catastrophic wars, even though that shadow is fading with each decade that passes.

During World War I, tens of thousands of young Canadians experienced something both new and terrifying at the same time. New, because during those days travel was rare and exceedingly expensive. The war gave late teens and young adults the opportunity to steam across the Atlantic and see Europe. Many felt they were on a sort of magnificent adventure to disperse the aggressors — an almost romantic journey, even quasi-religious, since many prominent church leaders in the country encouraged people to join the armed forces. But terrifying, because as it turned out, the “adventure” for most of the soldiers turned into a nightmare. Eternal trench warfare complete with chemical weapons attacks and a plague of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Second World War did not see a return to trench warfare, but nevertheless, the suffering of members of the armed forces was great. Again, tens of thousands of Canadians did not live to tell of it. They died from gunshot, fire, falling out of airplanes, drowning, disease and fatigue.

Since those two “great” wars, Canada has been involved in some smaller ones. We were also party to the Cold War, which, by means of mass terror, kept the world's two greatest powers from eating each other and the rest of the planet alive.

The human world exists in a strange state of dangerous bargains. We (non- Syrians) accept the suffering of the Syrian people in exchange for sealing the violence of their country within its own borders. We accept the presence of nuclear missiles in exchange for the security they seem to provide. The threat of war keeps many countries from invading their neighbours. And actual wars are reminders of the willingness of all people to inflict extreme suffering on others for their own preservation.

In other words, the order of the world everywhere involves the threat of war and the promise of retribution. Alongside of all that is this faith: That peace can come through violence. Peace through violence on a political level is probably as likely as children becoming better human beings by being the victims of violence in the home. If peace were the main outcome of war, Germany would not have initiated World War II, the Cold War would not have been caused by World War II, and Palestinian activists would long ago have ceased and desisted from lobbing bombs into Israel.

The order of our world is one saturated in threats, violence, and retribution by the losers of war.

But also, this order has become more and more entrenched by missing an opportunity for peace. That opportunity comes to the fore in the eye-witness accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus. He observed that his Jewish people believed that they should love their neighbours but let their enemies get what they deserved. He provided an alternative. He said, “Love even your enemies — even if all you can do for the time being is pray for them. Start there and see where it takes you.” (I'm taking a little liberty with my telling it, but that is how I read this aspect of his teaching.)

Concerning forgiving others who have wronged us, Jesus said, “Really, there is no limit to the forgiveness you must extend to your enemy.” And concerning being taken advantage of by aggressors, Jesus said, “Find a way to surprise them. For example, if some bully tells you to carry his bags a kilometer, offer to take them two. Let that person know that you are on a different path. Who knows? You may win a convert to your ways!”

Some Christians have taken great pains to put Jesus' peace teachings into practice. Alas, too few. And the track record for the rest of us is about the same.

Remembrance Day is upon us. It will be a time of reinforcing the old order of things, an order that relies on violence and retribution, an order that valorizes the poor soldiers who were lost in the horrors of our wars. On some level, so we say, their deaths were necessary.

But actually they were not. South African Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu likes to say, “Jesus is not only for Christians. He is for everyone.” (At least, so it has been told to me.) Jesus' teachings on peace are for everyone. Death by war is not necessary. What is necessary is to embrace the person and peace teachings of Jesus Christ.

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