The journey continues.
Gandhi knew the reality of hatred and untruth because he had felt them in his own flesh: indeed he succumbed to them when he was assassinated on January 30, 1948. Gandhi's non-violence was therefore not a sentimental evasion or denial of the reality of evil. It was a clearsighted acceptance of the necessity to use the force and the presence of evil as a fulcrum for good and for liberation.
This falls so in line with Walter Wink's definition of a Martyr. He notes that "martyrs are not victims overtaken by evil but hunters who stalk evil into the open by offering as bait their own bodies." The martyr or witness or saint will be who s/he will be. In a violent world like ours, that means that there will be a witness that does not fit in with the prevailing powers. So to live brightly and fully and with a sense of purpose and truth and love, a witness to this Reign will find that there are powers that come out to stop what is unfolding. Gandhi knew the dangers of the world. Gandhi also knew the life that can be available to us even when there is threat abounding. Nothing can take away that life, even when violence and evil think they have done it on one level. There will always be people who are willing to dance out in the open within a life that is free from the powers of violence. It must also be noted that there will also be those who cannot allow such dancing. But in the meantime, there are those of violence and evil who are turned around and transformed by the power of love and truthfulness and joy.
Connection: Keep it up...keep it up.
Though the powers and principalities are aways looking at ways to control the day, you, O God, continue to whisper to us about life that cannot be controlled. Continue to bless us with that gentle and power word of life that you offer to us as our foundation and strength. Amen.
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