Merton introduces a quote by Hannah Arendt to highlight how non-violence is different from the working of tyrannies.
Non-violence has a different logic. It recognizes that sin is an everyday occurence which is in the very nature of action's constant establishment of new relationships within a web of relations, and it needs forgiving, dismissing, in order to make it possible for life to go on by constantly releasing people from what they have done unknowingly. Only through this constant mutual release from what they do can people remain free agents, only by their constant willingness to change their minds and start agains can they be trusted with so great a power as that to begin something new.
Saint/Sinner. If we are unable to see this...we fall...and it will be a great fall. Arendt seems to know a bit about Lutheran theology here. "Sin is an everyday occurence" and we cannot get rid of it. It is a part of all the relationships and all the adventures in which we find ourselves as we move on down the road. If we are to be able to enter the practice of non-violence, we really do need to be this honest with ourselves and with our world. We will not be able to control things...but we will be able to be a part of the creation of something not ruled and led by fear and anxiety. Then again, we always need each other to help us see the truthfulness of this saint/sinner adventure.
Connection: Let yourself see the whole picture - be not afraid.
When we are fearful, O God, we lose touch with what it means to be your people. We forget about the power of your presence and how the day at hand can always be transformed into life that is beyond our expectations and therefore out of our control. We thank you for being the way, the truth, and the life. Amen.
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