Friday 18 July 2008

We continue with Thomas Merton's thoughts on war and fear.



When we see crime in others, we try to correct it by destroying them or at least putting them out of sight. It is easy to identify the sin with the sinner when he is someone other than our own self. In ourselves, it is the other way round; we see the sin, but we have great difficulty in shouldering responsibility for it. We find it very hard to identify our sin with our own will and our own malice. On the contrary, we naturally tend to interpret our immoral act as an involuntary mistake, or as the malice of a spirit in us that is other than ourself. Yet at the same time we are fully aware that others do not make this convenient distinction for us. The acts that have been done by us are, in their eyes, "our" acts and they hold us fully responsible.



This is like the old bit of wisdom that notes that when we point one finger at the enemy the other three fingers point back at us. Unfortunately we don't see the ones pointing back at us. So much of our action and work has to do with finding those who commit crimes and finding ways to subdue them. And yet, in that process, we cannot see how our side or our own individual lives are tied into the many evils of the world that we so hate in others. When we are trying to make a world for ourselves, there is a very good chance that we will do whatever we think is necessary to make that world come into being - even if what we do is seen as evil by others. And yet, we would never, ever call it evil. Most often it is something that we think "must be done" for every one's good. Well...that doesn't hold. Everyone thinks their world and their views must be guarded and protected against the other. As we all know, the only result of our thinking is what we all say we hate - war.

Connection: There can be war even in the day-to-day aspects of our lives. We must think and act in ways of peace...which means lives of honesty and truthfulness. This is not always easy but it is always necessary.

Be our Peace, O God, and be with us as we face ourselves and our world with your truth. Amen.