Wednesday 30 July 2008

Today I will continue to quote from Thomas Merton on war and fear.

These principals which govern personal moral conduct (see yesterday's quote) which make harmony possible in small social units like the family, also apply in the wider area of the state and in the whole community of nations. It is, however, quite absurd, in our present situation or in any other, to expect these principals to be universally accepted as the result of moral exhortations. There is very little hope that the world will be run according to them, all of a sudden, as a result of some hypothetical change of heart on the part of politicians. It is useless and even laughable to base political thought on the faint hope of a purely contingent and subjective moral illumination in the hearts of the world's leaders. but outside of political thought and action, in the religious sphere, it is not only permissible to hope for such a mysterious consummation, but it is necessary to pray for it. We can and must believe not so much that the mysterious light of God can "convert" the ones who are mostly responsible for the world's peace, but at least that they may, in spite of their obstinacy and their prejudices, be guarded against fatal error.

This sounds like it could be written for the political situation of our world today. The copyright is 1961. Time moves but we continue to give a nod to the values of the faith and then walk on by them and do what will best serve one side over and against the other. I was thinking about the election in 2000 when much was made of George W. Bush's "conversion" into the ranks of evangelicalism. Such a conversion does more than stop one from drinking. It is meant to change our hearts and minds and open us up to the Reign of God and the life that is available to us. And yet, after 2000 we have witnessed an arrogance that pulls back from honest dialogue and a need to demonstrate the power that the world loves but is not the power of the Reign of God. We are invited to continue to pray for the peace for which we long...and pray and pray. We are also invited to enter into that peace within our own lives. To be a witness of that which is promised even when the powers of the world do their best to seduce us to follow their warring ways.

Connection: Working within the peace of the Reign of God means we speak up and we act up. This may show itself in many ways during this day. We act in hope not in an attempt to gain control. When that happens, we will find we have lost much of the vision of peace.

Lord of Reconciliation and Hopefulness, continue to tap us on the shoulder or pull at our lives so that we will keep turning to the wealth of your promises and the life that you offer us within your blessed Reign. Amen.