Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Genesis 4:8-9 NIV
“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill.” James 4:1-2
“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.” Matthew 26:52
I awoke this morning with the violence of these days weighing heavily upon me. How is it we do not yet comprehend that our willingness to witness and condone violence against individuals or peoples alters us in fundamental ways? Will we ever understand that we actively participate in systems that perpetuate violence when we do not resist the violent deaths of others, known or unknown, in our communities or across the world?
How have we not learned that whatever level of violence we tolerate or condone against others gives birth to more violence, which begets more violence, in a never-ending cycle of death? We have become a society in which violence is not only condoned, but practiced, perfected, and fought for as a right, to the utter destruction of us all.
Like those communities that, in living memory, held huge block parties with thousands of families participating in the torture, mutilation, and murder of their own neighbors. People took pictures with the bodies. Sold postcards. Condoned the lynchings because they were black fathers, mothers, sisters, and brothers whom they considered insignificant.
But if I am unmoved by the destruction of a single black life, or whole cities of Palestinian families, and then outraged when a white individual is violently murdered, I am actively participating in the systems and layers of our history of violence that precipitated those very murders.
In reality, the violent death of a single black woman is the same as the violent death of a single white man is the same as the violent death of a single Palestinian boy is the same as the violent death of a single Sudanese mother is the same as the violent death of a single South American migrant worker is the same as the violent death of a single Native American teen is the same as the violent death of a single Asian father is the same as the violent death of my sister or brother or father or mother.
The violent loss of any single person is an inestimable loss to that person’s family, community, and to the world. Their murder is a loss of our own humanity – my own humanity – whenever I tolerate or condone violence toward others. Devaluing any life devalues all life, including my own. This is the deep sickness that lies within us.
“Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness. We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
Perhaps this is why Jesus said, “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Luke 6:27-28 Jesus knew from the beginning how we would actively work to destroy Him and one another. This is the chaos that was released when Cain killed his own brother Abel at the beginning. But Jesus came to heal the violence living in our hearts and teach us a better way, the way of sacrificial love.
Jesus demonstrates the length of this love, the power of this love, while hanging on the cross. As He was actively being murdered, He breathed out His prayer for us,“Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”Luke 23:24
Indeed, we don’t know what we are doing. If we did, we would understand the answer to Cain’s question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” is “Yes.” Yes, you are. Yes, I am. Yes, we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers.
Jesus’ sacrifice is the antidote to the hate and violence that festers in our hearts. Our willingness to suffer with and for those who are suffering, even for our enemies, is the cure to our violence. Sacrificial love is the power tool of the kingdom of God. It alone breaks down our walls, restoring us to God and to one another. Unfortunately, this is the very last thing we want to do.
But the Lord knows us, so He sent His Son to intervene for us, offering the transformation our lives demand to live in such a state of grace, even for our enemies. But we have to take Jesus up on His gift, surrender ourselves completely to His sacrificial love, and be changed. Changed so completely that we become willing and able to recognize and actively resist the systems and impulses of violence and choose to love one another even as we love ourselves – even as God loves us all. This is the way of Jesus Christ.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I [Jesus] tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:43-48
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” John 3:16-17
In the peace of Christ,
Rev. Cynthia L.M. Brubaker
Pastor, Lighthouse Fellowship UMC