Let’s talk about war and peace.

Arise, O God, and rule the earth, * for you shall take all nations for your own. (Ps 82:8)

“This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East,” he added, “but it didn’t, and never will! God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and GOD BLESS THE WORLD!” - Donald Trump

First, I wish the President wasn’t so bombastic. What are other words I could use? — ranting, pompous, inflated.

But I get it. If I were him, I’d be rather pleased with myself.

Second, let’s talk about war and peace.

I’ll try to keep this brief. Mostly because I’m sure there’s something I’m missing. Also, because I want to take a walk and sit at Uptown Espresso drinking coffee while reading the news.

We have a ceasefire — maybe. I know, all ceasefires are — maybe. They are fragile. The parties usually test each other with small violations. The media creates headlines as though each moment is a catastrophe. Ceasefires usually take a bit of time before they become stable. There are also times when one of the parties has to respond forcefully to get the other to stop poking. Israel did that with Hezbollah back in November, when the group fired two mortar rounds. Israel responded with 40 airstrikes in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah hasn’t fired at Israel since.

Do everything you can to nurture peace!

My wish would be that Popes, Presiding Bishops and not so humble vicars would address “those in the room” by urging them to nurture peace. And then consider being silent except for their prayers for those making such fearful decisions.

Those in the room

It is those-in-the-room — relatively small groups of people in Iran, Israel, and the United States (in this war) who must make decisions about war and peace. In this particular case, many of them are religious. They say the prayers and read the scriptures of their tradition. Some are more influenced by the wisdom of their tradition than others. Doesn’t each tradition tilt toward peace? Of course there’s always Pete Seeger’s “a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace” or was that Ecclesiastes? Pete was of the left so he had a closing line: "a time for peace, I swear it's not too late.”

My point. It is those-in-the-room who decide whether we will have war or peace at any particular time. It’s not Pete or the Pope.

Those people, that room, that's where the most serious work of social ethics takes place.

The Rhineland

The Rhineland is in the western section of Germany. It borders France. For centuries it has been a point of conflict. After the First World War, France, Belgium, Great Britain, and the United States occupied the area until 1930. Under the Treaty of Versailles it was to be a demilitarized zone, i.e., no German troops. The idea was to undercut any future German aggression against France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

On March 7, 1936, Adolf Hitler had German troops march into the Rhineland. This was the first in a series of violations of international law by Nazi Germany. The German action was condemned by the League of Nations and the allies. However, there was no significant action taken to enforce the treaty.

Here’s what followed: in March 1938, Germany annexed Austria. In September of that year they took the Sudetenland, in March 1939 they occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia. At the same time Germany annexed the Klaipėda Region of Lithuania. And Hitler started to make demands for the annexation of Danzig.

On September 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland and the Second World War began. 70 to 85 million people were killed, possibly 50 million were civilians.

The general historical consensus has been that if the allies had taken action in 1936, millions of lives might have been saved.

Sometimes the choice is between war now and a larger war later.

A time to keep silence, and a time to speak

We’ve all noticed that many religious leaders have called for ceasefires over the last couple of years. I think it's well-intentioned. I am also wondering whether it may be a deeply immoral and not merely a naïve act. An expression of arrogance rather than humility.

Washington, Lincoln, FDR, Eisenhower, JFK, LBJ, Clinton, Obama, both Bushes, Biden — all were Christians. They were among the people in-the-room. In the following of their conscience, they would often ignore the advice and pleas of religious leaders. That does not mean that they were ignoring the wisdom of their traditions.

I keep thinking I want to hear our religious leaders stay focused on the wisdom that we actually have to offer. Our wisdom does not include whether a ceasefire or the use of B2 bombers is the most likely pathway to a better world. We can't know that. We have no crystal ball. The intelligence agencies have not looped us into the conversation (nor should they).

My wish would be that Popes, Presiding Bishops and not so humble vicars would address “those in the room” by urging them to nurture peace, to look for pathways to peace. And to offer those-in-the-room the courtesy of remaining silent with their thoughts on national security and military strategy.

Our wisdom does include this — if there is a just and responsible pathway to peace, we urge you to find it. We may speak of peace to those who are in-the-room making these decisions. We must urge them to do their best and assure them of our prayers.

This morning, the Bishop's of Maine and New Hampshire issued a statement that included this appeal to the faithful, “And so, we pray. Wherever you find yourself during this summer we invite you set time aside every day to pray for peace. In doing so you join so many of the faithful around the world and thus amplify the effect of prayer. Pray for the vision and skill of negotiators and diplomats who can see paths toward just reconciliation where others cannot. Pray for the turning of hearts and minds of those who use force as the means to extend their hold on political power. Pray for the protection of those in the Armed Forces of our own nation—many of whom are in our own families and communities— and for those among our allies as well. And yes, because our Lord taught us to, we also pray for our enemies. Pray for the courage to speak and act against the spirit of hate which can so easily overtake our mind and souls.”

Just right! No telling those in the room how that is to be done. No calls for a ceasefire or additional bombing. Just this, “Pray for the vision and skill of negotiators and diplomats who can see paths toward just reconciliation where others cannot.”

In the tender compassion of our God *
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness
and the shadow of death, *
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
The Song of Zechariah. Benedictus Dominus Deus

This abides,

Brother Robert, OA

The Feast of The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist