Sermon - The Rev. Leah D. Schade
June 1, 2008
Stop the Violence Sunday
Texts:   Proverbs 1:8-19;  Psalm 11; Second Lesson: Ephesians 6:10-17; Gospel:  Matt. 26 47-56

Jim and I don’t get to the movies very often, so when we do, we want to make sure it’s a good one.  And the movie Jim and I went to see was the latest Indiana Jones flick - Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.  I’m a big fan of Indiana Jones.  The movie was one big thrill ride.  But I have to say, it was non-stop violence from beginning to end. 

It was very interesting because the movie included every possible form and level of violence - from the most basic level of fist fights to primitive blow darts and spears, on up through semi-automatic weapons and missiles.  It even had a scene of environmental violence, where a ferocious tree-chopping bulldozer heartlessly rips through an Amazon rainforest.  And in the most chilling scene, there is a nuclear explosion that decimates everything in a blistering mushroom cloud of fission - representing violence at its most complete and most sophisticated level.

I witnessed more violent assaults in the space of 3 hours (that included the previews of upcoming movies) than any human being should see in a lifetime.  And yet I came out of the movie saying, boy, that was awesome!  And all this, set against my mental background of the past few weeks thinking about today, our “Stop the Violence Sunday”, and thinking about what I would preach.  The irony of the cognitive dissonance was not lost on me. 

Because what I see is a dangerous double standard in myself.  On the one hand, I am horrified when I hear about robbers shooting and killing police officers on the streets, and police officers alternatively beating men they’re trying to take into custody.  And yet when I see my hero, Indiana Jones, beating up the bad guys, and shooting the enemies, I cheer. 

I see the same double standard in our society.  On the one hand, we protest the war in Iraq and call for our troops to be brought home.  And yet our society creates and purchases video games for our children that glorify war, gang activity, and every form of violence.  We rail against criminals shooting people with assault rifles, yet fail to pass legislation that would ban such weapons, and do so little to curb the sale of war-level weaponry in our country.

I don’t think anyone would disagree that our culture is too violent, and that we need to do something to bring about a more peaceful society.  No one needs to be convinced of that.  What people often disagree on is how to go about it.  Everyone’s got a different opinion on what we should do.  Do we need more policemen?  Do we need more social programs for children at risk?  Do we need to ban certain firearms?  Do we need allow for more purchase of guns?  Should we support capital punishment?  Should we halt the death penalty?  Do we commit more money to military spending?  Do we move the funds to other areas?  Do we strike another country preemptively in order to prevent them from striking us first?  Do we continue to occupy another country with our military?  Should we withdraw our troops?  All of these are questions that are debated on both sides of the issue.

What I want to lay out for you is where Jesus weighs in on the question of violence.  Because we are Christians, we claim to be followers of the teachings of Jesus Christ.  And what I’m going to put on the table will be controversial.  There will be voices that claim it’s too radical.  There will be some who say it won’t work.  There will be those who disagree.

But here it is:  “In his nonviolent teaching, life and death, Jesus revealed a God of nonviolence.” (Wink, 217).  That means that Christians are to make a commitment to nonviolence.  Christians are called to nonviolence, without exception.  When engaging the questions such as those I listed earlier, the true follower of Christ will always come down on whatever solution is the non-violent one. 

Now don’t misunderstand me here.  Jesus did not teach nonresistance.  We are not called to passively allow evil to have its way.  Jesus didn’t call for us to be wimps and doormats for bullies to walk all over us.  Rather, what he taught was how to resist violence in nonviolent ways.  We are to engage evil nonviolently, in every circumstance, and lean on divine grace, “trusting that the Holy Spirit will reveal the third way not evident in the situation.” (Wink, 237). 

Jesus’ words in our reading from Matthew are very clear.  Those who live by the sword will die by the sword.  In the words of author Walter Wink, from his book, Engaging the Powers, “Violence can never stop violence because its very success leads others to imitate it.  Paradoxically, violence is most dangerous when it succeeds.” (Wink, 216)  Conversely, “nonviolence never fails, because every nonviolent act is a revelation of God’s new order breaking in upon the world.” (Wink, 218). 

But I’ll be the first to admit that finding nonviolent solutions is very difficult.  You know why?  Because we have been taught for thousands of years that violence is the last resort.  Now at first, this seems to be a reasonable teaching.  When all else fails, we’re told, when talking no longer works, when sanctions are not effective, when negotiations break down, then pick up your fist or gun or bomb and pummel the other party until they submit.

The problem with this teaching is that it is a fallacy. Violence is never the last resort.  Most of the time it is the second or third resort.  Sometimes it is even the first resort.  If violence is an option, the temptation to use violence is too strong to resist.  History demonstrates that at every turn.  The only way to truly have peace is to be completely committed to nonviolence as a first, middle and last resort.

But what if . . .?  That’s the question that inevitably follows.  What if someone comes after my child with a gun?  What if someone invades my home?  What if another country attacks us?  How can we defend ourselves if we’re not allowed to use violence?

Here’s the thing.  If someone attacks you with a gun, or any weapon for that matter, you will have to have a more powerful weapon at your disposal, be trained to use it, overcome the element of surprise they sprung on you in their attack, and be skillful enough to shoot them without danger of killing the very people you’re trying to defend.  There’s only one place where that happens – in the movies, with a fictional character like Indiana Jones.  Even soldiers and policemen trained only to defend can get sucked into the undertow of misusing  violence, as the recent reports about police brutality and military abuse will show. 

“We have scarcely begun to explore the possibilities of nonviolence for resolving international disputes or national defense.” (Wink, 219).  “As Emmanuel Charles McCarthy observes, our capacity to discover creative nonviolent responses in moments of crisis will depend . . . on whether we rehearse them in our everyday lives.”  (Wink, 235).

In other words, we need to practice what we preach.  “What we are faced with is the long-term task of building a society founded on nonviolence.  This means limiting the availability of guns, training police in nonviolent methods of control and restraint, discontinuing the sale of toy weapons (as Sweden and Colombia have done), and creating a society less tolerant of video violence and every form of domination.” (Wink 236). 

So where do we start?  Before we can Stop the Violence, we need to come clean about where we participate in violence, wittingly or unwittingly in our lives.  It has to start with our children.  They will not learn to be non-violent unless we teach them.  Often we romanticize childhood, speaking of the innocence of children, their purity.  But I’m a mother of two children under the age of 5, and I’ve been teaching children of all ages in this church for 8 years.  And I can tell you - children are violent by nature.  Their first reaction as toddlers when they are angry is to hit, bite or kick.  Now my husband and I do not believe in corporal punishment.  We do not use violence as a means of discipline.  That means no spanking, no smacking, and no hitting.  So it’s not like our children learned this from us.  It is simply a natural human response to hit - it is part of our lower reptilian brain that is the first line of defense.

So we have to constantly say the words, “We do not hit.  No hitting.  Gentle.  Soft.”  We have to, literally, brain wash our children.  Wash the violent tendencies from their natures.  Clean out the striking out mechanism and replacing it with other non-violent ways to deal with their anger. 

But even the best intentions can fail at times.  I must admit there were and are times when I get so frustrated and angry at my children that I find myself wanting to lash out, shake them too hard, pick them up and slam them down in their car seat.  Gasp - not you, Pastor Schade?  Oh yes, and I’ll challenge you to find any parent who hasn’t had those same feelings, and maybe even acted on them in a moment of extreme exhaustion and frustration.  There are times when I have gotten too rough, I’ll confess that right now.  And I can admit that because that is the first step in repenting and finding a different way - a nonviolent way.  I have a parenting partner who is tuned in, and knows when he needs to step in.  And I do the same for him.  I have other parents I talk to.  And I see a counselor regularly to process through things in my personal and professional life.

Why am I sharing this with you?  Because on a day like today, we need to first address violence where it is most prevalent, and most secretive - in the home.  Child and spousal abuse occurs in 15-30% of American homes.  It can happen in any household, regardless of race, culture, economic level and religion.  And so I want to say publicly, in a very clear way, that violence in the home is wrong.  God does not condone violence, and neither does the church.  But it does happen.  And if you are a young person and someone in your house is hitting you or hurting you in any way, including your brother or sister, it’s okay for you to tell someone you trust.  If you are a husband or wife, and your partner is hurting you or your children, and you don’t know what to do about it, it is okay to tell someone you trust.  And I will speak for both Pastor Smoose and myself:  you can tell us.  We can help you.  You can trust us.  We will do everything we can as pastors to stop the violence in your home.

That being said, violence affects society on all levels.  Our work of nonviolence must start in the home, but it cannot end there.  Each of us is responsible for discovering the way he or she can find and name the violence in their own spheres of influence, and then resist it.  And every group of committed citizens must then combine their individual power to effect the change we wish to see on a societal level.  As Wink says, nonviolence “is a way of life, a set of behaviors.  And nothing is so hard to change as habitual behavior.  Nonviolence is not, then, the task of a season, but of a lifetime.” (Wink, 295).

“The Church’s own witness should be understandable by the smallest child:  we oppose violence in all its forms.  And we do so because we reject domination.  That means, the child will recognize, no beatings.  That means, women will hear, no battering.  That means, men will gradually understand, no more male supremacy or war.  That means, everyone will realize, no more rape of the environment.  The church must affirm nonviolence without reservation because nonviolence is the way God’s domination-free order is coming.”  (Wink, 229). 

This Sunday is one small step towards that domination-free order.  In a few minutes, we’ll be reciting the Pledge of Non-Violence that was created by the Religious Leaders Council of Greater Philadelphia.  If you are/were able to attend the Adult Forum today, you got to hear Burt Siegel, speaking on behalf of the Religious Leaders Council about the important work that that interfaith body is doing in our area.  Our synod has called for churches to use this pledge, make it visible, use education to raise consciousness about nonviolence, and take steps that would help actualize the Pledge.

To that end, we are holding this “Stop the Violence Sunday”, and we asked important leaders to send their letters of commendation to us.  We received letters from Governor Rendel, Senator Arlen Specter, Bishop Claire Burkat, and we even have Representative Joe Sestak with us today to add his support to our efforts.

We are asking each of you to sign your name to the pledge, which you’ll find in the narthex.  We will then display the pledge and all the signatures in a prominent place so that people will know that this church is committed to nonviolence.  And we will continue to do work to support efforts of peace and nonviolence.

Are you with me on this?  I want you to think of what you, personally and as a family, can do to Stop the Violence in your own corner of the world.  Can you take a sabbath from violent media?  Can you devote one day that is free of violent tv shows, news programs, movies, internet sites, and video games?  If you are a parent, can you make it a rule that we do not play with toy guns in our home?  Could you volunteer with the Domestic Abuse Project?  If you are a student, can you commit yourself to not participating in bullying behavior? 

There are so many ways for each of us to practice creative nonviolence.  And I want you to ask yourself what you can do to further the work of Jesus and usher in God’s domination-free society.  In fact, let’s end with a prayer to ask for that inspiration now:

Holy Spirit, Spirit of Peace, I ask that you enter the hearts and minds of each person here, every person in our congregation, and show them what you want them to do to commit themselves to peace and nonviolence.  And then, Holy God, I want you to take those efforts and multiply them, expanding the ripple effect, helping the seeds of peace to take root and yield fruit a hundred-fold.  Only you can do this work through us, Holy God.  Set us free from our addiction to violence, show us the third way, and lead us forth in peace.  In the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, who embodied peace and nonviolence for all humankind, we pray . .. Amen. 

Sources:

Wink, Walter, Engaging the Powers:  Discernment and Resistance in a World of Domination, Fortress Press, 1992