Living in the Spirit
August 7, 2018
Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-32
Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak. His head caught fast in the oak, and he was left hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on. And ten young men, Joab’s armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him, and killed him.
Then the Cushite came; and the Cushite said, ‘Good tidings for my lord the king! For the Lord has vindicated you this day, delivering you from the power of all who rose up against you.’ The king said to the Cushite, ‘Is it well with the young man Absalom?’ The Cushite answered, ‘May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up to do you harm, be like that young man.’ –2 Samuel 18:9, 15, 31-32
An age old question, when is war ever necessary? And a second question, when war is deemed necessary why does it always seem to demand retribution and gloating by the victor? I am reading Stone Song: A Novel of the Life of Crazy Horse by Win Blevins that delves into the spiritual aspects of this warrior’s response to the disenfranchisement of his people during the 19th century in the USA. Western tribes were being removed from their traditional lands at gunpoint and restricted to reservations where many starved to death. Crazy Horse’s early defined quest to lead his people against the white soldiers displacing them was accompanied by warnings from his spirit guide not to take scalps and not to participate in the after-battle celebrations.
Will we ever discern ways to accomplish justice without violence? Oklahoma City this week is preparing to celebrate one of the first, if not the first civil rights sit-ins held in the USA during August 1958. The sit-ins were led by a school teacher, Mrs. Clara Luper. Many of the participants were youth. All were taught how to respond non-violently to any provocations to their filling all the stools at lunch counters in various downtown Oklahoma City businesses. Participants were spat on, called many names, and not served but their point was made. It took a tremendous amount of courage to approach the issue nonviolently.
Jesus spoke to the problem of injustice when he identified the second most important commandment as loving our neighbors as we love ourselves*. He recognized an eternal truth. How would we want to be treated if we projected ourselves into our neighbor’s situation? How would we feel if we along with our families were restricted to a small piece of land, not allowed to hunt for our food, and not provided enough food to sustain life for all our people? How would we react if we could buy goods sold in a store but could not eat at their lunch counter? It is a paradox, but it is an eternal truth we cannot love others as we love ourselves unless we can love ourselves in the same situation others are experiencing.
Prayer: God of Justice, gift us each with empathy allowing us to see ourselves and our neighbors as clearly as Jesus saw them. Amen.
*Matthew 22:37-39