By Joe McVeigh
It is hard to find words to describe the evil that is going on in the world today – words like Madness/ Wreckless/ Genocide are the words that come to mind! And worst of all when you hear the political leaders in America say they are doing it in God’s name -killing little children in God’s name! I am left almost speechless. They use the Christian religion to justify their evil acts of genocide. It has happened before in history during great persecutions but these political leaders in America and Jerusalem have not learned the lessons of history.
We live in a time of great peril and danger. The people in Gaza have suffered grievously -and now the people of Iran and Lebanon and many other countries are suffering -because of the misguided and selfish rulers in Washington and Jerusalem. Who will be next?
We had two World wars in the last century carried out by power hungry men. Millions and millions of innocent people were killed. Yet there are those ignorant political leaders who never learn from the past and those ignorant people who put them in power.
The situation is dangerous because the Super Powers have lots of nuclear weapons – enough to wipe out the whole human race and all life and they would use them to pursue their evil goals of supremacy and greed.
During these dark and dangerous times we who believe in the Gospel of Love, Peace and Justice need to be people of hope. We need to be strong and resilient and maintain our inner peace and joy which nobody can take away from us. That comes from God and God is the Almighty One –the One in whom we trust and who gives us life -the Living Water that Jesus talks about in today’s Gospel.
Jesus showed the Samaritan woman at the well in Sychar -who was despised in her community-that she was somebody, that she was loved by God and that she too had the capacity to love. He showed her respect and restored her dignity.
The Woman at the Well represents those people in the world –especially women -who are excluded and looked down on and she represents those women and men who are treated as second class citizens. Sometimes, in some places they are not regarded as human beings. They are not regarded as equal to all the others living on Planet Earth. Some political leaders have no respect for women and children.
Throughout human history the poor and women have been excluded and ostracised. A few may escape and made a good life -but the vast majority are stuck and kept out. They do not enjoy a share in the wealth of the world and they are not allowed equal opportunities. That’s the way the system works in most countries.
There is nothing as disgraceful or as sinful as those claiming to be Christians who support ‘the Haves’ against ‘the Have nots’ – who wage war against the poor, who kill innocent children -and claim to be doing it for God. This is a great blasphemy.
The Christian Church teaches that Justice comes first and the poor must never be excluded or punished. This is the Church’s message to the world -to the leaders of the world and to all the peoples of the world. It is a message that needs to be proclaimed loudly today –so that those who claim to be waging war for God are told that they are living a Lie. We are the Church and we are called to do whatever we can to witness to the love and justice proclaimed by Jesus. We may fall short-and we may fail-but we must keep on trying…and never give up.
To be a witness is to stand for something. We are meant to stand for justice and respect for everyone, treating everyone as equal. It takes courage to take a stand. I admire the courage shown by the Gaels for Gaza -those Gaelic footballers who stood up last week. They are taking a stand against strong opposition and criticism but at least they are making their voices heard. They are showing solidarity with the poor people of Gaza and the poor elsewhere who are suffering at the hands of the tyrants in Washington and Jerusalem. We too are called to take a stand.
There’s a lesson and a challenge for each one of us who claim to be Christian. We need to make world peace and justice central to our lives and prayers. We are opposed to the war mongers.
I read somewhere recently that a great theologian called Karl Barth –a Lutheran- once said that “to clasp your hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.” Prayer is, indeed, a profound political action. Cynics may laugh -but what have they to offer?
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