A homily on the Vow of Nonviolence

A Homily on the Vow of Nonviolence

Well, I haven't posted a homily publicly for some time. I used to post them on this blog, and the other day I went back to look at some of them -- I remembered toiling over every one.

THIS one is different. I have never spoken so directly about peace and nonviolence before. No one walked out. In fact, the church was very, very quiet, and appreciative silence I think. One person (who told me he was a gun owner) afterwards said he appreciated what I was trying to say, but asked why I hadn't spoken also about abortion as violence, or talked about Obama's reliance on the military. Actually, I agreed with him in both instances, but told him I could only say so much, and kept it focused.

When I give a homily, I don't really read it; the words never come out as what I have on the paper, though they are usually close. For instance, I SANG those words of the Magnificat; I pointed to the manger scene and crucifix, and to those people whose names I mentioned in the homily. I added the name of another person I saw who had taken the vow. And the spoken word is different from the printed word.

Anyway; here it is:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Homily1.1.17          

                                                                                                                                       World Day of Peace    

Today is the feast day of Mary, Mother of God. It has always been a Holy Day in the Church, but this day has had other names through the years: the celebration of the Octave of Christmas, the Feast of the Circumcision (what it was called when I was a child) and of course today, the feast of Mary, Mother of God. I do have a special place in my heart for Mary; in fact I asked Sara if she would have the choir sing a contemporary version of the Magnificat, Mary’s song: “My soul cries out with a joyful shout that the God of my heart is great.” It’s the song Mary sang about the coming of Jesus into the world. In today’s gospel Mary and Joseph bring their baby to be circumcised and given the name of Jesus, the one we know also as the Christ, a title meaning Messiah, the anointed one. And of course, especially fitting for today, we know this Jesus as the Prince of Peace.

But there is another name for this day, and it was established in 1968 by Pope Paul VI. Today is the Catholic feast day known as the World Day of Peace. Today in your bulletin is a special insert that parishioner Linda Fredericks put together for us here at OLL. I have another one that is available from the US Catholic Bishops & distributed by Catholic Relief Services. This year is the 50th celebration of this feast day, and every year the Pope has issued a special message to the whole Church about peace. I have all 50 of them listed here in my folder.

Why is it that the world so easily fails to hear this message of peace? Or perhaps the question is, why is the world just unable to take it seriously enough?

I find it especially disturbing – and dangerous – at this time in our world, when we are treated to news about tweets and actions by our president-elect that raise concerns about 1) Israel and heightened tensions and accusations; about war and wider conflict within the Muslim world; and 3) about nuclear weapons, escalations in our nuclear capabilities, and even their possible use.

We in the US Catholic Church are not immune to this inability to hear the message of the wider Church. I believe that OLL is better informed than most parishes, but how many US Catholics have ever read these annual messages from our popes about peace? How many knew that our popes made these annual statements or even that our Church had established this special feast day, this World Day of Peace?

I want to apologize right now if my words today have or will offend any of you. You have been so kind and so good to me, and I love being here at OLL with you. What I share today is my own perspective, not the doctrine of the Church. But I also believe that what I share is the teaching of Jesus.

I am a pacifist. I am not a “passive-ist,” meaning someone who is passive. I am more of an activist pacifist. I was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War – but I knew I was a pacifist well before then, even though both my parents served in World War II. I came to this perspective because I read the stories of Jesus in our scriptures, and heard him calling me to follow him. That’s what I want to do with my life, and I imagine you would like to follow him too. This Jesus in the manger scene is also THIS Jesus on the cross. Jesus came to teach us how to love, and he did this through his life and his own actions. He was a man of peace and nonviolence, always. In fact, I defy any of you to seriously imagine this Jesus carrying a rifle or participating in any war. This was a man who allowed himself to be crucified, even though he could have aroused his followers to fight for him. He lived peace. Yes, Jesus teaches about dissention and strife around him, but he’s talking about the dissention that his message causes among those who refuse to take his life and teachings to heart!

What Pope Francis writes about on this day, in his peace message to the world is Nonviolence: A Style of Politics for Peace. It is a bold statement, fitting for this 50th anniversary. It does not shy away from being controversial, and so I will follow in his footsteps this morning.

Two weeks from now, at the Saturday evening Mass at St. Joseph’s parish on Capitol Hill, on the weekend we also celebrate and remember the life and words of fellow Christian Martin Luther King Jr, man of nonviolence, members of Pax Christi, the International Catholic Peace Fellowship, along with their friends, family, and others, will profess a Vow of Nonviolence. The vow will be received by Bishop Eusebio Elizondo at the Mass. Others around the Pacific Northwest will join them – Pax Christi members in public at St. Leo’s in Tacoma, others from Bellingham and Port Angeles. Former Jesuit volunteers from the Micah community. There are deacons and priests too – your former deacon Roy Harrington has taken this vow annually in public, along with OLL parishioners Mary Sontgerath, Barbara McGrath, Linda Fredericks. Bryon Johns made this commitment publicly with members of his family, and my wife and son joined with me. Many others take it privately, such as Lorraine Hartman of your Peace and Justice committee, and my deacon friend Gene Vanderzanden. This is a personal vow, not to be confused with a religious vow like those of poverty, chastity, and obedience. It is a serious commitment, but it is a commitment to strive for a nonviolent life, not to be perfect.

So, I’d like to share the wording of this vow with you right now. Listen to the words; see if would find yourself able to try to live these words.

RECOGNIZING THE VIOLENCE IN MY OWN HEART, yet trusting in the goodness and mercy of God, I vow for one year to practice the nonviolence of Jesus who taught us in the Sermon on the Mount:
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons and daughters of God…You have learned how it was said, ‘You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy’; but I say to you, Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. In this way, you will be daughters and sons of your Creator in heaven.”
Before God the Creator and the Sanctifying Spirit, I vow to carry out in my life the love and example of Jesus:
*by striving for peace within myself and seeking to be a peacemaker in my daily life;
*by accepting suffering rather than inflicting it;
*by refusing to retaliate in the face of provocation and violence;
*by persevering in nonviolence of tongue and heart;
*by living conscientiously and simply so that I do not deprive others of the means to live;
*by actively resisting evil and working nonviolently to abolish war and the causes of war from my own heart and from the face of the earth.
God, I trust in Your sustaining love and believe that just as You gave me the grace and desire to offer this, so You will also bestow abundant grace to fulfill it.

I truly believe that every Christian – every person Christian or not -- who wants to follow the life and example of Jesus, to live a life of peace, should be drawn to these words. Why not make peacemaking more intentional? Of course it is not easy. There will be struggle. There have always been martyrs. But why not begin to live in the world in the way we want the world to actually be?

God Bless you this New Year’s Day, and send you PEACE.

Deacon Denny Duffell
Our Lady of the Lake Parish