Fires of violence
Violence burns around the world. Literally. Everyone knows that, but so few work to stop it. I confess I am new to the effort, living for over 50 years with sadness and sometimes anger about the violence but convincing myself there was nothing I could do. No more.
Compassion for the children and for the elderly consumed by the violence compels me to speak. No human being should be allowed to suffer the tortures of war, of bombings and strafings and razings of homes and neighborhoods. Peace moans from the graves of the people and screams from the cells of the innocent and whispers from the shadows of the refugee camps, pleading with the world to stop the violence and to show grace and generosity toward people.
Justice and peace will come out the practices of compassion, grace, and generosity. As we live each day from these core values, choosing our actions by what these values demand, we will begin to make a difference in our part of the world. We can begin in small ways to create safe places for people to live, work, and worship.
We can do more than that. Challenge religious and political leaders to live by these values. Make the phone calls. Send the emails. Write the letters. Attend the meetings. Engage in the demonstrations. Do whatever we can do to tell our leaders we expect them to live with compassion, grace, and generosity. We expect budgets that provide for the poor rather than protect the powerful. We expect our troops to be removed from other countries. We expect our aid to other countries to empower people to live above the poverty level rather than to enrich the wealthy and to embolden their rulers to use military power against their people.
As a Christian, I say it is time for us to speak up in our churches against every form of violence and to speak up for nonviolent actions and appeals in every form. The time has come.
