Unmasking Religious Violence
"The kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force." (Matthew 11:12)
Muslim terrorists crashing planes into the World Trade Center or fringe fundamentalist Christians bombing abortion clinics; these are the things that come to mind when we think about religious violence in our modern-day world. But the truth is violence comes in many forms.
There is physical violence, but there is also emotional and psychological violence. And Jesus experienced all of these. The cruelty of the cross marked the culmination of the assaults on Jesus, but the gospel writers all record the persistent attacks of Israel’s shepherds on their messiah. Their constant criticism and slander can only be described as extreme emotional and psychological abuse.
Jesus responded to this onslaught with a combination of grace and fearlessness. He gave as good as he got. But there was a difference. Israel’s religious leaders relied on slander, character assassination, entrapment, and hidden schemes, while Jesus relied on the truth, and another attribute unknown to these hardened and heartless men, forgiveness. And in the end, their masks of piety were ripped away, exposing the wickedness underneath.
Nowhere is this seen more clearly than in the arrest and trial of Jesus. We will be talking about the politics of crucifixion in today’s podcast, but even before his trial, Jesus warned that violence breeds more violence. Calvary’s cross exposed worldly ways of power and control for what they really are, violence.
“Put away your sword,” were Jesus’ words to Peter after he cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest. “Those who draw the sword will die by the sword,” our Lord warned in the Garden of Gethsemane.
It’s a hard lesson to learn, and it grates against the ways and thinking of our world, but to follow Jesus we must recognize and reject the world’s way of violence (physical, emotional, and psychological). To do that requires courage, commitment, and sacrifice.
But how does this play out in our lives practically? I think it is seen primarily in our relationships with others. Instead of trying to control, instead of flaunting our authority, we trust God with both our lives and theirs.
The religious leaders followed Jesus to the cross. There they mocked him, reveled in the power they had, power to bring into his life great suffering and ultimately, death.
But even as they reveled in their worldly and violent ways, Jesus turned his eyes heavenward and prayed, “Father forgive them.” And then, just a few hours later, Christ would demonstrate the difference between him and these compromised religious shepherds.
They had openly declared their allegiance to Rome, and the ways of worldly power and violence, saying, “We have no king but Caesar.” Jesus, on the other hand, would utter his final words saying, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”
It’s so easy, Lord, to take up the sword. So easy to flex our worldly muscle, engaging in worldly ways of violence, excusing our actions as practical, and believing the means justifies the end. Help us, Lord. Grant us the faith we need to commit ourselves in life or death into your gracious, loving, and forgiving hands.
In Christ,
Dan