>>>CLICK HERE OF FULL EMAIL VERSION

Instead, love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (Luke 6:35-36)

Jesus asks us to love our enemies. When we disagree with “the other,” the situation can deteriorate to a tipping point. Once words are said or actions are taken in anger that cannot be taken back, hatred grips the very core of both parties. Hamas did things to Isreal in October 2023 that caused swift retribution. Eventually both sides see their only option as the total annihilation of the other. The situation in the Middle East doesn’t look like it will end well. Yet South Africa showed us the method of truth and reconciliation that ended the hostilities through forgiveness. Martin Luther King Jr. taught nonviolent resistance. Injustice needs to be dealt with, but violence and hatred are never the path of the Kingdom of God. Jesus teaches forgiveness through his own sacrifice and standing up to oppression through truth and love. We know there are people in the world that want to do harm to us. Jesus was a pacifist who said that we should never strike back in revenge. Jesus asks us to repay evil with generosity and kindness. He does not say that there isn’t a price to pay but leaves it to God to administer justice. This is a hard lesson for us to comprehend. Mother Teresa had a saying on her wall to try and keep these ideas in focus: 

          People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. 

Forgive them anyway.

           If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. 

Be kind anyway.

           If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. 

         Succeed anyway.

          If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. 

Be honest and sincere anyway.

           What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. 

Create anyway.

           If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. 

Be happy anyway.

           The good you do today, will often be forgotten. 

Do good anyway.

        Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. 

Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God.

It was never between you and them anyway.

If you find yourself at odds with another group of people and it is creating anger and anxiety, may I suggest using your energy to help those in need instead of fighting with those you hate. Social media is a breeding ground for division and really solves very little. Loving your family and friends and helping those in need helps you get through difficult times. Fighting for injustice can be done in nonviolent protest, and when you travel the high road, you find your team back in power before you know it. We need to ask others to behave with kindness and love. We can ask for others to love their neighbors. We are allowed to ask that others show mercy. But can we do that if we are not willing to be kind and merciful? If you are hurting from what is going on in the world, my suggestion is to breath, speak the truth, and act in loving ways. I join many of you in worrying where we are going in this world. I have been a pacifist since I was in the seventh grade. Our class may not have accomplished much by refusing to participate in music class until the United States got out of Vietnam, but we eventually ended that war. I believe that peace is possible between any two groups of people. Maybe I am totally ignorant, but I follow in the path of folks like Martin Luther King Jr., Archbishop Tutu, and Jesus. They all achieved results with truth, forgiveness and love. Maybe we can too.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan