An edited extract from a Lenten reflection of the great prophet of nonviolence John Dear SJ:
“What are you and I afraid of? How can one let go of fears and grow deeper in true faith, hope and love? What keeps you and me from taking a public stand on the thorny issues? How can we stay faithful to the Gospel work of justice and peace, whether we’re effective or not?
As a Lenten practice: name the fears, share them with one another, pray over them, ask for the grace to trust God and walk forward in faith.
Why is violence our first instinct? Does this nonviolence stuff work? We are all acculturated to violence and war. To get beyond our impasse, we need to study — to learn the methods of nonviolent resistance. We need to train ourselves to respond creatively and peaceably. We need to process this Sermon-on-the-Mount way in our church groups and families.
By no means are we bereft of a role model. The unarmed, vulnerable Jesus, who . . . acted contrary to expectations: He offered compassion, healing and love. More, he spoke truth to the cruel and powerful in favor of the oppressed and poor. He demanded justice, and resisted the empire. Here, I submit, is our model. Jesus shows us how to live a non-defensive, fearless, loving life. Why not take Jesus at his word? Why not take a closer look at his methodology of active peacemaking and universal love? And then try it on for size?
Violence lingers in us all. We put ourselves down, wallow in self-hatred, find ourselves shackled to ego, envy and resentment.
Thomas Merton (1915-1968)
It took Thomas Merton, the great monk, 20 years in a Trappist monastery, before he began to deal seriously with his own inner violence. On August 21,1962, he wrote in his journal:
Today I realize with urgency the absolute seriousness of my need to study and practice nonviolence. Hitherto I have “liked” nonviolence as an idea. I have “approved” it, looked with benignity upon it, praised it even earnestly. But I have not practiced it fully. My thoughts and words retaliate. I condemn and resist adversaries when I think I am unjustly treated. I revile them, even treat them with open (but polite) contempt to their face. The energy wasted in contempt, criticism and resentment is thus diverted from its true function — insistence on truth.
If such is the case with Merton, certainly with us. Our following the nonviolent Jesus requires the daily inner work of deepening nonviolence. And what a better time than Lent? It’s a time to look deeply at what’s going on inside us and, where we are violent, to repent and then to offer ourselves mercy. The more we show compassion toward ourselves, the more we will toward our neighbors.
Then as we make the social, economic, and political connections, then — scandal of scandals! — we can love our enemies . . .”
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