Proper 23, Year A | War & Faithfulness
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
October 15, 2023
the Rev. Jonathan Hanneman
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I doubt I need to remind anyone about the war currently blazing in Israel and Palestine. It’s a scary time to be alive. As a religious leader, people from our congregation have been prodding me for a position or statement on this conflict in the Holy Land throughout the week. I’ve also had people telling me not to talk about such things. As a servant to the whole of our congregation in this time of uncertainty, I ask that second group of people to spend this time in prayer for peace both in the world and in the hearts of your fellow parishioners. However, before I make any of my own comments, I’d like to begin with the words of Church leaders and religious authorities far more skilled, experienced, and important than I am:
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby’s Statement on Israel and Gaza
Statement of the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem
My own statement is far more brief and less eloquent: “I support neither war nor violence.” I recognize that’s unlikely to satisfy anyone, and you’re free to take whatever position you do. However, in the face of impossibly complex social, political, and historic realities, that’s where I stand. Yet a far more important thing for us to consider as Christians is, where does the Bible stand when it comes to war?
A basic summary of the Bible’s teaching regarding war is: it doesn’t. The Bible attempts to address not only hope for a future without war[1] but reality as it is, and human history has played out against a nearly constant background of violence. Those who read the Bible in a more literal fashion can justify certain forms of armed conflict by pointing to passages where God commands the early Israelite people to invade established countries and settlements and even commit what we would view as atrocities. Others approaching those same passages from a slightly different perspective might recognize the widespread rhetorical patterns and traditions of divine authorization that every nation throughout the Ancient Near East used to justify their actions—language that still plays itself out in our world today. Jesus himself never condemns or rejects military service, actually praising an occupying Roman centurion for having stronger faith than anyone else he had encountered.[2] Elsewhere, people can point to different moments in Jesus’ life where he appears to support the ownership of weapons[3] and others where he forbids their use.[4]
But Jesus’ primary statement about war simply tells us we need not walk in fear: “you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet.”[5] It isn’t a sin to be afraid; fear is one of the gifts God gave humans to help us survive. Fearful as we may be, however, Jesus reminds us that we don’t have to remain helpless in the face of its power. We are people called to turn love into action, and “there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.”[6] Again, it isn’t a sin to fear, but as Christians, we need not let fear paralyze us.
My main concern this morning, though, is to say that, despite what public figures—religious and otherwise—may tell you, supporting a war—or those who initiate or perpetuate it—is not a “Biblical” issue. As in many areas of life, Empire enjoys using these tragedies to enforce division, demanding that God-fearing and Bible-believing people choose sides and villainize those who disagree. It uses these situations to build distrust, to prevent us from following Christ’s call to love, serve, and pray for friend and enemy alike. Do not fall for this trick. As Christians, we are to commit ourselves to unity despite difference, to reconciliation even in the face of impossibility. And I call on each of us to do so, beginning right here, right now—in this place and in your pew.
I’d like us to take a few moments of silence for prayer and reflection, to consider how we can best offer love both those sitting beside us and those on the other side of the world. I’ll then conclude with a prayer from Melissa Skelton, retired Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of British Columbia and Yukon in the Anglican Church of Canada and current bishop provisional of the Diocese of Olympia:
“Loving and liberating Creator, send your healing Spirit upon all involved in the current conflict and violence in the Middle East. Comfort those who mourn or who have been harmed by brutality. Stand with those who are fearful. Protect and provide for the powerless and the vulnerable. Inspire a spirit of forbearance and understanding within all and uphold those who even now work for a just and durable peace. In the name of Christ. Amen.”[7]
[1] Isaiah 2:4; Micah 4:3
[2] Matthew 8:10 (see Luke 7:9 for similar) | All Bible quotations are from the NRSV unless otherwise noted.
[3] Luke 22:35-38
[4] Matthew 26:52
[5] Matthew 24:6 (see Mark 13:7 and Luke 21:9 for similar) | This is the concept I like to describe as “the world is always ending, and the world is always beginning.”
[6] I John 4:18
[7] https://ecww.org/prayers-for-israel-gaza-and-the-middle-east/