Warlords and Saints

Sunday’s first reading from the Old Testament opens by telling us, “The Lord was pleased to crush him.” What kind of Lord is so pleased? A War Lord. The reading goes on, “If he gives his life as an offering for sin … the will of the Lord will be accomplished.” What Lord’s will is accomplished in another’s death? Again, a War Lord. Further, “Through his suffering he will justify many.” Who justifies through torturous suffering? It is a War Lord. Billions upon billions of people throughout history but also across the world still are being crushed, killed, and tortured for the pleasures of War Lords, their will, and their values because that is what the Old Testament and its religion of Militarism sanctifies.

To the ache and annihilation of humanity the religion of militarism practices its murderous death cult. Constantly, routinely, Militarism’s murderous War Lords are pleased, given fealty, and justified by the people. The religion of Militarism and its War Lords are responsible for murdering Jesus. Under its indoctrination, constantly, routinely, we are pleased, we are faithful, and we are justified when they murder still. The military War Lord Josef Stalin was pleased to murder millions, between 20 and 25 million at least, and was given fealty and justified. He once spoke a horrifying truth about his religion’s ability to indoctrinate, “The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of millions is a statistic.” We are all of us likely regarding as tragedy the recent torturous death of one man, a Washington Post journalist, Jamal Khashoggi. There is evidence Saudi Arabia’s ruling War Lord, Prince Mohammed bin Salman had him murdered. We are all of us likely regarding as statistic the death of tens of thousands of human beings from the Prince’s war on the people of Yemen. The young War Lord is pleased to have his faithful soldiers target food distribution centers, cause a refugee crisis that includes war crimes and sex crimes, and for him to receive the fealty of many, who claim him justified. Such is the response of War Lords in the U.S. They are pleased, their will for capitalist plunder is accomplished, and their values justified – by supportive citizens in the U.S. “If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must man be of learning from experience?” (G.B. Shaw) It is difficult to learn from an experience when we do not recognize the experience for what it is – the routine practice of the religion of Militarism. It is a religion whose War Lords with their faithful soldiers are still pleased to crush, to indoctrinate for fealty, and to have us justify their values. Therefore, as Shaw said, history repeats itself, again and again. It does so in tragedies and statistics from the Old Testament and the Crusades to colonial conquests and current empires. Nearly 40 years back it was a tragedy when Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador was murdered. It was a statistic when tens of thousands of other El Salvadorans were also murdered by military War Lords of both El Salvador and the U.S.  This past week, Romero, a servant of the people was canonized a saint by the institutional Catholic Church and bravo. Romero witnessed against Militarism, against its War Lords, against any fealty to them or their values. He witnessed as a Christ-like peacemaker with Christ-like peacemakers – farmers, laborers, parents, children – to a fealty to life, and to the values of peacemaking;  “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them … But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant.”

“(T)he true liberators of our people must come from us Christians, from the people of God. … We have lived through a tremendously tragic week (and) one of the largest and most distressing military operations … and-inevitably-people were killed … people were assassinated … bombs exploded in the capital … Corrosive liquids had been applied to the corpses to prevent identification of the victims by their relatives … I would like to make a special appeal to the men of the army … the police … You are killing your own brother peasants … It is high time you recovered your consciences and obeyed your consciences rather than a sinful order. … In the name of God, in the name of this suffering people whose cries rise to heaven more loudly each day, I implore you, I beg you, I order you in the name of God: stop the repression.” (Saint Oscar Romero March 14, 1980. Ten days after his speech, on March 24, while presiding at Mass, War Lords  assassinated the man.)

Prayer: Spirit of Peacemaker Christs, we vow to live your witness.

Question: How am I indoctrinated into Militarism, its warlords, fealty to them and their deadly values?

October 21, 2018     Gospel Mark 10:35-45     Twenty Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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