The stories of the Old Testament are replete with the religion of Militarism’s warriors and their glory. That truth is reflected in this Sunday’s Psalm, “Who is this king of glory? The Lord, strong, mighty in battle.” (#24) That narrative changes with the Gospel which tells us the story of a baby, Jesus, and his parents, Mary and Joseph.
The power of stories is at the heart of George Monbiot’s 2019 TED Talk. “Stories are the means by which we navigate the world,” he says. “(T)he sense we seek is not scientific sense but narrative fidelity.” The world’s dominant narrative to which many of us give fidelity is, unfortunately, told by Militarism’s warriors. Warriors tell us their stories in the Old Testament up to today. They tell of commanders of all types who claim the right to inflict suffering on subordinates and even kill them as enemies because their violence saves us. Men who kill people are crafted as our heroes. We are coerced into thinking they are saviors whom we should thank but they are slaves whom we should free. From the warrior narrative we too should be dominant in our field or, dutifully subordinate and living in deference and gratitude to those who are dominant. Monbiot suggests in his TED talk that we in the U.S. are stuck between two narratives. One, he asserts, is a dominant Democratic Party that subordinates us to “nefarious forces of the almighty state. The other is a dominant Republican Party that subordinates us to “nefarious forces of the (financial) elites.” [In truth they are one and the same narrative from one and the same Militarist party.] Granting the GOP party to the right is more inherently fascist, both parties, to different degrees, politically, financially, and in ethics dominate via elites, who inflict suffering, and practice violence. Elites from both parties set life as a tug of war and we should keep pulling against the other. Monbiot relays the problem in the two party set-up, “Our good nature has been thwarted.” We are pushed “to fight each other, to fear and mistrust each other.” The author asserts, “We are a society of altruists, but we are governed by psychopaths.” The writer and political activist offers a way out of Militarism’s psychopathy. He offers similarities to Jesus’ Way, a 2,000-year-old transformation of Militarism and its narrative. From science he offers, “human beings have got this massive capacity for altruism.” Science consistently shows the happiness of a life of selfless, compassionate service for others. It is a life neither of subordination nor of infliction but of equality and care best lived in community. To live such a life, “What we need is to create community based on bridging networks, not bonding networks.” Bonding networks “bring together people from a homogeneous group whereas bridging networks bring together people from different groups.”
Given the U.S.’s current neo-Nazi MAGA administration. How do we help or invite dominators who fear enemies and act violently, out of the homogenous enclaves they craft? That too has a quality of science about it – evolution. It is likely why Jesus is presented as a baby in the Gospel. He evolves, he grows. However, he grows not into the same Old Testament’s “Lord, strong, mighty in battle,” who is set against enemies and kills people to gain homogenous control. Instead, Jesus is a child who grows into a friend and gathers friend and foe in a diverse community. We can model community building that is both bonding and bridging. We bond and bridge with people of various background, challenging each other as needed so that we come together in community. We create a dynamic and fluid community of political and financial equality. Some people, Militarists, can’t or won’t evolve into being part of such a community. They are afraid of equality and need to dominate. Peacemakers are not afraid and are able to evolve. We can witness to Militarists that they too are strong enough.
Prayer: Spirit, keep us strong enough to evolve.
Question: Toward which people different than myself, am I strong enough to venture out toward?
February 02, 2020 Gospel Luke 2:22-40 Presentation of Jesus