“Jesus took Peter, James, and John” “up a high mountain.” There they saw Jesus, “transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.” “And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared.” When we look at Moses and Elijah we see ancient figures bound to the kingdom of Israel. When we look at Jesus we see a transfigured man; no binding to any kingdom and instead a renewing figure of peace.
Are we a renewing figure of peace amidst warrior figures bound to the U.S. kingdom? How difficult is it to consider that the U.S. kingdom is a warmaking demon, adversarial to peace? It is a threat to peace, to humanity, and to life on this plant. William Astore is an author who, like the figures of Moses and Elijah who precede him, represents a warrior kingdom, the U.S. He is a retired lieutenant colonel still bound to the warrior culture but trying to call forth his own peacemaking powers, ours as well. He understands the threat the U.S. is to the world. His writings include: The Militarization of Everything, Military Strength Is Our National Religion, Ending the Pentagon’s Long Con, and The Death of Peace. Astore thinks a demon U.S. kingdom that wages war at home and abroad, also wages war against thinking and against ethics. Think about a military defense budget nearing the figure of a trillion dollars. Think about the figures the Pentagon will not release because it cannot pass an audit, though it gets 2/3rds of all federal discretionary funding. Think about the highest figure for the most trusted institution in the U.S., at 74%, being the military that runs that unaccountable Pentagon and defense budget. Think about its Generals and other warmakers esteemed as wisdom figures. Think about that same military and those same generals as the figures responsible for the bloody body count of millions upon millions of human beings in Vietnam, Southeast Asia, and Central America. Also in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, and so many more in a 2nd Gulf War still being fought nearly 20 years on. Think about the ethics of a society devised by such figures and such figuring? What are the ethics the military devises for a compliant media who embed reporters to gain higher ratings and higher corporate plundering. What are the ethics the military devises for a compliant sports business that embeds fighter planes and soldiers into its games. What are the ethics the military devises for a compliant entertainment industry blood soaked in Militarism’s violent values. What are the ethics the military devises for a compliant school system that under-resources teachers and children but over-resources soldiers recruiting those same children? What are the end results of the figures and the ethics from this military kingdom? It is $55 billion in foreign arm sales. It is $100 million in new guns for a new generation of U.S. consumers. It is 15 million battlefield AR-15 military assault weapons owned by U.S. citizens. It is over 40,000 human figures bleeding out from gun shots last year. It is six-in-ten of those deaths being suicides. It is soldiers who represent approximately 13% of the U.S. population accounting for over 20% of those suicides. It is 434 mass shootings in 2019, killing 517 people and wounding 1,643 more. It is 35% of those mass shootings being committed by trained soldiers. It is warmaking by a demon U.S. kingdom and don’t you figure it’s time for peacemakers to transform it?
“He fed their wounded hearts with love until they had their own He seemed so insignificant and small Sometimes Saints don’t look like saints at all Saints aren’t always blessed faces Angels can be found in unexpected places ‘Their figures’ not that hard to recognize.” (Saints – Charlie Landsborough)
Prayer: Spirit, I vow to be a lifetime figure of peacemaking.
Question: How will I help the U.S. be transfigured from a demonic kingdom of unending wars into a community of peacemakers?
March 08, 2020 Gospel Matthew 17:1-9 Second Sunday of Lent