Jesus is at his last meal with disciples. This includes Judas who has already betrayed Jesus and later that night will assault him. Jesus knows Judas is betraying him. He knows and describes the assault and violence that await. Jesus does not, however, assault Judas nor does he even protest against him. Instead, Jesus initiates peacemaking with Judas. Jesus is witnessing to peacemakers their future – violence awaits you and neither protest nor assault will change that. Peacemakers will need to learn how to be at peace and how to cultivate peace with and for others, “Do not let your hearts be troubled… have faith in me.” “(W)hoever has faith in me will do the works that I do.”
James O’Dea, in Cultivating Peace, can help peacemakers do the work of peace. He proposes seven actions. 1. We Inspire: we shift from the blazing inferno of conquest and even from the burn out due to rage at injustice to being on fire with the eternal inner light of our human essence. What is my core inspiring and sustaining essence? 2. We Energize: we synchronize our inner peaceful essence with our outer peaceful activism to achieve conflict resolution and social transformation. What is my energy field? 3. We Engage Wisely: we identify bullies and come to understand how they transfer wounds and we apply the skills of healing, forgiveness, and reconciliation. What wisdom and healing do I apply to wounds? 4. We Listen & Ask To Be Listened To: we stand inside the fury of adversaries, listening to them, and we encourage them to listen to us thus nurturing compassion. How constructive is my communication? 5. We Nurture Collective Intelligence: we stand unafraid and calm as we dialogue, inquire, hear, and feel from our minds as well as our hearts to create mutual trust. How do I create deeply intelligent engagements? 6. We Do Whole Systems Thinking: we link ideas across systems and present an integrated worldview that can manifest as systemic change. How do I broaden consciousness? 7. We Apply Our Peacemaking Tools: we shift from personal peacemaking to cultivating social and international peacemaking by expressing a personal and social vision for community peace actions. How do I create synergy for mutually supportive peace projects?
These seven actions are helpful skills with modern day Judas’ who are currently betraying modern day Jesus’. Modern day Judas’ drape themselves in Jesus’ name but their ‘hearts are troubled… they have no faith in Jesus.’ ‘They do not do the work that he does.’ They do not make peace. They do the work of Judas; they protest and assault and plan violence. They stand with Pontius Pilate – in state office buildings, armed with pistols, rifles, and assault weapons, wearing MAGA hats and flying Confederate flags. Standing with peacemakers, Jesus O’Dea says, “When you see what interrupts or aggressively assaults peace in your world, make a choice not to meet it in the form of equal but opposite aggression. Rather, meet it with insight about the cause of its condition, the way a doctor looks at a disease.” More than one disease assaults us at present. None are healed by protests nor assaults but rather by doctors of peace.
Prayer: Spirit of Peace, help us cultivate peace.
Question: How can I apply O’Dea’s peacemaking skills to a person or group spreading disease near me?
May 10, 2020 Gospel John 14:1-12 Fifth Sunday of Easter