Pray, Study, Act: Holy Week, April 10-16

PRAYER - STUDY - ACTION

Holy Week, April 10-16

Friday, April 8, 2022

Greetings of peace!

This is the most important week of the liturgical year. It begins with a provocative march into Jerusalem proclaiming the kingship of Jesus and it ends with his defiled body being laid in a tomb. We are so familiar with the story that it inspires as many yawns as it does sorrows. Why is this so?

One reason may be that for many, the passion is experienced only as an individualistic therapeutic event: “Jesus died for me.” Aside from this personal therapeutic understanding of the passion, Jesus’ teaching is clear: his passion serves as our model of discipleship (Lk 9:22-24). The passion exemplifies Jesus’ way of redemptive suffering -- the willingness to give without repayment and the willingness to suffer without the desire to strike back. And it has the power to transform, not only our personal lives, but all of our social, political, economic, and religious structures.

However, it is redemptive violence, not redemptive suffering, that is embraced by most Christians. This religious myth of redemptive violence is grounded in the belief that violence can make us safe, can make us powerful, can bring about peace, and can produce justice. When faith is wedded to the myth of redemptive violence all sacred teachings are subordinated. It is the invisible asterisk placed on all Jesus’ teachings about unconditional love: “Do good to those who harm you*. (*except in times of war)”

Our Bread Not Stones campaign calls for a redirection of resources from the military towards those things that truly bring us security. But we will never convince our fellow citizens to beat their swords into plowshares until we confront the demonic power of redemptive violence.

The power of this myth is not symbolized by nuclear weapons, drones, or cruise missiles; it is symbolized by the gun. The gun serves as the metaphor for redemptive violence because it is such an intimate and ubiquitous instrument of violence. It includes the handgun on the nightstand, in the car, and strapped to our bodies. It is carried by church ushers, police officers, and gang members, and it can be found in our children’s toy collection.

How much more powerful would our campaign be if we could bring together our concerns for redirecting military spending and ending our nation’s addiction to the gun?

In peace,

Tom Cordaro

Ambassador of Peace, Pax Christi USA

Bread Not Stones 2022, Committee Member

PRAYER

by Tom Cordaro

God of Liberation from all our foreboding,

our children ask for bread

but are fed the poison of fear.

We put guns in their hands and tell them,

this is the way to safety, power, respect, and salvation.

We give lip-service to your call to love without cost and to show compassion without distinctions, but we are quick to abandon your teachings

when we are told to fear and despise those who are not like us.

We have abandoned your promise of abundant life

in exchange for the promise of longevity through overwhelming firepower.

Give us the wisdom to embrace the things that make for peace:

Help us to understand that we live in a world of endless wonder

that needs to be cared for and treasured;

Help us to see that we live in a world of bounty that belongs to the whole human family,

without excluding or favoring anyone;

from each, according to their ability, and to each, according to their needs;

Help us understand that our security lies in the strength of our solidarity with all

– even those who are marked as enemies.

Open our eyes, hearts, and minds to the truth that we are only safe and secure

when everyone is safe and secure; that we will be at peace only when justice

rolls on like a river, protecting the dignity of every person and embracing every creature.

Show us how to give our children the bread they need. Amen.

STUDY

In order to build a coalition around redirecting our national budget

away from war-making and making our schools, parks, homes,

and neighborhoods safe from gun violence, we need to better understand

how military spending and gun violence are connected.

The Myth of Redemptive Violence Theologian Walter Wink explains the power of redemptive violence that serves as the theological foundation for our love affair with the gun and military spending.

The National Priorities Project

The National Priorities Project includes many resources to help us understand the impact of military spending on other national priorities like affordable housing, healthcare, education, and the environment.

The Pew Research Center’s study, America’s Complex Relationship with Guns, explores our nation’s deep and enduring relationship to guns. John Gehring writes in Demythologizing the Gun how the gun has become an object of reverence. In Thom Hartmann's article, How guns literally go to men’s heads, he writes about how the gun’s power over life and death is greater and more intoxicating than any other power.

Many Pax Christi people are familiar with the power of the military industrial complex. There is a similar industrial complex for the gun industry. In his article, Gun Profiteers: Who's Getting Rich Off the US Gun Crisis? author Derek Seidman gives an excellent overview of the manufacturers, retailers, banks, hedge funds, and money managers who make up the gun industrial complex.

ACTION

Paradigm shifts do not begin with 3-point plans, strategies or research papers. They begin by asking the right questions.

Taking on the religious myth of redemptive violence by linking our over-reliance on military firepower with our love affair with the gun will be a huge undertaking; but for Pax Christi people, this is familiar territory. At our best we try to get to the heart of the matter; to look beyond the surface of issues to see what needs to change in ourselves and in our world. Most of the time Pax Christi people create the path as we walk it.

The path ahead is far from clear but we can identify some of the signposts leading us in the right direction. First, let me offer one question that might help frame our paradigm-shifting work:

How can we ever hope to reduce our reliance on overwhelming military firepower as a source of security if we cannot convince our fellow citizens to lay down their own guns?

Make Connections:

Listen to the conversations around increasing military spending during times of armed conflict. How is are these conversations similar to those made by the National Rifle Association and other gun lobby groups?

A good example of linking took place during the 2018 UN Global Week of Action Against Gun Violence. Read the remarks of UN Disarmament Affairs chief, Izumi Nakamitsu, in her message, Silence the guns.

Build Relationships:

There are a number of organizations that work on gun violence issues. Think about getting involved with one or more of them. As you build relationships, find ways to raise the connection between military spending and gun violence. Here is a list of national organizations that can help you connect with local advocates:

Everytown for Gun Safety: advocates for gun control and against gun violence. Everytown was created in 2013 when Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America joined forces.
Moms Demand Action is a grassroots movement of Americans fighting for public safety measures that can protect people from gun violence.
States United to Prevent Gun Violence was founded in 2000 by an affiliation of independent state gun violence prevention organizations drawn together to communicate, share expertise, and gain traction as a community in a common cause.

Show Up and Bring Others:

One of my favorite Dan Berrigan quotes is, “Faith is rarely where your head is at. Nor is it where your heart is at. Faith is where your ass is at!” This means that we need to show up and bring others. It means that if we ever hope to build a coalition able to address the links between military spending and our love affair with the gun, we need to build relationships with people outside of our comfort zones. In particular we need to find ways to be accountable to communities of color.

Click here to find a Black Lives Matter group near you. Reach out to local Latinx organizations where you live. Join advocacy groups working on issues like affordable housing, healthcare, childcare, and a living wage. Show up at events to hold police departments accountable and speak out to end policies of mass incarceration in your community.

Bring our “Bread Not Stones” campaign with you wherever you go.

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