As you know, sixty three
years ago today the United States dropped an atomic bomb
on Hiroshima Japan, killing 70,000 people with many more
made homeless and injured. I know that there are
many 'cases' to be made about why this decision was made
and I see no value in re-engaging about the 'why'
. The simple fact is that our country unleashed a
deadly weapon on a massive civilian population and we
continue to maintain such weapons while simultaneously
demanding that others not have them. As a nation,
we are actively engaged in war or providing weaponry and
resources for military action around the world and we
are party to complex alliances that complicate all
efforts for peace in other nations and regions.
Not to mention that war and violence are growth
industries central to our national economy. In
such a world and such a nation, the possibilities of
seeking and pursuing peace seem ---well, impossible.
Nevertheless, as the
United Church of Christ we have stated in no uncertain
terms that peace, and even a 'just peace' is
possible. That statement (that "we believe peace
is possible" ) is perhaps the most radical of all in the
1985 pronouncement "Affirming the United Church of
Christ as a Just Peace Church". I suspect that I
am not alone in needing to regularly affirm that peace
is possible-for with God all things are possible, are
they not?---because it is so difficult to
believe. To stir my own conviction, this
morning I was reading in William Sloan Coffin's
wonderful last book, Credo. It is filled with
wonderful excerpts from his writings and there is a
whole section on "War and Peace". Among the
helpful comments he offers is this urging:
"Peace does not come rolling in on the wheels
of inevitability. We can't just wish for peace.
We have to will it, fight for it, suffer for
it, demand it from our governments as if peace
were God's most cherished hope for humanity, as indeed
it is..." (p.93)
And I can't resist sharing this one
too:
"We are beginning to resemble
extinct dinosaurs who suffered from too much armor and
too little brain."
Friends, no one has magic or instant
answers. But through the psalmist and Rev. Coffin
, I hear our God urging and encouraging us to not give
up and to be actively engaged in pursuing peace.
In prayer, in our ways of being with our families and
co-workers, in our voting and our advocacy, in every way
possible and perhaps with new creativity, let us seek
God's peace and pursue it. Let us make it our most
cherished hope and our most urgent work, today on this
sad anniversary and every day.
In
Christ,
Jane
