Leviticus 19:1-2,17-18; 1Cor 3:16-23; Matthew 5: 38-48
After hearing last Sunday’s Gospel, which recounted Jesus’ demand for a deeper morality than can be expressed by the mere keeping of rules, someone commented to me “That was a very difficult Gospel”. If that was difficult, what do we make of today’s, the call to non-resistance, which strikes me as the most difficult passage in any of the Gospels?
From the outset, I think that it is important for us to recall that Our Lord practised what He preached. He lived to the letter the prophecy of the Suffering Servant proclaimed by Deutero-Isaiah: “For my part I made no resistance. I gave my back to the smiters, my cheeks to those who tore at my beard. I did not cover my face against insult and spittle”.
“Pray for those who persecute you,” He said. He fulfilled that through His prayer at His crucifixion “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”. I should perhaps say that I may be just about able to manage that, in terms of what I might class as a very feeble form of persecution. When I read or hear unjust criticism of the Church, or the sillier comments of self-styled atheists, or remarks which generally condone unjust behaviour by governments or others, I can usually force myself to pray for them, though generally only after an initial burst of rage. It is hardly the sort of spontaneous forgiveness which Jesus showed under infinitely greater provocation.
There have been others, in addition to Our Lord, who have lived the Gospel of non-resistance. It is over fifty years since I read “Strength to love” by Martin Luther King, but I still recall how staggered I was by his total refusal to hate, in spite of the brutality which had already been inflicted upon him. Throughout all his calls for racial justice, there was not a single word of condemnation of white people, even the most vicious and murderous of them. Dr. King’s non-violent campaign succeeded, at least in terms of legislation, but, as with Our Lord, it cost him his life.
Nelson Mandela’s autobiography “Long walk to freedom”, and his efforts, as President of South Africa, to create a Rainbow Nation, were also amazingly free of rancour. He survived, to be honoured throughout the world, though he must have grieved to see the inequality which endured, and the corruption which had begun to plague the government in his retirement.
Non-resistance, then, is achievable by individuals: what are we to make of nations? Is it, should it be, practised by nation states? Were Britain and her allies required by Jesus to allow Hitler to complete his conquest of Europe, if not of the world; to succeed in his aim of exterminating the entire Jewish race? Should a present day Hitler, in the form of Vladimir Putin, be permitted to seize control of, and impose a brutal regime on, a neighbouring country?
Noticeably, Jesus directs all of His remarks in this context to individuals. What then are we to make of nations? Recently, there has been much reflection on, and much criticism of, the Just War theory, by which the Church has traditionally given conditional approval to defensive wars. Many people argue that, given modern weaponry, no war can be justified, and Pope Francis has been particularly vocal in his condemnation of the arms trade.
And yet, in the present instance, can we maintain that Putin should not be resisted, or that countries were wrong to overthrow the brutal Caliphate which ISIS sought to establish? Even the Pope has declared that Ukraine is justified in defending itself, and has also stated that non-combatant nations are right to supply Ukraine with weapons for that defence. If Putin should succeed in imposing his will on Ukraine, the Pax Russica would be the equivalent of Tacitus’ description of the Pax Romana: “They make a desert and call it peace”.
We must all not only long for, but also strive for, that state of universal harmony envisaged by the prophet Isaiah, but we must also accept that it will be achieved only when, as Jesus points out, we and the world have been perfected, thoroughly made, completed. In the meantime, we must recall the words of Pope St. Paul VI, “If you want peace, work for justice”. May justice sometimes demand armed resistance, and is this compatible with Jesus’ words? You tell me!
