Justice At The Table

Palm Cross - Photo copyright 2012 John M. Kingery

Station 3: Jesus Takes Up His Cross (Memorial Park)

Theme: Jesus stands with all the veterans and victims of war

Tema: Jesús está con todos los veteranos y las víctimas de la guerra

Scripture: Matthew 5:43-45

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.  But I say, love your enemies!  Pray for those who persecute you!  In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.”

Reflection by Keven Boyett, Unity Church of Beaverton:  We are standing today in Beaverton Veteran’s Memorial Park, a place honoring the men and women who have served our country in times of war and in times of peace. As we respect and honor the warriors, let us remember that their ultimate sacrifice is for peace. This is the fourth year that I have been asked to speak about the cost of war. The message I offer is the same each year. The message offered by Jesus has been the same for 2,000 years. The message is “Love your enemies” and “act for peace.”

On these bricks are the names of more than one thousand two hundred soldiers. Each name has a face, a family, friends and loved ones. The true cost of war cannot be measured simply in numbers or dollars; it is measured by all the loss our community experiences when we choose war.  There is a plaque on the sidewalk that dedicates this place as a “sanctuary for Peaceful reflection.” I wish to suggest today that after peaceful reflection, it is our opportunity to take peaceful action.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal we seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means.”

For all the dedication and devotion we commit to fighting, what would happen if we gave an equal amount of energy and devotion for peace? The first step for peace is to act for peace. Please take a moment today for Peaceful Reflection and then take one moment for Peaceful Action. Any act for peace, no matter how small, is far more powerful than an act for war.

Prayers: We thank you for those in military and charitable service who have endangered their lives to defend us and to help others.  WE THANK YOU, LORD

Petitions: Let us pray for the dead, soldiers and civilians, adults and children, whose lives have been cut short by violence in all of the Middle East including Israel and Palestine and other war torn areas of the world, may they rest in peace.  O GOD, HEAR OUR PRAYER

Let us pray for the living victims of war still suffering the wounds of conflict, may they experience the support of loving communities. O GOD, HEAR OUR PRAYER

We will seek non-violent means to settle our disputes and will encourage our country and community to do the same. O LORD, WE WANT TO WALK IN YOUR WAYS

Palm Cross - Photo copyright 2012 John M. Kingery

Station 2: Jesus Falls for the First Time (Bethel Congregational United Church of Christ Peace Pole)

Theme: Jesus stands for Peace and nonviolence

Tema: Jesús está por la paz y no violencia

Scripture: Luke 6: 27

“But I say to you, Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you; pray for those who abuse you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who take your cloak, do not with hold even your tunic. “

Reflection by Patrick Berg of Holy Trinity Catholic Church:  Jesus gave us an example of love for his enemies. When he was in the Garden and the temple guard came to arrest him Jesus instructed his followers not to resist, nor to protect him. “Put away your sword.” Jesus was silent at his trial before the Sanhedrin in the face of the lies uttered against him. Jesus was trying to tell us that there was a higher law than the instinctual urges in humans to protect themselves, their egos and their property. The greatest law was the law of love. That meant giving up everything, even life itself: total surrender to the Father’s will. For that is what Jesus does. He gives up his life to an unjust sentence to die an ignominious death on the cross.

So how can we come to grips with this total abandonment of Jesus to any self-defense and forgiveness? Where can we find it within us to love our enemies? Our culture is totally against such abandonment.  We are considered helpless victims, whimps by most of society, even by our own family and friends.

Forty four years ago I decided that in my life total surrender meant giving up violence as a solution to the problems of the world. It meant registering with the draft as a conscientious objector. It meant a loss of face before my friends who were going off to serve in the military. “I was a draft dodger, a coward, a hopeless romantic who believed Jesus’ message of nonviolence and surrender.” It meant not being addressed by name in law school, being castigated as a legal aid lawyer who defended the poor by judges and fellow attorneys. Even my clients often didn’t understand. They didn’t want me either for solidarity reasons. They too questioned my motives.

Prayers: We pray for the grace to accept unfair attitudes and barbs for our stand with the oppressed. WE THANK YOU, LORD

Petitions: We pray for the grace to surrender our lives for the poor, the helpless and oppressed, waiting for that day when our calls for peace will be heard.  O GOD, HEAR OUR PRAYER

We pray that our national leaders and world leaders will use nonviolent means to resolve disputes among nations.  O GOD, HEAR OUR PRAYER

We ask for forgiveness from those whom we have injured when we have not surrendered and forgotten our own desires for peace. O LORD, WE WANT TO WALK IN YOUR WAYS

Photo Copyright 2012 John Kingery

We are passing out of what Catholics’ call ordinary time and into the Lenten season.  Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is showing us the way to peace by the life he lived.    Peace is more than mere words; it is a way of life.  You will find English, Spanish and French translations.

In Peace, En la Paz, En Paix.

John

The Journey of Peace – Living

This holy family traveled to Egypt and returned to Nazareth.  Jesus taught that we are to LOVE God, our neighbors as ourselves and our enemies.  He gave FREEDOM to the prisoners of suffering and sin.  Jesus preached that JUSTICE takes time in the parable of the persistent widow.  He lived JUSTICE when confronted with the adulterous woman. He came to testify to the TRUTH.  He called humble men and women to share this message with others.  Are we open to be chosen to share this message? 

 PEACE was alive and the JOURNEY continued.

 El viaje de la paz – viviendo

 La Sagrada Familia viajó a Egipto y regresó a Nazaret.  Jesús nos enseñó que debemos AMAR a DIOS, a nuestros vecinos como a nosotros mismos y a nuestros enemigos.  Él dio la LIBERTAD a los que estaban presos del sufrimiento y del pecado.  Jesús predicó que la JUSTICIA toma tiempo en la parábola de la viuda persistente.  Él vivió la JUSTICIA cuando fue confrontado a causa la mujer adúltera. Él vino a dar testimonio de la VERDAD.  Él llamó a hombres y a mujeres humildes para compartir este mensaje con otros. ¿Estamos abiertos a ser elegidos a compartir este mensaje?

La PAZ estaba viva y el VIAJE continuó.

LE VOYAGE DE LA PAIX – LA VIE

Cette sainte famille se rendit en Egypte et revint à Nazareth. Jésus a enseigné que nous devons aimer Dieu, nos voisins comme nous-mêmes et nos ennemis. Il a donné la liberté aux prisonniers de la souffrance et du péché. Jésus a prêché que la justice prend du temps dans la parabole de la veuve persistante. Il a vécu JUSTICE lorsqu’ils sont confrontés à la femme adultère. Il est venu pour témoigner de la vérité. Il a appelé les hommes humbles et les femmes à partager ce message avec d’autres. Sommes-nous ouverts à être choisi de partager ce message?

PAIX était vivante et le voyage se poursuit.

Of Prayer and Peace

Ann’s Prayer

This past Sunday, my wife Ann and I were driving to pick up one of life’s necessities – new bags for our vacuum cleaner.  Prayer is a necessity too.  It helps to clean our spirit of unwanted dust and dirt.  As we were driving, I asked Ann what she prays for during the day.

“I pray for justice and peace for in the world as we are called to do” she replied.

Pausing for a few seconds, she added “I also pray for economic security for everyone.  There is so much suffering in the world which we hear about and see daily.  How can politicians and others not see that?”

Last year, Ann lost the sight in her left eye after numerous corneal transplants and a fungal infection.  She, who has lost so much, still sees with her heart and prays for those who are also suffering.    Ann knows the necessity of prayer and its power to heal and strengthen.

Assisi Candles Photograph Copyright 2008 John M. Kingery

The Assisi Prayer

Tuesday was the 10^th anniversary of the Assisi Pledge for Peace.  The pledge was the result of over 200 spiritual leaders answering Pope John Paul II’s call to come to Assisi to prayer for peace on January 22, 2002.   Participating were members of 16 from Christian churches and communities, 30 Muslim clerics from 18 nations, 10 rabbis and representatives from Buddhism, Tenrikyo, Shintoism, Jainism, Sikhism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Confucianism and traditional African religions.

I learned of the pledge in 2007 and believe it should be considered a blue print for peace in our communities and world.  The Pledge is meant to inspire and to be lived out and its text is below.

Decalogue of Assisi for Peace[i]

1.    We commit ourselves to proclaiming our firm conviction that violence and terrorism are incompatible with the authentic spirit of religion, and, as we condemn every recourse to violence and war in the name of God or of religion, we commit ourselves to doing everything possible to eliminate the root causes of terrorism.

2.    We commit ourselves to educating people to mutual respect and esteem, in order to help bring about a peaceful and fraternal coexistence between people of different ethnic groups, cultures and religions. 

3.    We commit ourselves to fostering the culture of dialogue, so that there will be an increase of understanding and mutual trust between individuals and among peoples, for these are the premise of authentic peace.

4.    We commit ourselves to defending the right of everyone to live a decent life in accordance with their own cultural identity, and to form freely a family of his own.

5.    We commit ourselves to frank and patient dialogue, refusing to consider our differences as an insurmountable barrier, but recognizing instead that to encounter the diversity of others can become an opportunity for greater reciprocal understanding.

6.    We commit ourselves to forgiving one another for past and present errors and prejudices, and to supporting one another in a common effort both to overcome selfishness and arrogance, hatred and violence, and to learn from the past that peace without justice is no true peace.

7.    We commit ourselves to taking the side of the poor and the helpless, to speaking out for those who have no voice and to working effectively to change these situations, out of the conviction that no one can be happy alone.

8.    We commit ourselves to taking up the cry of those who refuse to be resigned to violence and evil, and we are desire to make every effort possible to offer the men and women of our time real hope for justice and peace.

9.    We commit ourselves to encouraging all efforts to promote friendship between peoples, for we are convinced that, in the absence of solidarity and understanding between peoples, technological progress exposes the world to a growing risk of destruction and death.

10.     We commit ourselves to urging leaders of nations to make every effort to create and consolidate, on the national and international levels, a world of solidarity and peace based on justice.

My Prayer

May our prayers for peace and justice lead us to live lives of peace and justice.  Gracious God give us the strength, patience to persevere along the journey to peace.

In Peace,

John