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Shining the Light of Non-violent Peace in God’s Kingdom

(Isa 60:1, 3 NRSV) Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

The word Light appears 236 times in the Bible, mostly in reference to the inner light – that which is the source of wisdom or vision and results in action. In the time after Epiphany, light is the metaphor for God’s presence and for our mission.

In the eastern traditions, light is a predominant theme. Eastern spirituality is experiential. In the west, we depend on rational thought more than experience and I wonder sometimes if we have lost a sense of the holy in our daily lives. The biblical references to light not only invite us to be aware of the holy in our lives but to act as light in the world.

The on-going struggle in Palestine to resist the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, as well as the peaceful protests in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and now Syria are strong examples of failure of empires to maintain peace by force in the face of non-violent resistance. Are these events signs of the Light overcoming the darkness?

John Dominic Crossan, in his lecture in London before Christmas, spoke of the world’s vision of peace as victory with force. Jesus taught that God’s empire is a non-violent Kingdom of peace, in opposition to the Roman empire of peace by force. Perhaps we are witnessing the power of the non-violent peace in the global movements.

In answer to the question about what we as the church and individual Christians can do to change the world’s determination to use violence to achieve peace, Crossan said the church must understand its mission is to collaborate with God in his kingdom of non-violence. Epiphany reminds us the light still shines to overcome the powers of darkness – the Empires of this world – and that our mission is to bear that light.

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Response to “Give Grief a Chance” by Kenneth Bagnell, UC Observer

This article on current attitudes and practices of grief is
certainly relevant.

Having just had a graveside service today for a family whose
mother had died at 92, I was told that she did not want anything but the family
felt that they needed to say goodbye.
So, as we stood by the grave for the cremated ashes, I led them in
prayers and scripture readings with a short reflection on God’s reconciling
love in response to the emotions of anger, regret and guilt mingled with the
gratitude for happy memories of her life.

It seems when the person lives a long life and does not have
many surviving friends, families think the formal funeral is not
necessary. But I remind them that the
funeral is for the survivors, not the deceased.

When my mother died at 92, she did not have friends of her
age still living, but we had many of our friends, some of whom traveled some
distance to be with us, even though they did not know my mother. It was this support that helped me to
grieve. The funeral was on Saturday and
the burial was to be in another city on Monday.
I was associate minister and attended the worship service on Sunday
because I wanted to be with people who were able to offer ongoing pastoral
support.

I believe his comment that “There’s probably never been
a time in United Church history when strong pastoral care was more needed”
is absolutely true. It seems to be the part of ministry that has been most
ignored in the age of easy access by technology, but pastoral care has been the
foundation of the church in my experience of growing up in the mid 20th
century. My own ministry of pastoral care to those who are bereaved has been
acknowledged as a significant service of the church. Pastoral care to the grieving, whether for a
loss of loved one in death, loss of a job or family breakup, is the aspect of
ministry where the church can relate to the spiritual life of people, whether
they are active worshippers or not.

Thanks to Kenneth Bagnell for this article.