Scripture Reference: John 15:12-25
The arms race today, and the once called “cold-war” is like that. It is the cut that exposes the grain. The grain is national chauvinism, the assumption of moral superiority inherent in our kind of people and of the right to sacrifice the security of other people for the sake of our own. The grain that runs clear through the wood is trust in coercive power to bend others to our will. If we thought we could do that to our neighbors with crossbows or with slingshots instead of nuclear weapons, that would be no better morally.
But organization and technology have so multiplied the stakes that anyone can see the grain. Anyone can see that the evil is systemic. That is why a particular tactic, such as a nuclear freeze, even if it is a good political first step, is not enough. It was not enough in the 19th century to stop importing slaves.
One mistake we need to avoid is placing the blame on some evil people. Most people within “the system” are not necessarily “nasty.” They do not beat their wives and children. A few of them are brutal; some are selfish or venal, profiteers or racketeers, con-artists; but most of them are not. They may lack imagination or courage, just as many of us do. Most of the people who were and are underlings in our many wars are fairly decent people. They are gentle with their children, and they keep their files in order. They follow the rules and work hard. They are more hostages to the “system” than villains.
The second mistake to avoid is thinking that the response to all of this evil ought to be hatred. The world hates God and Jesus and His disciples, but God does not hate the world. He loves the world; that is why He sent His Son to be its willing victim. In that connection, with that goal of God’s in mind, there is and can be and must be no ditch between Jesus and ourselves. Jesus loved His enemies (including us), He came and died for them; therefore, we are to love our enemies. Jesus let that love cost Him His life. We can risk the things we value, most of which are much less than life itself, for the sake of our enemies.
We must be reminded that the context of the cross is what gives this Scripture passage its meaning. Jesus is present in order to give Himself willingly. He says that He is sent. His cause is not His own. The authority with which He acts is not His own. The Father stands behind His free choice to give Himself. His will is the Father’s will; His intention is the Father’s. The God of the gospel, the God whom Jesus calls “Father,” is a peacemaker, a reconciler.
This truth is not always self-evident. In some strands of Christianity it is not even affirmed—or it is sometimes even denied. In some strands of Christianity, the Father is strict and the Son is gentle. God the Father is a condemning judge, while the Son is an advocate pleading our cause, or even a substitute suffering in our stead under the anger and wrath of the Father. In that example, God the Father is a patriarch, whereas Jesus the Son is a feminist.
It is important that we should correct that view. It is deeply rooted in our culture. It has to do with some people’s views about death and war and enemies. The apostle Paul corrects that error when he writes:
“In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19).
Jesus did have to die for us. He died to reveal the Father’s compassion, not to appease the Father’s love.
“Love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil” (Luke 6:35).
To Be Continued
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 
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