聖ヨハネJames-en of aizenkai

December 7th, 2005

Thank you for your gracious and generous invitation to be with you in Japan. This is my first trip here, and I am honored to be your guest. I am a child of the so-called baby-boom generation -my parents married after the Second World War. My mother's first husband died at Normandy during D-Day. My father fought in Europe and could as easily have been killed during the war. At the beginning of the 20th century all of my grandparents came to the United States during a massive immigration wave. If they had not, my maternal grandparents - who were Russian and Polish Jews -would have been killed. As much as we love our respective countries, we are born into them as a kind of "accident." When we see others suffer, especially from injustice, we must realize that we could be they - if we simply had been born somewhere else. Perhaps if we remember that fact we would respond differently to world crises, natural or human-made. Perhaps we would understand that we can either build a better world or destroy each other through arrogance, violence, disrespect and hatred.

　It is a special honor to be with you as we remember the horrors of war and respect the lives lost sixty years ago at Hiroshima and Nagasaki and throughout the years of the Second World War. You know about the violence and death of war. I am deeply moved to visit your country and to experience first-hand your humility, kindness and generosity. The friendship Oomoto has with the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine spans nearly thirty years. Dean James Parks Morton, during his twenty-five years as Dean, built a foundation of friendship between Oomoto and the Cathedral which endures. It is a special joy to stand within those bonds of friendship and to think together with you about peace. I have been asked to address you as a Christian. I have great respect for the way that you invite people to be with you. You always want us to be who we are with you, and then you come among us as yourselves. I wish all of us knew better how to do what you do as a way of life and faith - you celebrate diversity and uniqueness and believe that in doing so God is glorified. Thank you for believing that we become the best we can be for God in that way, unique and distinct, but together in God. So I will do my best to be an "articulate Christian" as I share with you some thoughts about peace.

　Jesus is the central figure in Christianity, and he symbolizes love and peace. Jesus taught that we must love those who despise us and turn the other check if someone hits us. Not surprisingly, someone who is not a Christian might well ask, how can the idea of war fit into Christian teaching? How could Christianity justify the Crusades of the Middle Ages, or the many wars that have been fought in the name of the Christian God ever since?

　I want to ask why Christians seem all too ready to accept as inevitable the war-making found throughout history. The Old Testament of the Bible has many examples of military conflict that were motivated by obedience to God. There also are examples of how God's mercy and justice are revealed through victory over one's enemies. As many traditions wove across the centuries during which the Bible was written and changed, Jewish and Christian beliefs evolved. One tradition was the Holy War or Crusade. The Bible says again and again that God would claim a new land for God's own people. Throughout history the use of massive force has been perceived by various people of faith, and certainly by some Christians, as God's will.

　Holy wars give believers permission to assert that when an end result is righteous, absolute power is justified in attaining that end. The Crusaders in medieval Europe acted with what they believed was a holy purpose. Many uses of force and war were "sanctified" by advocates whose plans were blessed and justified with Crusader's zeal. In my country, there were various theological foundations given for the American Revolution and the American Civil War. During the Civil War, families and neighbors were pitted against each other - and many people, including President Lincoln, came to believe that the blood shed was a sacrifice offered to God to purify the nation. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, when Almighty God is depicted as fighting such battles - against evil and enemies - the people of God must at least join in the battle.

　But I believe that my tradition has misunderstood many of these images of God as a warrior. I believe a more accurate interpretation of the battles God fights is found within the context of earlier concepts of the ongoing battle between good and evil. The Bible's creation story says that God created, but the text also indicates that chaos already existed. That means that what God created was not what was created first. The creation story says God battled with darkness and other forces of chaos. Within this struggle, God created. The battle could have been lost, but God won. The Bible also asserts that the battle is ongoing, and that God could lose in the future. Early images of God as a warrior God, powerful enough to win the battle, emerged from believers who were scared and who knew that the battle was real and that those forces were dangerously powerful.

　But they trusted that God would prevail. That ongoing battle and God's ultimate victory become a setting for explanations about the existence of evil.

　The Christian tradition takes that battle against evil and the forces that draw us from the love of God a step further. Christians believe that in Jesus of Nazareth, God becomes fully human. As Jesus lives and dies as one of us, we discover just how much God values what it means to be human. In Christ, God experiences what it means to suffer and to die. But in the process of taking on the full human condition - including feeling betrayed and abandoned - Jesus does not appear to fit the job description of the Messiah everyone expected. In some traditions the yearning was for a military and political leader who would restore the kingdom of Israel.

　Instead Jesus was hauled in front of the governmental and religious authorities and remains silent. He refuses to play their power game. It was not that Jesus was self-destructive or suicidal. Rather, he was carrying out his vocation as a servant who would reveal in his vulnerability and surrender God's power and faithfulness. Christians believe strength is found in weakness, and that what seems old or dead can be brought back to new life, because not even death can separate us from God's love. Jesus' resurrection means that the darkness can never overwhelm the Light, and that evil will never have the final word in God's love affair with all of creation and all creatures.

　Even though Jesus was a pacifist, a suffering servant who told his disciples not to fight for his release, pacifism is not the only tradition found at the core of the Christian faith. Peace-making and pacifism are clearly foundational to the Christian faith, as Jesus said "But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also." He also told followers to "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Jesus even warned believers that "All who take the sword will perish by the sword." So many of the earliest Christians were pacifists and many of them refused to serve in the Roman armies. Today Mennonites, the Amish, Quakers and the Church of the Brethren continue to hold to a firm belief in pacifism. But a greater number of Christians are not pacifists.

　Of course, not being able to live up to the ideals of our beliefs is not a new human dilemma. Nowhere is this more true than on the question of whether or not to go to war. Many Christians would say that although war is horrible and not what God wants for us, in the face of evils such as oppression, starvation, and injustice, Christians who would want to be peace-makers also believe that war may be necessary. Christians are to work for justice, but they also must fight against injustice. That is how the Just War theology evolved in Christian thought over the centuries, first developed by St. Augustine in the fifth century when the Roman Empire was being threatened by invasions. Other Christian philosophers later supported just war theology. Certain criteria emerged by which it could be determined whether or not a war was just:

1. Force can be used only as a last resort.
2. War must be declared by legitimate authority.
3. There must be a just cause such as protection against a clear danger to the society or to protect against aggression.
4. The force used must be in proportion to the danger
5. War must not be directed against civilians or noncombatants
6. There must be a reasonable chance of success in attaining the goal of return to wholeness, health, and peace.
7. The use of force must be applied with sadness of heart, not with a vengeful spirit.



　By declaring that all of these criteria must be met for a war to be just, the proponents of this Just War concept hoped to limit the use of war. But no theology of war and no limits on the use of war can minimize the inevitable destruction and death caused by war. Although wars may be fought for what can be argued are just reasons, the consequences are not just. Wars damage God's creation. Wars disrupt the harmony and abundant life God intends for all. Although we may try to restrict and limit the dying, people still are killed, and that must always be seen as a profound and sinful failure on our part as citizens of the world and children of the One God.

　Jesus began one of his most famous sermons, "You have heard that it was said, "Love your neighbor and hate your enemy,''' - the common wisdom of many cultures - and then he added, "But I say to you, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.''' The first people to hear these words come out of Jesus' mouth must have thought that he had lost his mind. This teaching was radically different from the common wisdom. What sense does it make to love your enemy? How could we possibly create an ethical standard that expects people to care about those who hurt them or attempt to do them harm? I think that Jesus meant,"In being a reconciler and peacemaker, you are being like God."

　This is a central dilemma for Christians. Turn the other cheek makes no sense to lots of Christians. I was taught in my country and in my Church to stand up for what I believe, to fight the good fight, and to advocate for and protect the underdogs- the outcaste or marginal persons. I believe that I am supposed to be an agent for justice, to speak up and change things that keep people poor or that leave people out. I believe that I am especially duty bound to treat those who are different from me with respect and hospitality. Does turning the other cheek suggest that we could become so docile or passive that others would take advantage of us? I do not think so. If we do not break the cycles of violence, violence simply keeps breeding more violence. Christian teaching demands the defending of life, including our own. But the Christian faith teaches that true security is possible only when we trust more in God's strength and the power of shared values and goals among the human communities than in our own power or in force.

　I was horrified after my country was attacked by cowardly criminals on September 11, 2001. Sympathy and support for the United States changed as we moved from promising to work with others to prevent such crimes against all of humanity to the actions of war. In our quest for "national security" we undermined truly transnational opportunities to protect all of us from unimaginable violence, destruction and death. Today it takes only a few people banding together in "terrorist cells" to convert limited financial and military resources into enormous damage. Some analysts have suggested that it cost the 9/11 criminals only $200,000 to induce billions of dollars of damage and to kill nearly three thousand people. We must work together to prevent that kind of destruction by so few against so many.

　This is not the first time that our world is wracked with violence and war. When Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God," he was surrounded by the enormous power of the Roman Empire. He was no stranger to the kind of savagery and destruction faced by innocent people in his village and around Israel. His mandate that people "Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you" was no easier in his day, even though we tend to believe that the challenge is more difficult today. Many Christians have been silent or have had their voices drowned out by religious leaders who have politicized faith in my country. Some say it is unpatriotic and un-Christian to ask tough questions about the "War on Terror" and the false linkage of Saddam Hussein to 9/11. People of faith who were usually thoughtful rallied with many others and "made the case for a pre-emptive war," an exception to what they would accept as proper foreign policy. I often heard the statement, "We have to do something."

　How can war make sense because we have to do something? The criteria for a Just War had not been met, and yet the United States proceeded on a path with the United Kingdom and relatively few other nations arguing that they were protecting the world against a leader with weapons of mass destruction.
　They terrified people by saying that Saddam Hussein might even pose a nuclear threat. Usually careful and compassionate people of faith in my country turned a blind eye to incarcerations of alleged terrorists or Iraqi leaders that ignore the Geneva Conventions, including tortures. In the name of national security, many believe we can do almost anything.
　My own government is now learning that although you may be able to get elected by scaring people, it is virtually impossible to govern when people are acting out of fear and resentment rather than intelligence and restraint. In fact, many people in my country believe that arguments made for war were not truthful.

　Oomoto believes in the one God of true love. Oomoto has been oppressed twice by Japanese militaristic fascism, yet has carried out pacifism, protested the war and has been praying to God, who created the whole Universe, every day, morning and evening. I have great respect for your "Statement of Regret for the Outbreak of War Against Iraq."

　You expressed regret that U.S. forces began attacking Iraq without a second resolution from the United Nations Security Council. That attack truly did undervalue and undermine the United Nations.
　Oomoto conducted daily prayer services for world peace, and you kept praying to avoid a war.
　Then you prayed for the immediate termination of this war. In doing so you reminded the world that wars "cost many valuable, irreplaceable lives." With the great wisdom of your own hardships and through the eyes of faith, you said that "Humanity must make every effort to protect the dignity of all life, to put an end to this war and to stop using war as a means to settle its differences." You wisely added that we must also work toward "a fair international society constructed on the grounds of law and justice, denying war and violence."
　Oomoto was deeply concerned about Iraq and candidly challenged the policy of America. Thank you for carrying out the pacifist movement, for protesting the war, and for praying to God. Thank you for believing that God created the whole Universe and does not permit wars which brutally blot out innocent lives and are against God's will.

　To practice the teachings of faith is never more necessary than when its foundations are being co-opted by militarism and nationalism. Insightful and prophetic voices have cried out that the "theology of war," which emanated from the highest circles of American government, was also "seeping into our churches."
　That is when you hear dangerous talk of "righteous empire" and when the roles of God, church, and nation can be manipulated. In my country we were confused by talk of an American "mission" and "divine appointment" to "rid the world of evil." But people of faith cannot believe that God belongs to a particular nation.

　We have observed decreasing international cooperation and more unilateral policies. If we continue, the so-called war on terrorism will take precedence over ethical and legal commitments we have made to each other over centuries of hard-learned lessons. It took many generations for the Geneva Conventions to evolve, and no nation or leader should pick and choose when they apply and when they do not.
　As a Christian I believe that: some behaviors, such as torture, the deliberate bombing of civilians, and the use of indiscriminate weapons of mass destruction, can never be condoned and in fact are crimes against humanity; that no Christian can accept the premise that any human being can be defined as outside the law's protection; and that no Christian can demonize "the enemy" and participate in the inevitable abuses of the mistreatment of prisoners. 　Strangely, as my country has entered into another dark chapter with regard to civil liberties and human rights, some are falsely asserting that America is a "Christian nation." They claim, dangerously, that America is a nation imbued with virtue, while its adversaries are nothing but vicious and evil.

　Enemy-love is the heart of the Christian gospel. Such love does not require us to allow others to wage hostilities against us or to dominate us. But it does mean that we must show respect " even love" to our enemies, just as God in Christ showed love to us and the whole world. We must refuse to demonize any human, for each has been created in God's image. I have great respect for the humility you express in your relationships.
　As a Christian I believe that humility must inform all political disagreements and perceptions, especially because in a complex world with high-technologies of violence, we may easily be wrong with horrific consequences. It has always been dangerous for my country to say that those who are not for the United States politically are against it. Or to treat those who question American policies as traitors or "evil-doers." All religious persons must beware of the distorted use of our teachings for propaganda purposes.
　Throughout history, whenever a nation-state has usurped the place of God, such states have abused faith and transformed religion into blessing of public policies and the actions of leaders. Instead, nations and their leaders require ongoing critique and healthy public debate in order to be strengthened.
　People of faith must connect their faith to their everyday lives by using their principles as they make their decisions as citizens. And peacemaking is central to the vocation of faith in a troubled world which God dearly loves.

　Thank you for the honor of addressing you as you continue to work for world peace. Even before we knew each other, Oomoto and the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine had a relationship. Both Oomoto and the Cathedral were founded in the same year- 1892.
　Our bond grew strong through your friendship with my predecessors, the long-tenured Dean James Parks Morton and Dean Harry Pritchett, Jr. Joint worship, education, art, exchange programs, visits and open hearts have characterized a friendship committed to loving and serving God.
Oomoto and the Cathedral have prayed together at Mount Sinai and have celebrated the founding and work of the United Nations. I thank God that we continue to strive for reconciliation with justice and for enduring peace in the world. Thank you for keeping that dream of peace alive, and for the real ways that your lives bear witness to how we can respect one another and be peace-makers.
　God is glorified by what you have done throughout these years, and must be pleased with our commitment to continue this friendship and to be agents for eternal world peace and the Divine Commonwealth of God on earth.

The Very Reverend Dr. James A. Kowalski,

Dean
The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine
New York City