"Justice Has Been Done" --A Personal Reflection                                 August 23, 2011

Romans 12:14-21         Matthew 5:43-48

I was returning early one morning this spring from a weekend of grandchildren events in Virginia, turned on the radio and heard the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed. NPR stayed on the story as additional details, little by little, came out. I stopped for a late breakfast and saw the Washington Post headline, "Justice Has Been Done," and picked up the copy.

Besides being curious about the emerging details, my general reaction was, 'Good! We finally got him!' I felt satisfied, relieved that this illusive symbol of our conflict with AI Qaeda was finally removed from the scene! The only dis-ease I felt as I listened to the emerging details was the initial report of his resistance with a weapon, and a later report that he had no weapon.

Shift of focus for a moment The Sermon on the Mount, a collection of Jesus' teachings in the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 5, 6 and 7, contain several sayings that challenge what might be our normal responses. For instance,

You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a
tooth.' But I say to you Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes
you on the right cheek, turn the other also;; and if anyone wants to sue
you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; ... Give to everyone who
begs from you and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

These are difficult enough but the one that had been the hardest for me to understand
were the words, "love your enemies."

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate
your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven ... "

                                                                                                                                     Matthew 5:43-45a

How does one develop feelings of affection toward one's enemies?

My mentor in this regard has been the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. We tend to identify
love with affection, attraction, feeling. We 'love' our family and friends. Dr. King helped me understand a way of putting Jesus' radical idea of loving one's enemies into practice. Through his use of non-violent resistance, one is to respect the persons, refusing to strike out violently against them, while resisting the evil they do. You sit at segregated lunch counters; you ride integrated buses and otherwise confront the injustices but you do not respond with violence. Love is more than a feeling; it is a decision to treat every human being with care and respect, as a child of God, even one's enemies.

Upon further reflection, then, I became aware of the inconsistency between my initial
response to the death of Osama bin Laden and my understanding, thanks to Dr. King,
of Jesus' command to 'love my enemies.' In my first reaction to the news of bin Laden's death, I realized I had in some measure bought into the general attitude that the "removal" of bin Laden would be a laudable goal in our conflict with AI Qaeda.

In further reflection, I asked myself the question, 'how different am I, then, from AI Qaeda, whose leaders feel the west is the personification of evil and, therefore, God is served by the destruction of those who represent the west? What distinguishes me from those convinced that violence is a legitimate tactic against the enemy; that suicide bombing is a form of self sacrifice for the cause of good?'

Looking inward at my own attitude, I begin to better understand how ethnic and other
distinctions-Hutu and Tutsi, Serb and Kosovan, Christian and Muslim, Palestinian and Israeli-can lead to prejudice, to demonizing the other side and, then, to violence! Our inclination is to demonize the enemy, to think of them as less than human. That justifies our hate, our striking out at them to hurt, maim or kill. I became more aware of how important it is for us to struggle to understand and to apply Jesus' teaching to "love your enemies."

I realize there is another side to this issue. Another person from the past, for whom I have great respect, was Dietrich Bonhoffer, a Germany pastor, who worked with the underground against the Nazi Regime during World War II. He participated in the attempted assassination of Adolph Hitler (that failed, of course). He was jailed and eventually put to death for that action. All the more reason for that struggle to understand Jesus' words take place!

And the Apostle Paul echoes Jesus' teaching. In his letter to the Romans one section
concludes this way;

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God;
for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." No, "if
your enemies are hungry, feect them; if they are thirsty, give them some-
thing to drink; ... " Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good. ¹

James Edwards in his commentary on this passage notes, "When vengeance is self-
serving it is unlikely to reflect divine justice," and, "The 4th - 5th century monk and theologian Pelagius said: 'The enemy has overcome you when he makes you like himself.' The essential victory over evil is the work of love.,,2

Three years ago Time Magazine had a series of articles on John Fitzgerald Kennedy called "The Lessons of J.F.K." In an article by David Talbot, "Warrior for Peace," referring to what he called Kennedy's "Peace Speech" June 10, 1963, Mr. Talbot writes;

In his stirring address, J.F.K. would do something that no other President
during the cold war-and no American leader today-would dare. He
attempted to humanize our enemy. No matter how 'profoundly repugnant' we might find our foes' ideology or system of government, he told the American public, they are still-like us-human beings. . .. "We all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal."

 I believe that's part of what Jesus means by " ... love your enemies ... "  The conclusion I have come to is this:

1. Peace in our world depends on how we respond to and treat other people, including our enemies.

2. Peace in our own lives depends on our attitude toward and treatment of other people, even those we count as enemies.

It would be interesting to know your reaction to the news of the death of Osama Bin Laden; and to know how do you understand and apply Jesus' teaching to "love your enemies."

Amen.