EDITOR'S NOTE: In October 2021 I began a new venture writing a newspaper column titled "Finding Faith" for the Forum Communications Co. network of newspapers and websites. I was asked to contribute to the company's ongoing conversation about faith, lending a Lutheran and fairly ecumenical approach to the discussion. The column was published in several of the company's papers and websites, including The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. This column originally appeared as a "Finding Faith" column on Oct. 20, 2023.
By The Rev. Devlyn Brooks
Kyrie eléison. Christe eléison.
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
It seems there is no end to our human bloodlust.
Just days after the heinous attacks on Israelis and others just going about their Saturday morning life, the world called for a flattening of Gaza in brutal retaliation for the atrocities committed by Hamas.
An eye for an eye, so to speak. If not more!
Now the Israeli retaliation has begun, and the devastation is unimaginable. Thousands more dead, and millions of lives put in jeopardy through shortages of basic needs: safety, food, water, shelter, fuel.
The unfortunate twist is that there is no guarantee the Israeli effort to crush Hamas will ever actually destroy the terrorist organization. But we do know that it will destroy more human life.
Regardless of the outcome of the Israeli invasion, the terror and hatred still will run deep on both sides of this conflict. So, one has to wonder if there can even be a solution through violence alone. After all, the retaliation makes us feel good for the moment, but also ensures the cycle of violence will repeat itself with no end in sight.
Not to pick on the Israelis, of course. The war in Israel and Gaza is just the most recent example of where we can see our desire for vengeance and retaliation at play. But in the big picture, violence seemingly has become more acceptable as a cure to all our ills, and the key to washing over all of our hurts.
It’s undeniable that violence is often a quick and easy answer to perceived wrongs. But as faithful people, I’m not so sure that we are called to take the quick and easy way out.
Regardless of your faith background, I suspect there is a root that calls for peace and reconciliation. And in my faith tradition, I look to what Jesus teaches us, which doesn’t seem to say that putting millions more lives at risk in an effort to eradicate an enemy is what he had in mind.
I write not in condemnation of the Israeli people, and further this isn’t a myopic view of the state of terrorism in this earthly world. I fully admit that evil exists, and is perpetrated by some who don’t believe in the value of human life. And I also admit we need institutions in place to provide protection from evildoers.
But as long as our basic response to all conflict is to completely eliminate the enemy, we will continue to find ourselves in a never-ending cycle of violence.
This earthly world is a messy place, and there is evil present, but as faithful people I pray that we learn a different way of confronting this reality than to become evil ourselves.
Kyrie eléison. Christe eléison.
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
Devlyn Brooks is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and serves Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. He also works for Forum Communications Co. He can be reached at devlynbrooks@gmail.com for comments and story ideas.
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