Of Empires and Old Men

 

   Russian military vehicles arrive in Belarus, near the border with Ukraine 

Jan. 29, 2022 (Russian Defense Ministry/AP)

      A convoy of U.S. Marine Corps arrives in Northern Iraq, March 2003. 

Credit: Andrew P. Roufs, USMC 

Russian President Vladimir Putin used fabricated lies to justify to the Russian people an invasion of Ukraine. Some twenty years ago, the Bush White House also used fabrications to justify to the American people the military invasion of Iraq. In the U.S., at least half the population could see through the lies, but we could not stop the invasion. It is as if the lies are always a mere formality preceding an empire’s use of military force.

 

Come you masters of war

You that build the big guns

You that build the death planes

You that build all the bombs

You that hide behind walls

You that hide behind desks

 

I just want you to know

I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin'

But build to destroy

You play with my world

Like it's your little toy

You put a gun in my hand

And you hide from my eyes

And you turn and run farther

When the fast bullets fly

 

Someone posted the preceding Bob Dylan quote from his 1963 song, “Masters of War” on Facebook right after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Shortly afterward, someone else responded, saying that in a 2001 interview, Dylan claimed, “There’s no antiwar sentiment in that song, I’m not a pacifist. I don’t think I’ve ever been one. If you look closely at the song, it’s about what Eisenhower was saying about the dangers of the military-industrial complex in this country. I believe strongly in everyone’s right to defend themselves by every means necessary*.”

This 2001 quote is emblematic of our human nature, that as young men we see and decry the follies of war, then as old men, we capitulate to the necessity of war. Unfortunately, it is always the young men who are sent out by the old men to fight their wars.

It is the way of Empire to make a mess of things with weapons of war, whether it is the U.S in Iraq, or Russia in Ukraine. Empires destroy lives and communities in order to preserve their own power.

I remember watching on the nightly news back in August of 1968 as Soviet tanks rolled into Czechoslovakia. The world watched, helpless to intervene. I was just beginning my eighth-grade year in school. Those 1968 images, in addition to a prolonged war in Vietnam, colored my dark view of the modern world for many years. 

Putin seems to have expected to see that same sort of helplessness from onlooking nations today as the Kremlin saw at the height of the Cold War. Today, the free world hurts for Ukraine and many have rallied to her cause, inspired by a people who will not roll over to a bully, and a president who stands with his people rather than fleeing in exile.  

_________________

* I was able to find the source of the Dylan quote. It is from a 2001 Robert Hilburn interview (Los Angeles Times). It was cited by Lee Marshall in his book, Bob Dylan: The Never Ending Star, (p. 263).  The quote was also cited in The political World of Bob Dylan: Freedom and Justice, Power and Sin, by Jeff Taylor and Chad Israelson.

*    *    *

Masters of War

By Bob Dylan

 

Come you masters of war

You that build the big guns

You that build the death planes

You that build all the bombs

You that hide behind walls

You that hide behind desks

 

I just want you to know

I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin'

But build to destroy

You play with my world

Like it's your little toy

You put a gun in my hand

And you hide from my eyes

And you turn and run farther

When the fast bullets fly

 

Like Judas of old

You lie and deceive

A world war can be won

You want me to believe

But I see through your eyes

And I see through your brain

Like I see through the water

That runs down my drain

 

You fasten all the triggers

For the others to fire

Then you sit back and watch

When the death count gets higher

You hide in your mansion

While the young people's blood

Flows out of their bodies

And is buried in the mud

                            

You've thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world
For threatening my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You ain't worth the blood
That runs in your veins

 

How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You might say that I'm young
You might say I'm unlearned
But there's one thing I know
Though I'm younger than you
That even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do

 

Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good?
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could?
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul

 

And I hope that you die
And your death will come soon
I'll follow your casket
By the pale afternoon
And I'll watch while you're lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I'll stand over your grave
'Til I'm sure that you're dead

 

-

War Is (Still) Not the Answer

                                           An honor guard carries the casket of Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum
                                                       (Photo by Bradley J. Boner, Jackson Hole Daily)

I stand with our Quaker Friends on matters of war. I have often written on the topic, as in one 2015 essay, "Rumors of War" in which I took the Obama Administration to task for its continuation of war in Iraq when our military efforts had failed to bring any stability to the region. With the U.S. now ending its longest war, we have an opportunity to reflect upon what we have achieved with our strategies of war.

In late August as U.S. troops were leaving Afghanistan, there were reports lamenting the death of 20-year-old Lance Corporal Rylee McCollum who was on his first tour of duty and whose wife is pregnant with their first child.  He was nine months old on 9/11 and one of the last soldiers to die in Afghanistan. Like most of us, I am saddened by this event, but I was even more saddened by what Anderson Cooper on CNN recounted about the soldier. He said that McCollum’s older sister told of how McCollum wanted to be a soldier all his life, and even as a toddler in diapers he loved to carry around a toy rifle. Cooper told it as though it were such an endearing thing, but it highlighted for me how we needlessly groom our young to be fodder for the war machine. There are so many other ways we could guide our young people to serve their country and their society. 

“We perpetuate war by exalting its sacrifice” 

I am reminded of a scene from the 1964 movie, The Americanization of Emily, starring James Garner and Julie Andrews. I recounted it on my blog ten years ago*. In the film, Charlie Madison, James Garner’s character, appears to be a quite cynical participant in WWII. The movie is set in London in the days preceding D-Day. Charlie Madison is a “dog-robber,” an assistant to the admiral of the Navy. A dog-robber’s job was to “keep his general or admiral well-clothed, well-fed, and well-loved during battle,” and Charlie Madison was apparently the best at what he did. Emily Barham, played by Julie Andrews, is offended by Charlie’s cavalier attitude and the American military officers’ opulent acquisitions of the finest clothes, food, liquor, and perfume when her countrymen are doing without basic necessities in the midst of war. But then they fall in love and everything changes for them. 

Emily is a young British driver in the military motor pool. We learn that she has lost many of the people close to her in wartime. Her father, her brother, and her husband – all soldiers, all killed in the line of duty. Charlie is a self-proclaimed coward and will go to any length to stay out of the heat of battle. In a conversation with Emily and her mother, Charlie tells what he really thinks about war: 

 

“I’m not sentimental about war. I see nothing noble in widows,” he tells Emily’s mother. “Wars are always fought for the best of reasons: for liberation or manifest destiny. Always against tyranny and in the interest of humanity. So far in this war, we’ve managed to butcher some ten million humans in the interest of humanity.” Charlie explains that we make things worse by making heroes of the war dead. His own brother died in battle, “an everyday soldier’s death, no special heroism involved. They buried what pieces they found of him. But my mother insists he died a brave death and pretends to be very proud. .. Now my other brother can’t wait to reach enlistment age.”

 

“We perpetuate war by exalting its sacrifice,” Charlie Madison says. “It may be the ministers and generals who blunder us into war, but the least the rest of us can do is to resist honoring the institution.”

 Moving from cinema back to reality, we continue to send our youth to be maimed, and scarred, or killed as in this latest 20-year exercise in which we pour lives and treasure into efforts that have only disrupted and destabilized the region. And it is not just American lives that pay the cost. Think of the entire generation of children in the Middle East who have grown up knowing nothing but war. 

In the Interest of Empire 

I think the truest thing our president said when he announced the U.S. military exit was that it is no longer in our best interest to stay in Afghanistan. The truth is, it was never about establishing democracy, it was all about U.S. interest. We must realize that The U.S. is an empire and our actions more reflect empire and its preservation than any so-called democratic values. We weren't thinking democracy when we funded Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan to pester the Russians. 

When we planted our empire boots squarely in their country, we said we were hunting down our enemy, the same Osama Bin Laden whom we befriended in our late Cold War strategy against Russia. We also called our invasion of Afghanistan an attempt to let the people form their own government through democratic elections in the interest of freedom. That was just the answer that sounded good. We were actually there for our own interest which was to demonstrate the power of our empire, thereby securing our station in the world and telling ourselves we were safer for it. Ironically, according to an article from the Brookings Institution, our 20-year war in Afghanistan may have contributed to our national decline.  

Now that Afghanistan is more of a drain than a promotion of empire, it is no longer in our interest to be there. We can move on and leave the rubble of our bootprints behind for the pawns in our game to deal with. 

Make no mistake, though. We are still vitally interested in demonstrating our military power. We will move to another location with our guns and our empire-boasting at the next opportunity. It's what empires do.

It is the way of Empire, but the way of  Empire is not the way of life. A young rabbi from Nazareth tried to tell us that over 2,000 years ago.

________________

*My commentary on The Americanization of Emily is taken from a blog post in 2010, "Charlie Madison's War."

-

Closing Prayer for the Kingdom (The Fifteenth Station of the Cross)

< Fourteenth Station of the Cross

Oh Lord, you taught us to resist Empire by living with confidence in the reign of God, but our hearts are turned by fair winds and vain promises. Sometimes we are crushed under the heels of Empire, and sometimes we aid in Empire’s oppression, whether by active participation or by silent assent. We are the ones who shout “Hosanna!” and we are the ones who cry, “Crucify him!”

In the dark illumination of the Via Dolorosa, we have seen ourselves. We have seen ourselves capitulating to Empire; we have seen ourselves facing sorrow and death. We have also seen Christ among the living and the dying. We have walked the path that separates the Way of Life from the way of death.

In the darkness that is Good Friday, we stop to experience the absence of your light. We dwell in the moment of death and non-being as though the light has gone out. It is only by knowing the magnitude of loss and the depth of sorrow that we can truly honor the Way of Life and the hope of God's reign in our hearts.

You taught us in Matthew 25 that a nation is to be judged not by victories over its enemies, but by how it treats the weakest within its borders. May we therefore set out to care for the sick, give purpose and rehabilitation to the prisoners, provide for the hungry, and make a way for the destitute that in doing so we may all share in the bounty and gladness of the reign of God. Teach us also to care for the good earth. May we come to see all creatures that dwell within this fragile home as integral parts of your wondrous creation. 

May we live with your confidence in the reign of God, even in the face of hardship and death.           
                                                                                                                                                                                     ~ CK

*   *   *   *   *

                         From The Book of Common Prayer:

                         (just prior to the consecration of the bread and wine at the Lord’s Table)

Lord God of our Fathers: God of Abraham, Isaac, and

Jacob; God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: Open our

eyes to see your hand at work in the world about us. Deliver

us from the presumption of coming to this Table for solace

only, and not for strength; for pardon only, and not for

renewal. Let the grace of this Holy Communion make us one

body, one spirit in Christ, that we may worthily serve the

world in his name.

Risen Lord, be known to us in the breaking of the Bread.

                                                                ( Eucharistic Prayer C)

-

*   *   *

Note: For a meditation on Holy Week beginning with Holy Thursday, see Paschal Triduum: A Personal Journey

-

The Fourteenth Station of the Cross: Jesus Is Laid in the Tomb

< The Thirteenth Station of the Cross                                                               Closing Prayer for the Kingdom >

Jesus' disciples place his body in the tomb

When Jesus is confined to the pages of a book,
 then he remains entombed and Empire has the upper hand

Beyond the sacred page I seek you, Lord;

my spirit waits for you, O living Word.

                       

                             ~ Mary A. Lathbury

The best way to keep Jesus in the tomb is to confine him to the pages of a book. When that book is given holy status but never read (or hardly read or selectively read), then Empire succeeds in keeping Jesus entombed so that religious people often end up doing the bidding of Empire. The popular hymn, "Break Thou the Bread of Life," by Mary Lathbury contains a subtle word of wisdom that is the key to seeing the risen Christ: "Beyond the sacred page I seek you, Lord." When we confine Christ to the pages of the Bible, he is dead to the world around us. When we allow Christ to exist beyond those pages where he can address the death-making machinations of Empire, then he is risen, indeed.

-

The Eleventh Station of the Cross: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

< The Tenth Station of the Cross                                                                             The Twelfth Station of the Cross >

Jesus' hands and feet are nailed to the cross

"St Louis Unites: A Dream of Freedom Songs"  Photo collage by Basil Kincaid

Do police serve the community, or do they serve Empire? One quick way to discern that question is whether they promote life or threaten with death. If they promote life, then they serve the community. We understand the chill behind the term "police state." It is the chill of death.

In our own day, we are hearing even our religious leaders advise blacks and Latinos to avoid being shot by the police by simply obeying and doing what they say. Scripture texts are even cited to justify such fearful and numbing obedience.

Ironically, it was Empire's emphasis upon order and obedience that resulted in Jesus' crucifixion. The order and safety of Empire is appealing, but when we choose Empire just to stay alive, we must then endure a thousand small deaths throughout our days.



-

The Tenth Station of the Cross: Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments

< The Ninth Station of the Cross                                                                      The Eleventh Station of the Cross >

The soldiers strip Jesus of his garments, treating him as a common criminal

Juvenile detention center in Florida (photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Across the country, school systems are shutting the doors of academic opportunity on students and funneling them into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. The combination of overly harsh school policies and an increased role of law enforcement in schools has created a “school-to-prison pipeline,” in which punitive measures such as suspensions, expulsions, and school-based arrests are increasingly used to deal with student misbehavior, and huge numbers of youth are pushed out of school and into prisons and jails.  

See more at: https://forwardpromise.org/research-resources/school-discipline-reform-and-advocacy/

One of the traits of Empire is that it freely discards its citizens without regard to potential or inherent worth. In the African American community, there is indeed a "school-to-prison pipeline" pattern that some are trying to address. Unfortunately, the problem is practically invisible to citizens of the Empire.



-

The Eighth Station of the Cross: Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem

< The Seventh Station of the Cross                                                                     The Ninth Station of the Cross >

Jesus tells the women to weep not for him but for themselves and for their children

Pablo Picasso's "The Weeping Woman"

Throughout the ages, it has been the women who bear so much of the suffering inflicted by Empire. When Jesus spoke to the women in Jerusalem on his way to the cross, he saw their weeping and knew the greater sorrow that they would endure in the years ahead when their children would grow up just to become fodder for the war machine of Empire. Picasso painted “The Weeping Woman” in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War. He painted “Guernica” that same year to depict the tragedy and suffering brought on by the casual bombing of Spain by the Nazi war machine. While "Guernica" has come to be a reminder of the tragedy of war, "The Weeping Woman" is a universal image of suffering.

When you go out today, take note of the women you see. Many of them will be silently bearing the sorrow of having lost someone dear to them at the hands of Empire and its war machine. They bear the suffering brought on by lost lives, cripples bodies and shattered minds of their children who grew up to serve their country and were crushed by Empire.



-

The Seventh Station of the Cross: Jesus Falls a Second Time

< The Sixth Station of the Cross                                                                         The Eighth Station of the Cross >

Jesus falls beneath the weight of the cross a second time

Abandoned gas masks litter the floor

Graffiti adorns the ghost city of Pripyat 

It was April 26, 1986, when the Chernobyl nuclear disaster occurred. Pictured above we see the large nuclear power plants standing tall against the sky before the disaster. We also see the sad aftermath of nuclear power gone wrong.  Billed as "safe, clean energy" by the Empire in the U.S., nations of power naturally pursued greater sources of power. Near misses in the U.S. have sent warning signals, but accidents in the former Soviet Union and more recently in Japan have demonstrated how severely we can strike at the sacred body where we live. Empire shows little regard for the sacred body of nature. Under the reign of God which Jesus preached, life will come to all. Under the rule of Empire, however, death is always looming.

-

The Fifth Station of the Cross: Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry the Cross

                                 [The following is from a series first posted during Lent in 2015.]


< The Fourth Station of the Cross                                                                                The Sixth Station of the Cross >

Soldiers force Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross

A wood engraving of handcuffed and shackled slaves passing the U.S. Capitol

According to tradition, Simon of Cyrene was a black man ordered by Roman soldiers to help Jesus carry the cross. In the United States, our own Empire was built in large part upon the backs of African slaves, forced to carry the burden inflicted by Empire. It is a blight we cannot erase, but slavery has been a common tool of Empire throughout the ages.  

Twelve American presidents owned slaves and eight of them, starting with Washington, owned slaves while in office. Almost from the very start, slaves were a common sight in the executive mansion. A list of construction workers building the White House in 1795 includes five slaves - named Tom, Peter, Ben, Harry and Daniel -- all put to work as carpenters. Other slaves worked as masons in the government quarries, cutting the stone for early government buildings, including the White House and U.S. Capitol. According to records kept by the White House Historical Association, slaves often worked seven days a week -- even in the hot and humid Washington summers. (From "Slaves Built the White House and Capitol" at Afrocentric Culture by Design)

We still struggle to overcome the inertia of slavery as we wrestle and argue over voting rights, racial profiling, and prejudicial hiring practices.

-

The First Station of the Cross: Pontius Pilate condemns Jesus to death

[The following is from a series first posted during Lent in 2015.]

< Introduction: The Hard Lessons of Lent                                                                The Second Station of the Cross >

"Pontius Pilate condemns Jesus to death."

A scene from an American Indian Boarding School

“Aside from the U.S. Government's Attempt at Genocide, what Has Caused the Most Egregious Cultural Harm to the Psyche of the American Indian People?”

(Read more at Indian Country Today Archives)

The United States engaged in a systematic process of genocide in dealing with the Native American Population. Although today there is greater awareness and the boarding schools which sought to eradicate Native American culture are no more, Native Americans continue to suffer under the grips of a death-making Empire. On Native American reservations, people suffer the numbness of alcoholism and poverty which includes a poverty of income, a poverty of opportunity, a poverty of healthcare and a poverty of choices. Pilate, in his modern incarnation as representative of the Empire on American soil has condemned many to their deaths.

 The Second Station of the Cross >

-

Freedom Chrerished or Freedom Forfeited?

The following essay was first posted May 7, 2014. Many times in this space I have voiced my support for the Quaker concept that war is not the best way to resolve conflicts. I understand that that is not a majority opinion in America, nor is it even the prevailing tenet of many in the Christian community.

Even so, if we are going to call our young men and women into service for our country, we should take heed that we are not so cavalier in our decisions to mobilize the troops. Are we fighting for freedom, or are we fighting for corporate interests? Have we lost sight of what freedom actually means? Below, I tell how I came to understand that too often “freedom has become just another word for empire.”

When Freedom Becomes Another Word for Empire

We have special times in which we appropriately honor those soldiers who have served our country. Veteran’s Day which we have just observed is a day to honor those who have served in the military. There are also those times when we particularly honor and pay tribute to those soldiers who have died in the line of duty, paying the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Memorial Day, coming up in May is a day to honor the fallen. 

I should state at the outset that I am opposed to war and have often stated that opposition in my blog posts. In the essay, “On the Waging of War,” I outlined my opposition to drone warfare as well as my stance against war in general. While I believe that we should honor those who serve in the military, and I am truly grateful for their service, I believe that war, especially in the modern era, is not the best option and is never an ethical choice. The Quakers have rightly stood as reminders to society that there are better ways than war to resolve conflict.   

Rumors of War

I came of age during the Vietnam War (we stopped calling them wars after WWII, but then when we look back on them we realize they were wars, regardless of what we called them at the time, but that’s a story for another essay). During the Vietnam conflict our country was torn. Some thought we were fighting communism, some thought we had no business meddling in another country half-way around the world. Many were worried about being drafted into military service. Congress, for the first (and only) time made the National Guard  a refuge for the favored sons so that they could appear to be fulfilling their military service without having to actually fight overseas. We later found out that it was not a threat of communism, but a trumped up incident at the Gulf of Tonkin along with a military leadership that was eager to flex its muscle that plunged us into a long war that took the lives of many and left many more scarred – not to mention the devastation visited upon the Vietnamese people.

Today, we seem to be in a constant state of war. We have a populace that sincerely, and rightly, wishes to honor the brave men and women who serve our country in the military. Yet at the same time there is not the political will to challenge the country’s leadership about why we are fighting. It occurred to me a few years ago that something was sadly amiss when I watched a news release about Prince Harry laying a wreath at Arlington Cemetery. Prince Harry of Wales (Captain Wales in the British Army) laid a wreath with the message, “To my comrades-in-arms of the United States of America, who have paid the ultimate price in the cause of freedom.” That is when it came to me that today freedom has become just another word for empire.

It is not, after all, freedom that we are fighting for.  Freedom for the American people was not truly at stake. It is not for freedom around the world for which we send our military troops. It is for the protection of what is deemed to be vital U.S. interests that we are now sacrificing our youth and our treasure. That vital U.S. interest translates into what is best for corporate America, as in access to oil. If there had actually ever been any threat to our country, would the general populace not have been asked to make some sacrifices for the effort, instead of being told to just go shopping?

Early Protests

We heard some protests back before the U.S. entered into war with Iraq. “No Blood of Oil” was the slogan, and the country was pretty much evenly divided over whether we should invade Iraq. There were marches in Washington, D.C. and across the country, but they got little media coverage. Today, it is pretty clear that the war in Iraq was another case of trumped up claims and false pretenses. Since that day, with the on-going conflict in Afghanistan, we seem to be unable to extricate ourselves from military action in that region. Our current president continues to allow drone missile strikes in Pakistan as part of some nebulous “war on terror,” yet we are participating in much of that terror by killing innocent civilians in a country where we are not even engaged in military conflict. For whatever reason, even a president who campaigned on a sincere desire to end the war cannot get us out of armed conflict. Our young soldiers continue to be called to tours of duty overseas. 

Our own freedom in this country was not at issue. The political leadership stoked national fears by saying that we needed to engage the enemy over there in order to keep from have to engage them here at home. The result of engaging the enemy over there has only increased the likelihood of terrorism here at home, yet we continue with military action that includes boots on the ground and drones in the air.  Freedom has become just another word for Empire, and we are now expected to serve that Empire without question – because it would be “short-sighted” and “unpatriotic” to question this country’s military involvement.

A Conflicted Sense of Honor and Duty

I believe that our soldiers should be honored for their bravery, their efforts, and for the hardships they and their families endure. I have colleagues at work who are in the National Guard and the Reserves who have been called to duty in Afghanistan, and before that to Iraq. They are fine people and they represent the true substance of American life.  My conflict is that I do not think that our young soldiers, who are revved up, dedicated, and ready to give their best for our country should be called up to serve in wars that are unnecessary and which are not even in our best national interests. It is as though our national consciousness cannot imagine anything but armed conflict in response to global challenges.

What’s more, our congress, which asks such sacrifice from its soldiers, is not willing to fund legislation to appropriately care for wounded soldiers and their families. Instead, we see commercials from non-profit groups appealing to the public for money so that they can help to rehabilitate wounded soldiers. Why shouldn’t our government, which asks soldiers to give their all, step up to care for those wounded in service to their country? Instead, our country makes use of the kindness and empathy of its citizens, asking us all to donate.  It is bad enough that the down-and-out, those lost on the streets, must rely upon charity. It hurts that dogs in animal shelters are at the mercy of our charitable acts. It is unconscionable that our own soldiers must rely upon that same well of charitable giving for their own well-being.    

Few of us ordinary citizens have felt the brunt of war that soldiers and their families have experienced. Politicians have carried on with business as usual. Corporations have actually prospered, yet there is no call to come to the aid of those soldiers who are fighting corporate America’s wars. Some corporations actually shift operations overseas to avoid paying taxes which could support some patriotic efforts toward our veterans. We have become that military-industrial complex of which President Eisenhower warned, chewing up citizens in the name of patriotism, offering meager help to those cast aside in service to the country.

Are We Powerless to Question Authority?

We have never spoken more loudly of freedom, honor and patriotism. Never have flags been waved so wildly. Never have we been more vocal in our words of thanks to our soldiers. Yet we have turned freedom into just another word for Empire – an empire that demands patriotism and service and which tolerates no challenge to its agenda. Indeed, we are often threatened with fear of losing our standard of living, and, yes, a fear of losing our freedom if we do not meet “the enemy” with sufficient force “over there.”

I’m sorry, but never in my life time have the words “Thank you for your service” been so painful. We are all genuinely thankful for our young men and women in the military, yet we are powerless to stop the war machine as it continues to call up our sons and daughters to dangerous and questionable service.  In our fearful fight for country, we have exchanged the joy of freedom for the oppression of Empire.   

__________________

Photos: Tombstones at Arlington National Cemetery

            Public Domain

            Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
   
            Peace Rally in Sacramento, CA, 2003, prior to Iraq invasion
            Public Domain
            Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons


-

Closing Prayer for the Kingdom (The Fifteenth Station of the Cross)

< Fourteenth Station of the Cross

Oh Lord, you taught us to resist Empire by living with confidence in the reign of God, but our hearts are turned by fair winds and vain promises. Sometimes we are crushed under the heels of Empire, and sometimes we aid in Empire’s oppression, whether by active participation or by silent assent. We are the ones who shout “Hosanna!” and we are the ones who cry, “Crucify him!”

In the dark illumination of the Via Dolorosa, we have seen ourselves. We have seen ourselves capitulating to Empire; we have seen ourselves facing sorrow and death. We have also seen Christ among the living and the dying. We have walked the path that separates the Way of Life from the way of death.

In the darkness that is Good Friday, we stop to experience the absence of your light. We dwell in the moment of death and non-being as though the light has gone out. It is only by knowing the magnitude of loss and the depth of sorrow that we can truly honor the Way of Life and the hope of God's reign in our hearts.

You taught us in Matthew 25 that a nation is to be judged not by victories over its enemies, but by how it treats the weakest within its borders. May we therefore set out to care for the sick, give purpose and rehabilitation to the prisoners, provide for the hungry, and make a way for the destitute that in doing so we may all share in the bounty and gladness of the reign of God. Teach us also to care for the good earth. May we come to see all creatures that dwell within this fragile home as integral parts of your wondrous creation. 

May we live with your confidence in the reign of God, even in the face of hardship and death.           
                                                                                                                                                                                     ~ CK

*   *   *   *   *

                         From The Book of Common Prayer:

                         (just prior to the consecration of the bread and wine at the Lord’s Table)

Lord God of our Fathers: God of Abraham, Isaac, and

Jacob; God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: Open our

eyes to see your hand at work in the world about us. Deliver

us from the presumption of coming to this Table for solace

only, and not for strength; for pardon only, and not for

renewal. Let the grace of this Holy Communion make us one

body, one spirit in Christ, that we may worthily serve the

world in his name.

Risen Lord, be known to us in the breaking of the Bread.

                                                                ( Eucharistic Prayer C)

-

*   *   *

Note: For a meditation on Holy Week beginning with Holy Thursday, see Paschal Triduum: A Personal Journey

-