Notes from the Wayside: Perspective: He Wanted a War

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He Wanted a War

We aren't fighting against human enemies but against rulers, authorities, forces of cosmic darkness, and spiritual powers of evil in the heavens.

Ephesians 6:12 (CEB)

Father, father

We don't need to escalate

You see, war is not the answer

For only love can conquer hate

You know we've got to find a way

To bring some lovin' here today

From "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye

Jesus said, during His most famous sermon, "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..."¹ This quote has become so familiar to us that I don't think we always grasp the gravity of what Jesus was saying. When Jesus tells us to love our enemies, He is not merely referring to the jerks who cut us off in traffic and the lowlifes at work who make offhanded comments to us. No, He is telling us to love real enemies, those people who would maliciously do us serious harm, those who might even threaten our lives.

Consider for a moment Jesus' original audience. In first century Palestine, the Jewish people lived with the boot of an evil empire on their necks. The Romans employed very brutal tactics to keep the "peace" in the areas they occupied. Anyone who stepped out of line would find himself nailed to a cross and hanged up to die as a warning to anybody who might be tempted to follow in his footsteps. When Jesus speaks of "enemies," He is referring to the people who committed such horrific acts of violence. It is these types of people whom Jesus tells us to love.

On the evening of June 17, 21-year-old Dylann Roof sat in on a Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, a historic African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina. Unbeknownst to the other people who had gathered there that night, Roof had made himself their mortal enemy, for he had come with evil intentions. He believed the lie that, because he was white, he was somehow superior to the people at the church. One hour after he arrived, he killed nine of the twelve other people in the Bible study and wounded a tenth person.²

In the same sermon in which Jesus tells us to love our enemies, He also says, "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..."³ The concept of an eye for an eye is not necessarily a prescription for retribution for wrongdoing but rather a limit on retaliation: a wrongdoing could only be repaid in kind. For example, if my neighbor kicked my dog, I would not be justified in burning his house down and murdering his family in response.

There is a fatal flaw with the in-kind limitation on retribution, namely, human nature. As humans, we have a tendency to justify our own actions in our hearts and minds, so any act of retaliation against us could be perceived as an act of aggression which itself would warrant retaliation. Furthermore, we have a tendency to escalate matters so that we can come out on top. Thus we are drawn into a never-ending escalating cycle of violence. Jesus understood what Martin Luther King Jr. would say centuries later, that "the old law of an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind,"⁴ that "force begets force," and that "hate begets hate."⁵

Roof understood this ugly aspect of human nature; in fact, he was counting on it. When Roof confessed to his crimes, he reportedly said that he did what he did to ignite a race war, a war between between white people and people of color.⁶

After three years of ministry, when Jesus found himself face-to-face with the cruelty of the Roman Empire and the other powers that be, He demonstrated the radical love and forgiveness he proclaimed in the Sermon on the Mount. When He was arrested by the authorities, He ordered His followers to put away their swords, saying that "all who take the sword will perish by the sword."⁷ When He was hanged on a cross for charges of sedition, He prayed to God on behalf of those who inflicted violence upon Him, saying, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing."⁸

Two days after the shooting, Roof, at his bond hearing, was confronted via video feed by relatives of some of his victims.

One woman, who lost her mother Ethel Lance in the shooting, said to Roof, "I will never be able to hold her again, but I forgive you. And have mercy on your soul. You hurt me. You hurt a lot of people, but God forgives you, and I forgive you."

Felicia Sanders, a survivor of the shooting who lost her mother Tywanza Sanders, said to Roof, "Every fiber in my body hurts, and I will never be the same." She went on to say, "But may God have mercy on you."⁹

Benjamin L. Corey, in his book Undiluted, writes that Jesus "teaches that those who actually 'follow' Him, will opt out of the never-ending cycle of retributive violence, and instead opt to respond to violence with radical, undiluted love."¹⁰ To forgive an offender is to say "No" to retribution. By forgiving Roof, the relatives of his victims modeled the love for enemy and radical forgiveness Jesus proclaimed in the Sermon on the Mount, effectively saying "No" to the downward spiral of violence Roof wanted to start.

In some sense, I hope that this tragedy does indeed result in a war - not the war fueled by hatred that Roof wanted to start, but rather a war against hatred.

In my denomination, the United Methodist Church, people who join the Church through baptism and confirmation vow to willingly receive the power from God "to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves."¹¹ To combat evil, injustice, and oppression is not just the duty of United Methodists but of all who choose to follow Jesus Christ.

St. Paul writes that, as followers of Christ, we are soldiers in a war that "is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."¹² Typically, when I speak of demons, I am not referring to beings that may or may not have horns, hooves, and a tail, but rather the insidious, invisible forces that hold people captive - systems of oppression and spirits of fear, hatred, and bigotry. These demonic forces cannot be fought with violence: to resort to bloodshed is to surrender to them. This war can only be fought with the weapons of faith, justice, truth, and a message of peace.¹³

Dylann Roof wanted a war. Let's hope that he gets one - not a war between flesh and blood human beings, but rather a war against the evils that are wreaking havoc in our world - a war that can only be fought with weapons of love and light. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."¹⁴ May we all fight valiantly against the darkness in the world around us and against the hatred within our own hearts.

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