CAN the world really turn away from superpowers and armaments, and turn to God for peace and security, as our Aug. 30 column urged and the Lord above commands? Sure, we pray for heaven’s protection from war, yet most people probably expect security to come from, well, superpowers and armaments.
Indeed, our Christian faith espouses the just war doctrine, propounded by Saint Augustine, which justifies armed self-defense as a last resort. So, do we really trust in God when we seek divine succor through the armed might of powerful allies, as thousands of Filipino faithful did in praying for Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s promised return to liberate us from the Japanese?
Three points: In our Lord’s admonition to Saint Peter after the apostle cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant when Jesus was arrested in Gethsemane, heaven does not like weapons: “He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword.”
And going beyond religion, the history of armies and armaments see the inevitable rise of weapons to counter seemingly invincible forces and firepower only feeds the arms race, which in turn escalates mutual paranoia and erodes the very security that military buildup is supposed to buttress.
Rather than weapons one-upmanship, God’s way is to talk peace, as Jesus urged for a king with 10,000 troops facing 20,000.
Peace seeking or arms racing?
The inevitable blunting of military supremacy has become undeniable with the West’s looming defeat against Moscow and Tehran three decades after the former’s communist empire collapsed, and the latter saw neighboring Iraq, which it could not defeat after eight years of fighting, twice crushed within months by Western forces.
But the West is shoring up its eroding dominance, with Trump still attacking and pressuring Iran and European nations bent on keeping up hostilities in Ukraine against Russia. And all sides are developing new weaponry and ramping up arms production. Like the 2014 Minsk Accords that paused the war with Russia in 2014 and the brief United States-Iran ceasefire in April, suspending conflicts may just buy time to rearm and resume fighting. Also, seeking peace after expending so much arms and assets on war looks like defeat and the end of dominance, which could encourage rival powers.
A third and perhaps most difficult obstacle to peace advocacy is the tendency or tactic of hawkish leaders, media and sectors to brand conciliatory voices as defeatist pacifists or even traitorous mouthpieces of enemy powers. This would be especially intense in Europe, which already penalizes conservative remarks on liberal acts like abortion and homosexuality.
Even in our country, where World War II and the current US-Iran war bloodily demonstrate the danger of hosting Western forces, there is nil public and media concern over escalating Western and Japanese military activity and deployment against China. Meanwhile, voices calling for a less confrontational tack toward Beijing than that of the West and Japan are attacked as mouthing Chinese propaganda.
Speak up for God’s peace
Which brings to mind the perils facing those standing up for God’s message of peace, as recounted in the Aug. 30 and Sept. 6 Mass readings on the 22nd and 23rd Sundays in Ordinary Time.
In the first reading on Aug. 30, the Prophet Jeremiah laments what speaking for God has brought (Jer 20:7-9): “Whenever I speak, I must cry out, violence and outrage is my message; the word of the Lord has brought me derision and reproach all the day.”
In the second reading, the Apostle Paul admonishes the Romans (Rom 12:1-2): “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” And in the Gospel reading from Saint Matthew (Mt 16-21-27), Jesus rebukes Peter: “You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
In the same vein, the Sept. 30 first reading from the Prophet Ezekiel (Ez 33:7-9) quotes God’s instruction to warn the nation: “You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel; when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me.”
Responsorial Psalm (Ps 96:1-2, 6-9) points to refusing to heed heaven’s word: “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” And in the Mass Gospel verses from Saint Matthew (Mt 18:15-20), our Lord makes clear that his disciples should speak up for righteousness against sinful ways.
Brace for repression
Hawkish leaders and media have shown what awaits peace advocates in regimes bent to defeating not dialoguing with rivals. When retired Gen. Douglas MacGregor, a former defense adviser to President Donald Trump during his first term, argued on CNN against Ukraine fighting Russia instead of maintaining the neutrality agreed in the 2014 peace accord, he never again appeared on the network.
Even Pope Leo XIV was lambasted when the Holy Father urged an end to hostilities with Iran and took exception to US War Secretary Pete Hegseth citing divine will in mounting attacks and assassinations against Tehran.
Such pressure on Christians calling for peace and reconciliation may get even more repressive, as some seasoned analysts see European governments becoming more authoritarian. And intensifying hostilities will likely worsen restrictive policies and the portrayal of peace advocates as traitors. Indeed, there are fears that European elites may want direct war with Russia to push their nations toward draconian measures, as we saw when countries faced the threat of pandemic disease.
What should the faithful do as aggressive leaders, sectors and media get louder, if not harsher? Only one thing above all: Like the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel, and the Apostle Paul, we must never waver in standing and speaking up for God’s wish for the world. And that divine will is not the survival of the fiercest.
Rather, as the Second Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians declares in the Sept. 6 Gospel acclamation, “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” Amen.