Returning from participating in an art show in the Bay area, I stopped for a coffee break in Sacramento. It was late, and I did not see him. But just a few feet from my parked car, someone struck my head from behind, then my face. My glasses were broken and my money taken. I was left bloodied and dazed. The mugger disappeared. Forgiveness was not the first thought that came to mind. My wife Joyce experienced the tragedy of an abusive childhood. Her mother assaulted her both verbally and physically, telling Joyce she wished she had never been born. The scars of that kind of abuse last a lifetime. Forgiveness was not Joyce’s first reaction. Her dad was in the U.S. Navy during World War II. While he was on his aircraft carrier, a Japanese kamikaze pilot struck, killing and injuring many. Her dad was among the injured. As we think of those killed or severely injured by the enemy in that or any war, we admit that forgiveness is not foremost in our hearts. So whether the "enemy" is a personal assailant, a family member, or another nation, the biblical command to "love our enemies" sounds so unrealistic we tend to dodge it. This is a command for saints, not ordinary people. We proceed to a more enjoyable passage, like the one about God providing "wine to gladden the human heart" (Ps. 104:15). But even after that glass of wine, the troubling question of how to love our enemies remains. Since it was Jesus who said it, how can we claim allegiance to him if we ignore his command? So this book is first of all written for us, two struggling Christians, ordinary people and not saints, seeking to understand the meaning and application of this radical teaching of Jesus. We write not as experts but simply as Christians longing to deepen our understanding and practical grasp of Jesus’ Way of love. As our use of sources suggests, we borrow often from others and make no claim to original scholarship. If we have anything original to offer, we hope it grows, precisely, from our daily walk, imperfect as it is. We are also writing to add our support and encouragement to those who not only long for peace but are thoughtfully and actively involved in doing what they can to advance justice and love for God’s children everywhere. We are not referring to the fanatical fringe whose protests incite more violence than peace. We have in mind persons like Jim Wallis, President Jimmy Carter, Bishop Tutu, members of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), Mother Teresa, and the thousands who care enough to act on their convictions. This will include the peace churches like the Brethren, Mennonite, Quaker, and other groups. They may well have read or heard much of what is included in this book. However, we hope that by hearing some of the old stories in a fresh context and by hearing some exciting new ones, such readers will feel strengthened and supported in their courageous resolve to "wage peace" in our troubled world. The third group we feel strongly about addressing is made up of our fellow Christians in all churches. We claim the Bible as our guide. We share a commitment to Jesus and his teaching. We know he has called us to love our enemy, but this is so difficult we have often sidestepped the teaching or reinterpreted it to mean something safer or easier. So we pray that the thoughts and illustrations which arose during our journey and are now in this book will enable our brothers and sisters to reconsider, if necessary, understandings of this difficult command of Christ. We pray that you might then consider turning such insight into action. A fourth group in our target audience includes anyone, regardless of religious affiliation or none, who longs for justice and peace. We hope you will find inspiration and reassurance from the stories and affirmations in the following chapters. Above all, however, we simply hope to be helpful to ordinary people. Particularly since the time of Constantine, Christians have been tempted to see loving enemies as the calling of an occasional saint or saintly group. But what if Jesus intends this teaching for every Christian? Then we need a manual for how live this out in our ordinary lives. We hope this book provides at least the beginnings of such a manual. At this point let me share a brief personal introduction. Though now a naturalized citizen of the United States, I (Randy), was born into a Mennonite Brethren family in Winnipeg, Canada. As a kid I did not like our church. All its participants spoke German, and in the 1940s we were at war with Germany. I also disliked the legalism of the church forbidding movies and dances which, as a high school student, I wanted to enjoy. When my dad donned a uniform of the navy reserve, I was proud of him. He never touched a gun, but as a patriotic Canadian he felt he was doing his part while keeping his pacifist commitment. The church, however, was not happy to see him in uniform, so we left for a more mainline church. I came to make a commitment to Christ primarily through the witness of the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Their motto: "To Know Christ and To Make Him Known." I liked that. It was simple and to the point. Feeling a call to ministry, I was directed by our InterVarsity staff person to attend Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. It was a great experience for me until my funds ran out and I returned to Winnipeg. While there I was surprised by a call to serve as interim pastor of Teien Covenant Church, just south of the border, in Minnesota. When I asked what the doctrinal position of the Covenant denomination was, I was told: "You preach Christ, and we will pray for you" "Is that it?" I asked in amazement. The pulpit committee chairperson, Adolph Anderson, responded, "Is there more?" I joined the Covenant church that moment. For the next forty years I served in the Covenant denomination doing mostly pastoral ministry, with some teaching, writing, administration, and new church development. I appreciated the inclusiveness of the Covenant denomination combined with keeping the focus on Jesus Christ and biblical authority. What the Bible has to say on any subject is important to me. As the global climate seems increasingly disrupted by storms of war and violence in our own land rises, thoughts of how to bring about peace in our world have come increasingly to the forefront of my thinking. I had once rejected the Mennonite position of nonresistance, but now I am taking another look at what it really meant. After all, it was Jesus who said, "Love your enemies." If I am to be a follower of Jesus, I must take seriously what he commanded. What could he possibly have meant? Maybe my Mennonite ancestors grasped something I had missed. So, now in retirement, I am giving this subject a more careful study. Besides the Bible, I am reading authors like John Howard Yoder, Walter Wink, Ronald Sider, Jim Wallis, Richard Hayes, Marcus Borg, Pitirim Sorokin, and others who take seriously Jesus’ command to love enemies. As I shared such thoughts with my wife Joyce, she became increasingly involved in developing the manuscript. Through perceptive critiques, comments, and suggestions, her passion for peacemaking led her to co-author this book. Forgiveness plays an essential role in peacemaking. And forgiveness has been an especially significant aspect of Joyce’s experience. She shares her insights in chapter eleven. Later, as we continued to draft the manuscript, Joyce was challenged by one critic to deal with the United States reaction to September 11, 2001. The result became chapter thirteen. To most of us, the idea of showing love to an enemy sounds like a totally impossible, impractical, unrealistic, and unattainable ethic. Doesn’t world history show it doesn’t work? Human wisdom decrees that bad people and bad nations must not be allowed to continue in their evil ways. Popular culture believes we need to rid our world of the "bad guys." So we sanction state enforcement of the death penalty for murderers and for "noble" reasons justify going to war. After all, if these countries are a part of the "axis of evil," they must be punished for their wickedness. We cannot allow them to threaten us or allies. We cannot allow criminals to get away with destructive behavior. Is it not reasonable that some may have to die to make this a better world? Are we not virtuous for daring to be their executioners? This, at least, has been common thinking and practice for centuries. In The Powers That Be, Walter Wink calls such a response the "myth of redemptive violence" and says that "It enshrines the belief that violence saves, that war brings peace, that might makes right. It is one of the oldest repeated stories in the world."1 This belief doesn’t seem mythic because it appears to be both inevitable and practical. It is an ancient creed that seems to be present in every society in every age, even though its practice has never won a lasting peace. However, here and there another method has been practiced. The results surprised us and may surprise you as well. This other method was not given a strong emphasis in the two fine seminaries I attended. I cannot recall significant references to Jesus’ teaching about enemy love. These schools honored biblical authority, but "how to overcome evil with good" was not a required course. The witness of the church was couched more in personal terms than as an embodiment of God’s justice, love, and peace in this world. Thankfully, this has changed to a significant degree, and probably will even more in the days ahead. Hopefully, this will include more and more Christian seminaries and churches. In the following chapters we hope you will see that "enemy love" may not be as unrealistic or even as impractical as it sounds. Jesus called on his followers to "love your enemies" (Matt. 5:44), and he lived out that teaching. Other sages have also recognized that killing humans is wrong, but often exceptions are cited, as indeed they have been in most Christian denominations. But a careful reading of the text reveals that Jesus allowed for no exceptions. We will consider his ethic of a nonviolent resistance to evil as a positive not a negative action. We will note that it takes courage, commitment, creativity, and sacrifice to overcome evil with good— and it is possible. The prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi has inspired millions, and it is also our prayer for this book.
In some small way, we pray that this book’s engagement with loving the enemy will be for any of us, however ordinary, however sinful as well as saintly, an instrument of God’s peace. May any insights gleaned in our efforts to prepare and offer this manual strengthen our mutual resolve to become actively involved in being the "peacemakers" Jesus called "blessed." This is the challenge: to embrace a selfless and positive love for our enemies, a love that wills the best for those who seem to will the worst for us. |
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