Almost six months ago the Putin government invaded the Ukraine. In a world that had become sleepy on the question of war, now it blares in our faces.
War challenges all human beings. In a special way, war challenges all who bear the name of Christ. We are a religion of peace for all humans. Peace-building is not an option for Christian people. Jesus came to bring peace between God and humanity, between all human beings. Peace-building is part of the very life blood of a Christian person.
War is never nice. We kill and destroy in order to gain control of the other’s territory and their factories. War is all about making the winner richer as it exploits and robs the losing side. There is nothing virtuous or glamorous about war.
War is always the failure of humanity. Not only is there death and destruction within this generation, but the hatred and animosity between peoples can continue for hundreds of years.
We are also living through the past three generations of humanity where we have become so powerful with our nuclear weapons that a nuclear war could almost destroy civilization as we know it. Nuclear power sets humanity on the edge of destruction.
All of this is very unsettling and fearful for the conscientious human being.
What to do?
We must not be silent. There are many false accusations and falsehoods used to justify making war. The first victim in any conflict will be the truth.
We must not cover up the long history our European ancestors, our African ancestors and our forefathers in India have used excuses to justify going to war. We must not be silent at the waste of human resources that are used in the making of guns, resources that could have been used to educate children and give health care to our populations. Making war steals from the well-being of our peoples.
In our Christianity, we must actively pray for the making of peace and harmony among peoples, and peace and harmony within our families and within Canada. Prayer is never a last-ditch effort to bring some sense into humanity. Prayer is beseeching our God to give us the courage and strength to build peace. Prayers for peace are also meant to be an expression of our very deep feelings for respect and understanding between human beings.
Peace building demands that we work for justice and fairness within our society and within our world. The resources of the world were never meant to be a ‘winner takes all’ scenario. Almost all wars are a result of the powerful exploiting the weaker states. How many wars (and invasions) are simply the powerful walking in a taking the wealth of the weaker country? In how many wars are the weaker nation fighting back: ‘We will not be exploited and be hurt any more!”
This invasion of the Ukraine (February 24) opens a new area for our prayer, our reflection and our dialogue. This terrible situation demands of us new and stronger initiatives to build peace in our world? How can we help to make this terrible situation in the world, better?
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