The Praxis of Cross Carrying as it Relates to Peace

This past Sunday at Mass, Father Matt preached a homily that began with various examples of contradictions in the New Testament and then proceeded to talk about Jesus' utter consistency on non-violence - "...turn the other cheek..."(Matt 5:39). Father boldly stated that the Church, for the past 1700 years, has dropped the ball on Jesus' ethic of peace. He did not deny that we all want peace - and most especially George W - but that most of us are not willing to carry the cross necessary for peace. I assume he means that most of us are not willing to say "No" to violence as a means of settling disputes on a global scale - or at least require our leaders to.

It's hard telling though because not a word was mentioned on the praxis of carrying the cross of non-violence, i.e., what's it look like? I have a feeling that the rousing applause that ensued as soon as Father finished talking would have been a little less enthusiastic if he'd been a little more specific. My parish likes to think of itself as really radical, and they like to think they've got the inside scoop on what Jesus really meant while the hierarchy all the way up to the Pope are just curmudgeonly old men who love to oppress the laity, forget about the poor, and keep women and same-sex desired (SSD) folks down. You'd think I was joking, but it's almost that simple (despite all this I believe most are good folks anyway).

You might think with all the above being said I wholeheartedly disagree with what Fr. Matt preached. Not exactly. What I disagree with is what I believe to be his pandering to the parishes' sensibilities while letting them off the hook when it comes to specifics. It's one thing to say we're against the war, or violence in all forms, it's quite another to really try and live it.

I'm reminded of the legendary story in which Henry David Thoreau winds up in jail for not paying his taxes as a protest against the Mexican-American War. While in jail Ralph Waldo Emerson says, "Henry, what are you doing in there?" To which Thoreau replied, "Ralph, what are you doing out there?"

See, I feel like if you're really going to carry your cross then you need to really make it hurt. If you don't want to support the war, or our government, then you do all you can to not suck off its teats, and certainly not paying your taxes would be a real sign of your lack of support. Or, how 'bout getting rid of 501(c)3 status so the Church can really separate itself from the Government's support...if we really want to carry our crosses. And, finally, what about just simply learning to live off the land ...off the grid so to speak.

Had Fr. Matt said the above, or that we needed to get going down this road so we can put our money where our mouth is, I would have stood up and applauded - because that's when we're really going to be living consistently for peace (at least in our little corner of the world). Until that time, talking about peace and hatin' on Bush and Cheney ain't going to do a thing but make Volvo-driving-NPR-listing-gourmet-coffee-drinking-baby-boomers get nostalgic for the good ol' days.