“YOU WILL NOT HAVE MY HATRED.”

“YOU WILL NOT HAVE MY HATRED.”

Recently we have seen violence and death in Paris, Sinai, Bamako and other places. Our first reaction is to mourn for the victims and their families. The difficulty comes with our second reaction. As with the bombing of the Twin Towers in America in 2001, it can easily become revenge. This is couched in the language of “bringing the perpetrators to justice.” Political leaders find it so difficult to use any other words. That is why alternative voices are so needed.

Pope Francis wrote two years ago: “In many places today we hear a call for greater security. But until exclusion and inequality in society and between peoples are reversed, it will be impossible to eliminate violence. The poor and the poorer people are accused of violence, yet without equal opportunities the different forms of aggression and conflict will find a fertile terrain and eventually explode.” (The Joy of the Gospel, #59)

The world is an unequal place. Millions feel marginalised and excluded from the table of life. Although they often come from countries with great natural resources they see no way of ever gaining access to that table. More than once, Jesus used children as parables of adult behaviour. We can do the same. When a child does not get what he wants he throws a tantrum. I remember a boy who felt unjustly treated and he threw an ink bottle at the wall making a hugely satisfying mess. It achieved nothing and he suffered painful consequences, but he felt he’d made his point.

So, after our deep sorrow for what has happened, there comes a call to understand. For more than twenty years there was violence and terror in Northern Ireland. But eventually the different sides sat down and listened to each other and came up with an agreement which addressed the issues that had caused the violence in the first place. The advantage was Northern Ireland is a small place. The present violence knows no boundaries. It will be more difficult to address. It seems, once again, a military solution will be attempted. But does experience give us hope that this will solve the issue? At some point the road Pope Francis indicates will have to be walked.

One thing is certain. The road of hate leads nowhere. A young man, Antoine Leiris, who lost his wife in the Paris killings, spoke briefly and movingly afterwards. I suspect his words are echoing around the world. Addressing the killers he said, “You will not have my hatred.” If you want to stir up hatred among people, I, for one, will not give you that satisfaction. And my 17 month old son, when he grows up, will not hate you either.

This Sunday is the feast of Christ the King and the gospel shows Jesus standing before Pilate rejected and humiliated. Pilate asks him, “Are you a king?” Jesus says, “Yes.” He is a king who reigns in weakness and vulnerability on the side of the poor and marginalised. He is one who witnesses to the desire of God to gather his people into one and to do this he has to walk, not with the strong and secure, but with weak and excluded.   

22 November 2015                             Christ the King B

Daniel 7:13-14                                    Revelation 1:5-8                                 John 18:33-37