VIOLENCE  BEGETS VIOLENCE,

PEACE  BEGETS  PEACE!

 INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 9^th Monday in Ordinary Time is, “Violence Begets Violence, Peace Begets Peace.”

Today’s readings trigger this reality.

The history of the world can be summed up by the title of Tolstoy’s epic novel, War and Peace.

 It’s everyone’s story. It’s everyone’s novel - but war and peace is not novel. Adam and Eve enjoyed paradise - and walked with God in the cool of the evening - but a while later after the fall, Cain killed his own brother, Abel.

“Violence Begets Violence, Peace Begets Peace.”

I don’t know about you, but I wince when someone picks Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 for one of the readings for a wedding or a funeral.  I like some of the lines, but I don’t like hearing, “There’s a time for war and a time of peace.”

TODAY’S READINGS

Today’s first reading from Tobit has this wonderful story of Tobit not wanting to eat alone - so he sends his son Tobiah to go out and invite some poor kinsman - an exile - to come and share a big meal with him.

The son goes out and accidentally finds one of their people murdered in the marketplace - strangled.

He runs home and tells his dad. Tobit sprang to his feet - went and found the murdered man - brought the body back to his house and put him in one of his rooms  - so he could bury the man after sunset. Then he washed up - and ate his food in sorrow. After sunset he dug a grave and buried the murdered man.

Today’s first reading ends by Tobit saying, “The neighbors mocked me, saying to one another: ‘He is still not afraid! Once before he was hunted down for execution because of this very thing; yet now that he has scarcely escaped, here he is burying the dead!’”

“Violence Begets Violence, Peace Begets Peace.”

Today’s psalm talks about a good person, “His generosity shall endure forever, Light shines through the darkness for the upright; he is gracious and merciful and just.” Notice the contrast in that comment: darkness vs. generosity.

“Violence Begets Violence, Peace Begets Peace.”

Today’s gospel talks about tenants beating the servants of the vineyard they are renting two times and then killing the owner’s son the third time - then we hear about violence begetting more violence and killing.

And today’s gospel ends with the message that they wanted to kill Jesus because of his messages.

And basically he’s saying, “Violence Begets Violence, Peace Begets Peace.”

Jesus went against the basic human instinct to get back, to push for an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

Violence makes us blind - and we react back at those whom we think wrongs us.

WE KNOW THIS

We know this.  If while driving someone rides up our backside - or beeps at us - or gives us the finger on the road from another car - our blood can start to boil. And then an “uh oh! can follow.

So too with comments and selfishness and disrespect. We do something for another and expect “quid pro quo” but others sometimes don’t do what we cant from them. They don’t do our will on how we want things to go - and sometimes anger knocks on our door or is like a crashing wave hitting our shore.

Down deep we know Jesus’ comments and commands about all this for our own good. Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek - go the extra mile - because that turns the tide against retaliation. When he died on the cross, he said, “Father forgive them, because they don’t know what they are doing.”  That works. It can stop the cycle of violence.

It might take time, a long time, for Jesus’ example to work - but it works according to Jesus.

ST JUSTIN

Speaking of violence, today is the feast of St. Justin the Martyr. He was beheaded, because he followed Christ.

Eventually Christianity conquers. Eventually peace arrives - if we go the way of the Peacemaker, Our Christ.

Notice that the church is beatifying Oscar Romero - who was a martyr - like St. Justin in our time. He called the leaders and the powerful - the military and the land owners - in El Salvador to stop the killing and the violence and and controlling and crushing the poor.

CONCLUSION

The title of my homily was, “Violence Begets Violence, Peace Begets Peace.”

If you get a chance read Archbishop Romero’s life - or see the movie about him - that is on TV from time to time. Romero had a conversion of heart - moving towards the poor and those pushed to the margins.

That brought about his death - being shot while saying Mass.

El Salvador is in a better place now - I’m sure with some help - from the example of Oscar Romero and Oscar Romero’s death.

We Catholics of this area - celebrate this change in our church - especially with the number of Salvadoran’s in our area - many of whom moved north because of violence begotten in their midst - and the forces that held them in poverty.

May peace take over!  May war disappear.