This is the twenty-ninth in a periodic series of reflections on Brian D. McLaren's everything must change. Quotations used by kind permission of the author, with page citations from the edition featured on the Emerging Church Reading List to your right.
“. . . for Jesus the motto is peace through nonviolent justice, peace through the forgiveness of enemies, peace through reconciliation, peace through embrace and grace. If in the violent narratives of Rome the victorious are blessed― which means that the most heavily armed, the most willing to kill, and the most aggressive and dominant are blessed― then in the framing story of the kingdom of God, blessed are the meek, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, blessed are the peacemakers, and blessed are those who are willing to suffer for doing good. . . .
“Following Jesus . . . means forming communities that seek peace through justice, generosity, and mutual concern, and a willingness to suffer persecution but a refusal to inflict it on others. To follow Jesus is to become an atheist in regard to all bloodthirsty, tribal warrior gods, and to become a believer in the living God of grace and peace who, in Christ, sheds God’s own blood in a manifestation of amnesty and reconciliation” (p. 159).
Someone once defined the Resurrection as “Victory without Vengeance.” When Jesus returned, he could have made things most unpleasant (Understatement 101) for Peter, Thomas, and the rest of the runaways. Instead, he said, “Peace be with you,” and “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them, if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:19-23).
Someone else has observed, “Violence stops at the cross.” Jesus will not keep the cycle going by retaliation. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
The movie Avatar is a huge success, and the movie Edge of Darkness tells a gripping story, but both rely on the myth of redemptive violence: the good guys win because finally, in the end, their violence defeats the bad guys’ violence. Movies like Invictus are remarkable precisely because they show the possibilities for redemptive love. It’s easy to write screenplays that depict redemptive violence; it’s so much more difficult to write convincing screenplays that depict redemptive love.
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