Henrietta United
Rev.
David Inglis
Colossians 3:12-15
“Doorways to the Realm of God: 7. “Reversing the
Cycle”
You’ve seen it happen many times before. Ashley tauntingly proves that she can get
higher on the climbing wall at the playground than Josh. Josh sticks his tongue out at her. She calls him a dork. He calls her a name that neither of them
knows the exact meaning of and that can’t be repeated in a sermon. She slaps him. He punches her. She goes crying to Mama. “Josh hit me!”
“She started it!”
“Did not!”
“Did too!”
Whichever one gets the punishment will soon be
plotting a way to get even.
This scenario is repeated with different words in
marriages, on the streets, in political campaigns, in
Martin Luther King said,
Violence as a way of achieving justice is both
impractical and immoral. It is impractical because it is a descending spiral
ending in destruction for all. The old law of an eye for an eye leaves
everybody blind. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather
than win his understanding; it seeks to annihilate rather than to convert.
Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys
community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue
rather than dialogue. Violence ends by defeating itself. It creates bitterness
in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they
shall be called the children of God.” As we know, “peace” in the Jewish mind
meant a lot more than keeping order and holding back the forces that threaten
it. Shalom is a dynamic, harmonious
relationship among all the parts. Shalom
is based on respect, understanding, fairness, and forgiveness. And the word “makers” is interesting in the
Greek language, which the beatitudes are written in. The word for “maker” has the same root as the
word “poet.” “How blessed are the poets
of shalom,” Jesus is saying, “for they will be seen as
God’s sons and daughters, God’s agents acting in the world.”
On April 26
WXXI TV aired a powerful documentary called “The Power of Forgiveness.” I want to show you a seven-minute segment
from that film, that shows two poets of shalom
carrying peace into a world that is racked by violence.
The movie opens with two men being introduced at an
assembly in a middle school in
Plez was overcome by guilt and shame at what Tony had
done, and felt that Tony had betrayed the love and stability he had tried to
give him. Plez went alone to a gathering
of the grieving Khamisa family, who were in shock that their young son had been
killed over a pizza. Plez told them of
his own grief over what his grandson had done.
Azim is a Sufi Muslim, and went through the ritual 40
days of grieving. His imam told him that
to actively grief beyond that period would interfere with his son’s soul’s
journey forward. He suggested doing an
act of compassion to help him move past his grief. So Azim established a foundation to work with
at-risk youth in the LA
to help redirect future Tonys away from gangs and violence. He invited Plez to work with him on this
project, which Plez was very grateful to do.
They have become the closest of friends, and they go into schools as a
team to talk to students about Tariq's death and about gangs, to help the kids
talk about the effects of violence on their own lives, and to help the kids
pledge not to use violence themselves. The kids get an unforgettable picture of
a response to violence that is not more violence and hatred.
Azim has forgiven Tony. As he says, “There was a victim on both sides
of the gun.” He has been working to
reduce Tony’s 25-year sentence and has offered him a job working for his
foundation and helping spread the message.
For his part, Tony tearfully apologized to the Khamisa family in court
for what he had done. He is very
grateful for the friendship between his grandfather and Azim, and for the
forgiveness that Azim has extended to him.1
What does it take to be a peace maker?
It doesn’t mean excusing hurtful behavior. When I preached a couple of weeks ago on
Jesus’ words, “Judge not that you not be judged,” I didn’t meant to imply that
we shouldn’t make judgments between right and wrong, between what’s destructive and what’s constructive. And every person needs to take responsibility
for his or her actions and their effects on others. We can judge actions without condemning our
fellow human beings. Azim and his wife were in shock and disbelief that their precious son was
killed for a pizza. If I were Azim, I
could see myself getting caught up in endless cycles of rage and hatred at
something so senseless and stupid and blind.
And yet Azim didn’t stay there.
After he grieved the loss of his son, he stepped back, and somehow had
the grace to see Tony as a human being.
He didn’t excuse his behavior or explain it away; he simply saw him as a
kid who had experienced rejection and pain himself. Tony was more than that one outrageous act. And Azim himself was more than his anguish
and his anger. They were fellow human
beings. And he found it in his heart to
befriend Tony’s grandfather, who was suffering a lot of guilt and anger, and in
time he was able to extend forgiveness to Tony.
One thing that made it possible for him to do that
was by channeling his grief and anger into something very positive–an
organization that teaches kids alternatives to violence. His feelings of pain and loss will never go
away. But they have a positive channel
he can direct them into, that’s making an impact on other potential Tonys.
Being forgiven for what he did has obviously had a
powerful impact on Tony. He has taken
responsibility for what he did, and you sense that that has been possible
because Azim’s forgiveness has made it possible for him not to be crushed by
what he did .
So now, instead of being driven by a sense of worthlessness that came
from being abandoned by both his parents, he has found healing for that and is
able to forgive his parents. The cycle
of violence has been reversed in him.
“Blessed are the peacemakers,” Jesus said, “for they
will be called children of God.” Blessed are those who can stand in the dark
turmoil of anger, hostility and pain, and hold out a light that sees the human
souls hidden by the darkness. Blessed are those who can stand in the fire of
hate and quench it with love. Blessed are those who refuse to let their
responses be limited by their pain and anger, but tap into the limitless power
of God’s all embracing love. They shall be called God’s sons and
daughters–poets of God’s shalom.