“I give you a new commandment, that you love one
another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” (John 13:34-35 NRSV) These words of Jesus are
very clear. He speaks of love, not hate, retaliation or retribution. We are to
love one another. Yet for centuries Christians have killed in the name of Jesus
Christ in the Crusades,
the
Inquisition, the Salem
Witch Trials, the conflicts in Northern Ireland between
Catholics and Protestants, and even the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Holocaust
of the Nazi regime was due to racism and religious intolerance. Conservative
Christians of today engage in bullying and hate crimes against gays, lesbians,
bisexuals and transgendered persons because the ‘bible tells them so’.
The news today seems to provide and highlight
an endless stream of senseless violence: bullying, brutality, hate
crimes, murder and the horrors of war. Innocent children are gunned down in
schools, defenseless teens like Trayvon Martin
are gunned down on the streets, defenseless Afghan families murdered in their
homes allegedly by U.S. Staff
Sgt. Robert Bales, car bombings kill and maim innocent bystanders, and
world leaders wage war in the name of God. There are a plethora of violent,
life-like video games allowing us to vicariously shoot and kill to our heart’s
content. Hollywood continues to create
blockbuster films strewn with violence, blood, gore and death. We cannot seem
to escape it. But we can and must stop it. Violence begets violence. Its
constant bombardment in our daily lives can only serve to fan the flames of
anger and hatred into a raging inferno. We must snuff out the flames before
they consume us all.
I
have to believe that we can change attitudes, behaviors and the course of
history if we simply highlight more positive than negative. To listen to and
seek out negativity merely enables the vicious cycle of violence. There is a
profound imbalance between positive and negative in world news. Heartwarming stories of
goodness, benevolence and kindness seem to be pushed aside, buried or ignored. Let’s
accentuate the positive and focus on real life heroes, rather than criminals.
“No one has greater love than this, to lay
down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13 NRSV) And we have heroes,
like Spc.
Dennis Weichel who have done just that. In fact, Dennis Weichel laid down
his life for a complete stranger recently. Dennis was serving in Afghanistan
with the Rhode Island National Guard. Weichel and his comrades were getting
children out of the road and out of the way of their convoy. One little girl
went back into the road to pick up more brass shell casings, placing herself in
grave danger of an approaching armored vehicle. Weichel pulled the little girl
to safety and was struck and killed by the vehicle himself. And let’s not
forget about all of the gifts of life provided by blood donors and organ
donors. Let us remember all of those who voluntarily give of their time,
talents, blood-sweat-and-tears to help unfortunate victims of violence and
natural disasters. Let us remember volunteer fire fighters and ordinary people
who risk their lives to pull people and pets from burning buildings. Let us
lift up the benevolence of strangers in the checkout line who offer to pay for
the groceries of someone who cannot afford them. These are news-worthy heroes
one and all. 
If we could filter out and eliminate much of the
negative, displacing it with positive, perhaps the clouds of despair would
dissipate. Perhaps the fires of anger and hatred could be extinguished. Perhaps
we could foster a world filled with peace and harmony. If it is to be, it’s up
to me. “I am only one, still I am one. I
cannot do everything, still I can do something. Let me not refuse to do the
thing that I can do.” (Helen Keller) Each of us must do our part to make a positive
impact in the world around us. No excuses. “I can
do no great things, only many things with great love.” (Mother
Theresa) If we do not do our part,
however great or small, nothing can or ever will change. As individuals, we may
not have the power to generate sweeping global change. But collectively we CAN change the world. Love
CAN conquer all. But it can only happen if each of us makes a
conscious, concerted effort to facilitate and foster love. “Love one another” …
not an easy task. But one that is far less traumatic and deadly than the winds
of war. Each day, as we go about our daily lives, let us seek out just one
thing that we can do today (each and every day) to make a positive difference
in someone else’s life. Let us turn off the negativity and love one another … yes,
even our enemies. Only we can break the cycle of hatred and violence and foster
Peace.
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