Norman Rockwell
by Rev. Brooks Smith

Norman Rockwell’s famous painting of the people of the world graces the Mission Room of our church. Children and adults from many different lands speak to us with their eyes and faces and spirits.`Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,’ says the Biblical quote.

When Jesus was asked for his summary of the law, he said, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind and love your neighbor as yourself.’ Christians are always faced with the great challenge of living out this commandment in the context of the complexities and difficulties of daily life.

And now, we face the great challenge of discerning how to be faithful and serve the Lord in the context of looming war. Beyond praying for peace and working for peace, Christians are called to accept the fact that we, like the US and the nations of the world, are deeply divided on the issue of war against Iraq. In times like these, the fabric of life of individual Christians is tested and the fabric that binds people together in congregations is also tested. War evokes the deepest passions. How will we in congregations work with each other and disagree with one another and support each other in painful times like these? How will we live out our faith in the God that we know through Jesus Christ?

If we are to love with heart, mind and soul, we are, of course, called to study the issues, to reflect on what we learn, to pray and seek God’s will, to share our discernments with others in our communities and outside of them. We are required to speak the truth in love, to one another—and sometimes to shout those truths from the rooftops. To love our neighbor calls us to respect those who disagree with us, even when we feel that they do not hear what we are saying or do not respect us. In Jesus name, let us speak our truth forcefully and faithfully—and show our love for those with whom we disagree.

If this war comes, we will be challenged in worship. We will certainly pray for the safety of our military personnel and for their families. We will pray for ourselves and our communities, for our country and for the nations and peoples of the world. We will pray for the civilians, especially the children of Iraq. We will pray for God’s peace and justice to prevail. We will work to learn the truth of what is happening in the war, despite our government’s control of the media? Will we pray for the soldiers of Iraq? How will we support the Christian community in Iraq? How will we reach out to Muslim brothers and sisters in the US during a time when part of the world sees this war as new crusade of the Christian West against Islam?

Chris Hedges was a war correspondent for 15 years and covered the Iraq war of 1991. He ends his powerful book War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning with these words:`To survive as a human being is possible only through love….It alone gives us meaning that endures. It alone allows us to embrace and cherish life. Love has power both to resist in our nature what we know we must resist, and to affirm what we know that we must affirm. And love, as the poets remind us, is eternal.’ May love that we know through Jesus Christ our Lord and through some of our human relationships help us all cast out our fear, discover the truth that will set us free and give us the courage to live faithfully.