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Living in Violent Times

Lessons from Abraham and St. Patrick

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This Fr. Gerry Creedon homily was delivered at St. Charles on March 16, 2003

A few months ago Barnes and Noble invited an Imam of the Muslim faith, a Rabbi from the Jewish tradition and myself to a session at one of their book stores in Crystal City to discuss a new book called Abraham.

This book delves into the first reading of today's liturgy. The story of Abraham: Our father in faith but also the father of Isaac and Ishmael, to whom Jews and Muslims trace their faith. We have the Abraham story in common uniting all three major religions of the book.

Today's first reading offers the strangest part of the story of Abraham. It describes God requiring Abraham to sacrifice his son to prove his faith in God's word.

An End to Killing in the Name of Religion

Now isn't that an unusual request? It should shock us that God is asking someone to sacrifice their own child to show the strength of their faith. The key to the story is the message of the angel, "Do not kill your son".

Biblical scholars tell us that a fundamental meaning of the story is an end to all human sacrifice in the name of religion. Despite our horror at the thought of human sacrifice, moderns sacrifice their sons and daughters all too easily on far too many altars.

Our Pope contends that today's civilization is marred by a 'culture of death'. Many public choices sanction death in areas such as abortion, the death penalty, and euthanasia. Public decisions are made that include the sacrificing of sons and daughters on the altar of public safety, self-interest and plain honest-to-God selfishness. Our Pope dares to include war in this 'culture of death'. He advocates that a 'culture of death' needs to give way to a 'civilization of love'.

The commandment 'Thou shalt not kill' seems clear. We are developing in our church sensitivity that all human life in whatever circumstance has a quality of sacredness to it. Speaking of a war with Iraq, the Pope states, "The battle for peace is the battle for life." The Abraham story asks us to question human sacrifice even at the service of security and freedom.

There is a need for us to move from death to life and from fear to faith. Henri Nouwen wrote in 1987,

"How can we live in the midst of a world marked by fear, hatred, and violence and not be destroyed by it? Spiritual life keeps us aware that our true house is not the house of fear in which the powers of hatred and violence rule but the house of love where God resides. Hardly a day passes in our lives without our experience of inner or outer fear, anxieties, apprehensions, and preoccupation. These dark powers have pervaded our world to such a degree that we can never fully escape them. It is possible not to belong to these powers. Not to build our dwelling place among them but to choose a house of love as our home."

These words written in 1987 have a lot more force today. We live in violent times.

St. Patrick's Prayer for Us Today

St. Patrick, whom we celebrate this week, lived in equally violent times. His response to the violence that surrounded him was that of faith. His famous prayer is called, "Breastplate". Faith was his protection. Listen to a few of the words from his prayer and get a sense of the kind of world he was living in:

I summon today all these powers of heaven between these evils and me: Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and my soul, against the incantations of false prophets.

Christ shield me today against poison, against burning, against drowning, against wounding.

I arise today through the strength a light of heaven: Light of sun, radiance of moon, splendor of fire, speed of lightening, swiftness of wind, depth of sea, stability of earth, firmness of rock.

I arise today Through God's strength to pilot me: God's might uphold me, God's wisdom to guide me, God's eye to look before me, God's ear to hear me, God's word to speak for me, God's hand to guard me, God's way to lie before me, Gold's shield to protect me, God's host to save me from snares of devils, God's shield to protect me from temptations of vices, From everyone who shall wish me ill"

God's shield to protect me. God's shield isn't much is it? Are we naïve enough to believe like Patrick that God can help us endure violence and famine?

May the faith of Patrick and the loyalty of Abraham strengthen in each of us the only ultimate antidote to fear and violence. Give us the breastplate and protection of a strong belief in a father who brought life and resurrection out of crucifixion.

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  or  2003 Homilies 

See also: Peace resources, including statements from the Pope and the US Bishops