A World That Longs For Peace

“If people fear to offer criticism lest it lead to a rupture of peace, that in itself proves that the peace is false. Peace, if it is to last, must be based on truth and lack of fear”.

Jewish Wisdom, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin

We have learned that wars do not only happen among nations or among peoples. Even within an individual, a “war” or “revolution is possible. The root cause of war is human greed tht spawns envy or jealousy pushing both individuals and groups to actively grab that which is not theirs.

Given this kind of innate human nature, is there any possibility for peace? Can we hope for the day when people are able to live together in unity and harmony? Is it possible for you and me to understand each other’s differences, find our common humanity, learn to accept each other as we are, then learn to live in peace? Can you and I today experience peace even in a war-torn world?

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The Meaning of Peace

“Shalom” is a Hebrew word translated as “peace” in English. It has a more profound meaning than just ‘absence of conflict’ or ‘cessation of war’. When a person greets you “Saalam” (derivative of “Shalom”), he does not only wish you an absence of evil things in your life or freedom from all troubles. He also wishes you enjoyment of all that is good as well as completeness, soundness and a sense of well-being.

The Gestures of Peace

Miroslav Volf,a theologian from what used to be tha war-torn country of Croatia, calls peace an act of embracing. To embrace has both an aperture or opening and a closure. We raise our arms up in a gesture of openness (the aperture) welcoming the other person to come into our space, we hold him or her close to us as a signal of our acceptance, our oneness, our completeness with him or her (the closure)

       
 Our hold should not be too tight, but just enough for the other person to feel we are in need of him or her, that we recognize he or she is an equal; that we belong together. Then, we releases our arms to give freedom for the other to create a space for himself or herself. This is a difficult gesture to make especially with one we consider an enemy.

    Peace, Prosperity and Security

Peace or a sense of well-being also comes when our needs are met adequately. The beggar who lives at the edge of constant hunger cannot possibly live in peace. A poor child who goes to school without embarrassed for his lack. A housewife who has to wash clothes for other people in order to have money for her family sleeps restlessly.

Even if there is no war, if poverty is rampant, there is no true “shalom” or peace. In our country, poverty is a real war to be fought, considering the fact that a majority of our people are in scarcity.

Thus, to have peace is more than just embracing and holding hands. Material sufficiency is an important ingredient to peace. Sufficiency enables us to develop our full potential and allows us to fulfill our dreams. This was the prayer of Jewish King David as he urged the pilgrims on their way to worship in the temple of Jerusalem:

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!

May they prosper who love you!

Peace be within your walls,

And security within your towers!”

Psalm 122:6-7

Notice that the king did not only pray for prosperity for the pilgrims but also wished the security. This too, is an important ingredient of peace. Security is this sense of confidence people feel because they are protected by their elders while they are young, by the police force when they are out in the streets, and by the government for upholding the law and enforcing justice for all.

For a nation to be secure, it has to have trustworthy leaders. And good leaders, according to the book of Proverbs, “abhor wrongdoing of all kinds for sound leadership has a moral foundation.” (Provv.16:12) Good leaders motivate and do not mislead or exploit (10). Furthermore, “good-tempered leaders invigorate lives, they are like spring rain and sunshine” (15, NavPress).

    Peace, the Spiritual Dimension

It was St. Augustine, a Christian church father, who said, “Our souls are restless until we find our rest in the Lord Almighty.” Peace has a spiritual dimension, for it is in the nature of humankind to be in relationship with the Divine. We may then enjoy economic or material sufficiency and may enjoy the protection of the state, but if we are not free to worship God, then our peace is not complete.

Remember:

Peace therefore, as embodied in the idea of “shalom” means reconciliation with fellow humans, material adequacy, a sense of security, and spiritual freedom to obey and honor God in our lives.

War only brings destruction and death, while peace brings hope and life. War feeds the baser instincts of man: greed, hate, violence, while peace nurtures his goodness: generosity love, harmony with others. War devastates, peace builds up.

Therefore, there is no reason at all that  the world should continue t make war, when it could promote peace. Peace was God’s intent for humankind. When God created man and woman in the beginning, he put them into a world of orderliness, harmony, beauty and peace (Genesis 1 and 2). We can go back to that place of peace when we allow God to be the center of our lives, for Christ is our quiet place of rest.

A Jewish prophet proclaimed:

“In returning and rest you shall be

Saved; in quietness and in trust 
shall be your strength..”

The possibility of eace is always there; nly, we have to understand what real peace is all about. And having understood it with our minds and felt the need for it in our hearts, we will determine to live it.

As the circle of peace widens nd reaches the ends of the earth, we can look forward to that day when guns and tanks and missiles will be turned into instrument of development rather than destruction. Then, people will turn their energies to making life more peaceful and progressive. They will strengthen institutions and structures that make for peace. This is what welong for. This is our hope beacase this vision is anchored in God who is the Author of peace.

Jesus answered his disciples:

“I have told you all these so that in me you may find peace. In the world you will have trouble. But have courage! The victory is mine; I have conquered the world”

John 16:33 TNEB

A War-Weary World

"A professional soldier understands that war means killing people, war means maiming people, war means families left without fathers and mothers. All you have to do is to hold your first dying soldier in your arms, and have that terrible futile feeling that his life is flowing out and you can't do anything about it. then you understand the horror of war. Any soldier worth his salt should be anti-war. And still are things worth fighting for."

Gen H. Norman Schwarskopf

It is ironic that humankind's search for peace has led to many wars. And many wars have been launched in the name of peace. The past century alone saw two World Wars in span of only about thirty years (World War I - 1914-1918 and World War II - 1939-1945). World War I devastated Europe and cost nine million lives while World War II swept across most of Europe, and deep into Soviet Russia and Asia. It proved to be the bloodiest conflict ever: 100 million men bore arms, and 30 million civilians - 6 million of them European Jews - died before Berlin fell to the Soviet Army in May 1945.

In August of that year, the USA dropped two atomic bombs on Japan that killed eighty thousand civilians instantly in Hiroshima alone ending the war and changing the world.

The ugliness of war spurred the establishment of the United Nations Organization in 1945, a world body that commits itself to working for peace among all countries. Yet for all its efforts, today, there are 34 pockets was going on in the world, and the United Nations has its hands full trying to stop them from becoming worldwide conflagrations.

"Why should there be so many wars when we all long for peace? What causes wars and other forms of violence? What is my role in bringing about peace in this war-torn world?" These are questions we often ask ourselves as we ponder on the state of our world today.

There are no easy answers as the United Nations has discovered. But understanding what war or violence is and the horror it inflicts on humans, earth and its resources will encourage us to protect and educate the generations after us from its evil and instead, pursue the path of peace.

Experiencing and Visualizing Peace

Take your most comfortable sitting position and spend ten mi nutes in stillness. Close your eyes, breathe deeply and regularly and realax your body. Enjoy and internalize the lyrics of the following songs.

Let There Be Peace On Earth

Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me. Let there be peace on Earth, the peace that was meant to be. With God as our Father, brothers all are we, Let me walk with my brother, in perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me, let this be the moment now. With every step I take, let this be my solemn vow, To take each moment and live each moment in peace, eternally. Let there be Peace on Earth, and let it begin with me.

Written In The Sand

You hold within your hands  The future of our lives  The light that takes you there beyond the bend  It's written in the sand, where the past had all began  The tomorrow is here within your hand  The love that's in your heart  As child of God and Man  Will burn and light your way until the end  It's written in the sand, where the past had all began  The tomorrow is here within your hand  You must hold on and dream of a place that is safe and peacefull and free  Through a thousand years and more let it be  A bright new world that shine, with love for humanity  A world that's home for you and me  You hold within your hands  The future of our lives  The light that takes you there beyond the bend  It's written in the sand, where the past had all began  The tomorrow is here within your hand

You must hold on and dream of a place that is safe and peacefull and free  Through a thousand years and more let it be  A bright new world that shine, with love for humanity  A world that's still for you and me  Nations rise up and cheer  We are bound by what we give to one another  Reaching out too far and near  In a world of love that brings us all together here  This great new year  You hold within your hands  The future of our lives  The light that takes you there beyond the bend  It's written in the sand, where the past had all began  The tomorrow is here within your hand  You must hold on and dream of a place that is safe and peacefull and free  Through a thousand years and more let it be  A bright new world that shine, with love for humanity  A world that's home for you  A world that's home for you  A world that's home for you and me yeah..  and me.....

- Sung by Regine Velasquez during the Global Millennium Day Broadcast over GMA 7; lyrics by Agnes Caballa and music by Danny Tan

It is important for us to realize that we are created for peace though at times deep within us is a stirring af restlessness. a quick temper and an impulsive action most often spell trouble. A sharp tongue and a prickly disposition usually part us from friends. Peace as you see, is multi-dimensional. It has personal, family, community, national and international aspects.

Though our main concern is international or world peace, it is important to remember that every individual contributes to the making of peace. There can be no world peace when its regions, communities, clans and families are at odds. And no family will be at peace if hostility resides in the heart of individual members. Why do conflicts arise? A writer of long ago got to the core of why wars flare up:

"Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. You lust for what you don't have and are willing to kill to get it. You want isn't yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it." James 4:1-2

Comments from War Survivors

 One Japanese woman survivor of World War II said: "Though almost 54 years have passed since the A-bomb was dropped over Hiroshima, I don't feel the war is over yet. The tragedy of Hiroshima hasn't ended. My son and I are living proof".

"At Ground Zero in Hiroshima", Shizuko Yamasaki in Newsweek March 15, 1999.

Henryk Mandelbaum was 21 years old when he was assigned to escort those hapless Jews whom the Germans condemned to the gas chamber in Auschwitz, Poland. He recounts: "I still have this before my eyes; there is no forgetting those things. All these innocent people from all over Europe, from Hunary, France, Belgium, Holland Greece, also Germany - destroyed. I lost my whole family- my parents, a sister and a brother". " Horror at Auschwitz", Henryk Mandelbaum, Newsweek March 15, 1999, p.37

Why People Go To War

Wars among countries and people just do not happen. There are causes that trigger them off.

1. War for land to live in on. Much of the fighting between the early American pioneers and American Indians in the United States is an example of this war. The present conflict between the Muslim Filipinos and the lowland Christianized Filipinos (though it has a long history, can be partly attributed to the time when President Ramon Magsaysay declared Mindanao as the "land of Promise" for lowland Christianized Filipinos to settle in.


Thousands from Luzon and the Visayas sailed to the South and staked their possession of lands claimed by Muslims and other lumads or cultural communities as their ancestral inheritance. For a long time, the conflict was bitter and bloody and today, the stains are still with us.


2. War for Wealth. The Gulf War between the United States and Iraq in 1991 was triggered off by the need to control the free flow of oil. The Middle East is the main source of oil for the world and the USA is one of its top consumers.


3. War for Power. The great European nations fought wars throughout the world to gain their increase in power; but the Vietnam War between the U.S. and Vietnam (1965-1969) nd the U.S.-NATO attack on Kosovo (April-May 1999) are modern examples of this lust for power.


4. War for Security. Most countries fear the possibility of attack and maintain armed forces to defend themselves. Sometimes this fear is directed toward some countries, hence, a nation may decide to make a defensive strike to pre-empt the perceived enemy. Japan bombed Pearl Harbor to cripple the Allied Powers on December 7, 1941 and the war spread out to the Philippines causing untold misery and millions of deaths.


Japan had hoped then to secure its security and power all throughout Asia. In retaliation, USA bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki killing millions of Japanese civilians. It ended the war and since then the USA has established its military, economic and political power in all parts of the world.


5. War for Religious / Ideological and Ethnic causes. As of the beginning of new millennium, there were at least 34 wars going on, and may still be going on today. In almost every one of these, religion is involved: Protestants vs. Catholics in Ireland, the Sunnis vs. Shi'ites Muslims in Iran, Muslims vs. Hindus in India, Muslims vs. Christian Orthodox in Kosovo, Yugoslavia, Muslims vs. Christians in Indonesia and the Philippines, etc.


Most often, these religious conflicts are also racial and/ or ethnic in nature. The American Civil War (1861-1865) was not only drawn along economic lines, that is, keeping slavery as an institution or aboloshing it, but it was also blatantly racial: the Negroes against the whites. The 1896 Philippine Revolution for independence against Spain was clearly ideological. The Filipinos wanted to chart their own course of freedom from the three centuries of denomination by the Spaniards.




Remember...


War or human violence is a man-made disaster. Earthquakes and floods happen to mankind but man makes war himself. To understand why wars go on when nearly everyone wants peace, we must look into the nature of war.


No nation today would go to war if it could get what it wants peacefully. The fighting starts when a nation wants a thing so badly that it is willing to go to war in order to get it. Sometimes, we can compare wars of nations to a dangerous enlargement of a quarrel between two children. " This is mine! they yell. Then they end up attacking each other. The great difference is, in wars the effects are more devastating and lasting.


Wanting our way without thought and care for others is the root cause of wars, big or small. We need to be saved from our selves. We need to overcome our being war-like, for we all have this tendency within us.




"Better a patient man than a warrior, a who controls his temper than one who takes a city".
Proverbs 16:32



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