All who affirm the use of violence admit it is only a means to achieve justice and peace. But peace and justice are nonviolence…the final end of history. Those who abandon nonviolence have no sense of history. Rather they are bypassing history, freezing history, betraying history.
Many of us, as individuals, know that God has called us to serve the poor and homeless in our communities. Some of our favorite biblical texts are Matthew 25:40 (“… Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me”) and Isaiah 61: 1-3 (“The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, … to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit”).
One of my favorite holiday memories as a little girl involves driving through local neighborhoods at night, looking at Christmas lights, and belting out carols with my Dad—mostly off-key!
