The Prince of Piece

This morning I read about this family Christmas photo that was shared on Twitter recently by a United States congressman. Thus far, the commentary I have read on it notes how inappropriate it was for him to share this photo at this time, given the school shooting that took place in Michigan last week.

I have another concern about the photo, however. It should be self-evident to any Christian who is motivated to “put Christ back in Christmas” that this image is contrary to the core message of Christmas.

In the birth of Jesus, we see that God did not respond to the world’s violence with more violence, even in self-defense. Jesus was born into a regime of heartless brutality, terror, and oppression. Yet, the Son of God did not enter this world armed to the teeth; nor was he born into a family who had stockpiled a great arsenal to defend their rights against the might of their Roman oppressors.

Instead, the Son of God took on human flesh, laying aside his heavenly power and prerogatives to identify with us as powerless and weak. His real power was simply in his solidarity with the oppressed, in his becoming one of them. In becoming human, God became vulnerable and approachable—gentle, not forceful.

This was (and is) God’s way to peace on earth—and the Christmas story is our yearly reminder of God’s heart. Now is not a time to celebrate our capacity for violence, whether personally or nationally. In fact, if we were to really embrace the spirit of the season, we would sense the invitation of God’s Spirit crying out to us to mourn our violent response to God’s offensive of love.

The world will always have a “Yes, but…” to this initiative of God’s—but that will not cause God to give up on his program for peace. On the contrary, the one who would follow Christ sees the connection from the cradle to the cross of Jesus. He died as he was born…caught up in the swirl of violence, but relentless in refusing to take up arms. In both his birth and death, Jesus showed us the full extent of God’s love for us and he exposed the utter absurdity of our unjust brutalities.

Let us not desecrate the light of the nativity of the Christ by treating our capacity for violence so flippantly. Instead, may we mourn our tendency to perpetuate the violence that plagues our world and may we learn to identify with the One whose only weapon to counter the hatred was love and love alone. Then we will really experience God’s good will for all; then and only then will we have true peace on earth.

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The Prince of Piece

reflections by Troy Cady

fighting for peace

In a world overcome by violence, peace appears as a disruption that at first feels strange, counter-intuitive, even foolish. This is why true and lasting peace can only come with practice, countless rehearsals of non-violence. Day after day after day, we rehearse this way of deeper courage, longer endurance such that the very sign of today’s protest reflects the vision we have for a better tomorrow.

Fortunately, the sign of the future peace for which we long has already been shown to us by the peaceful One who has gone before and is in our midst even now. Christ, the Prince of Peace, invites us to rehearse the way of non-violence, to wrap ourselves in His very heart—for He Himself is The Way and He Himself is our Peace. In Christ, we see that the open hand (more than the clenched fist) disrupts the cycle of violence. Thus: as we work for peace, we take our place by His side, willing to lay down our life, willing to disrupt the cycle, fighting by refusing to fight on the world’s terms of violence—fighting the fight on heaven’s terms, beating swords into ploughshares.

To win this “fight” God does not raise up an “army,” per se. The people whom God raises up are not armed with the weapons of this world. Indeed, God’s people are empty-handed, open-armed. In this way, God raises up an alternative community which itself is to be a sign and foretaste of the lasting peace that God has in mind.  It is the community of the Beloved.  We enter the fight with open hands, hearts bared, laying it all on the line for the sake of love, even love for our enemy.

If we wish to disrupt the cycle of violence, let us rehearse love for our enemy. To rehearse such a strange love, we will need to wrap our lives in the One who has perfected the art of loving like that. As we do so, we will soon discover that we ourselves are the enemy He has loved. And we are joined by countless others who have been strengthened by the same love, even our own enemies. This is the community of the Beloved. This changes everything.

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Fighting for Peace

reflections by troy cady

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*Sculpture: “Love” by Alexander Milov; photographed by Andrew Miller.

make me a person of peace

Lord, make me a person of peace.

Where there is bitter division,

help me to work for reconciliation.

When someone hurts me,

give me strength to forgive.

When I hurt another,

grant me the humility to seek forgiveness.

Give me understanding

in times of confusion and chaos.

Be my wisdom

when fear would darken

my mind and heart.

Remind me that even in death

you are the resurrection and the life.

Lord, you know that I worry about many things.

Still me within as you stilled the storm without.

Show me that I can count on you; I am just a child.

Nurture within me a quiet confidence in you

that grows stronger day by day.

Lord Jesus, Prince of Peace,

be in my mouth,

making my words gentle;

be in my eyes,

viewing others through the lens of grace;

be in my listening,

make me a true companion;

in my tasting,

fill my whole body with gratitude;

in my breathing,

take in the very scent of love;

let these hands heal,

and my feet go gladly

to the side of the needy.

Lord Jesus, my King,

move my feet, move my hands

to the rhythms of your peace.

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make me a person of peace

by troy cady

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two words

--for Heather on our anniversary

It is a beautiful Friday morning. As I walk the dog, I pass a short, thin man with a long, full beard who smiles at me and says, “Good morning.” He is wearing all black, save for a plain white collar shirt under his blazer. Atop his head: a large, broad-brimmed hat.

And there are two other splashes of white, swinging freely just below the hem on the left and right sides of his blazer: tassels.

Almost every Friday now, I pass my friendly Jewish neighbor on this stretch of sidewalk just one street over from our home. He and his family are new to the neighborhood and I find myself looking forward to his greeting every week.

He seems joyful to me. After I pass him, I wonder if he feels especially joyful today because at sunset he will say Kiddush and begin the Sabbath.

Even though it is still early, I find myself wishing him Shabbat shalom. And as I turn that phrase over in my heart, I find myself thinking of you.

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I invite you to read the rest of this post over at PlayFull...

Christ in you, the hope of glory

The Christian is one who is “in Christ.” She or he walks in the way of Jesus. The Christian is a person who dedicates their life, all of it, to becoming more like him.

Pentecost Sunday is the day we remember that we are not simply “in Christ.” It is a day to remember that the only way I can be in Christ is to have Christ in me. And the way to have Christ in me is by the Spirit of Christ.

But we like to keep Jesus at a distance. That is our problem. As long as he doesn’t come too close and start messing with areas that actually change our living, we feel fine. This is the rub.

This paradox sets me to wondering. When God gives someone his Spirit, they never get only part of the Spirit. They get all, everything. Yet, how is it that the God who graciously gives us everything only gets part of me because I cannot stop holding something back?

How do I know I’m holding something back?

I know because the Spirit whispers a call to more faith in my heart. The need for more faith is a sign that I have more room to grow in Christlikeness. I am that “you of little faith” Jesus bespoke. Jesus, on the other hand, had great faith.

The main expressions of his faith were not when he walked on water and calmed the sea. His greatest acts of faith were when he forgave sinners like me and believed they could change. He forgave murderers and believed they could become people of peace. He forgave our infidelities while at the same time believing we could live faithfully. What faith!

Do I do the same? No, I do not. I look at those who hurt me and condemn them to playing out a destructive role indeterminately. Far from believing in change, I scarcely believe in forgiveness!

So, how is it that I have the Spirit of Christ in me but continue to live this way, failing to forgive and persisting to condemn? It is because the Spirit does not have all of me. It is because I have yet to learn that the Spirit of Christ does not condemn.  It is because I need to exercise more faith that if I love my enemy (as Jesus taught me to do) God is big enough to be my defender, should my enemy abuse the grace I offer.

Spirit of Christ, help me trust you more; help me love as Jesus does—with no reserve.

a people of peace

If we are not known as a people of peace, we have no hope of becoming known as a family of love. We cannot have one without the other.

The ancient Christians were known by their love because they were a peaceable people. They made peace by caring for those no one else cared about: slaves, widows, orphans, the diseased and the impoverished. The early Christians learned this way of peace from their Master for he was the first to come close to those no one else wanted to come close to.

In Jesus’ day, there were those whom society deemed “less than”: women and children. There were those who were surely “cursed”: the blind, lame and leprous. There were the “sinners”: the tax collectors (extortionists) and the demon-possessed. In Israel, the Gentiles were “out” and the Jews were “in”. In the midst of these divisions, Jesus became peace. He was a friend of sinners, a healer to the cursed, a Father, Brother and Son to women and children. He created family where family did not exist before. His way of love was a way of peace.

Today, we are scarcely known as a people of peace so we are certainly not known by our love. This is a hard question, but it must be asked: What hope may we have of shining light when we become preoccupied with defending our rights as gun-owning citizens? It is hard to be a person of peace under such circumstances.

Yes, the early Christians were defenseless—yet this was their defense. When they were burned at the stake and thrown to the lions, people wondered how such a meek community could pose a threat to mighty Rome. Their gentle, peaceable way was indeed subversive for there were no hidden agendas, no ulterior motives. This was something the world had not seen before. They were a generous community, giving to all in need without condition. The world-system was thus dismantled by simple, unarmed peace-lovers.  The imperial powers were slain not with a weapon but with love—only love from a heart of peace.

Let us learn from them.  Let us follow their example.

opening night in heaven

There will be people there of every tribe and tongue and nation, every color and culture. Let us become accustomed to collective celebration now. Let us not wait for death. Let us worship together now.

Will the wedding feast be an international potluck? Will I finally see that Jesus is not white?

By your grace, Lord, may I come to the party? Let me never presume my invitation a given, but let me appreciate it as an honor.

May we keep the languages and simply learn to understand one another? May we, Lord? May we recall our favorite recipes and contribute a dish?

I hope I learn to eat with my hands and remember the proper way to use chopsticks. I hope this white boy learns to bow or kiss in greeting.

In heaven, East will meet West, finally. Our attempts at reconciliation this side of eternity will seem merely business or political negotiations. On that Great Gathering Day, we will know peace and see that we never really knew it here on earth as it is in heaven. Forgive us that, Lord. Even as we prayed Your Prayer, we must confess we never knew shalom without blemish.

But, Lord, help us yet work towards it. May our labors be our prayers and may we catch glimpses of your peace, though we can never realize it fully in the here and now. God of hope and Prince of peace, help us hold out hope for reconciliation. May we never give up.

And help us be diligent in our dress rehearsals, acting today as if it is opening night in heaven.

in honor of Martin Luther King

This past Monday Americans had a holiday to honor Martin Luther King, Jr.

I intended to post something here on Monday to pay my respects to Dr. King, but somehow missed the opportunity.

Well, it's never too late to honor those who gave so much for the cause of peace, so here I am a few days late, shining the spotlight on Rev. King's message.

I'd like to highlight an excerpt from his acceptance speech when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. He said:

“There is a sort of poverty of the spirit which stands in glaring contrast to our scientific and technological abundance. The richer we have become materially, the poorer we have become morally and spiritually. We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers. This is the serious predicament, the deep and haunting problem confronting modern man. If we are to survive today, our moral and spiritual ’lag’ must be eliminated.”

I agree wholeheartedly.