The issue gets more complicated for me as a Mennonite and especially as a Mennonite pastor. I am officially to teach and support the historical peace position of the Mennonite churches. I feel the need to ask wider questions because many questions are deemed as pertinent. To what extent should we disavow the use of force in the course of daily life? Is the force used by the police the same as the force used by the army? Should Mennonites even become police enforcement officers? Is the decision to protect my family from a violent intruder the same as going to war? Does my country of citizenship have the right to call on me or a member of my family to protect its (our) interests, no matter what they are? If someone disagrees with the official church position on peace and joins the armed forces, what then should the church do? Does it have the right to judge? How does the church respond to those who challenge its peace position? What does it mean to be in the world but not of the world?
Over the past several weeks, the issues of pacifism and the Mennonite peace tradition have been raised in the local media. The October 28 2013 edition of the Canadian Mennonite had as its feature article one written by Ross Muir entitled "Let Nobody Judge Them." It chronicled the ambivalent and less than forthright response of Mennonite church leaders to the thousands of Mennonites who signed up for active service in the Second World War. Closer to home, the November 9, 2013 edition of the Winnipeg Free Press ran a feature article entitled "A Soldier Shunned" written by Randy Turner which describes Winkler and some other southern Manitoba communities with significant Mennonite populations as still living with unresolved tensions between the officially pacifist churches and those of their native sons who joined the armed services in World War 2. I knew some of the men who served in WW2 and found them to be humble and self-effacing in the memory of their service. I found myself compelled to thank them for their willingness to serve and to place themselves in harm's way for their country. I saw their commitment to a cause which they saw as just and good as equally commendable and worthy of our respect.
The other side of my thoughts goes to what our place in this country represented in earlier wars and what it has become. As a Mennonite I feel compelled to be grateful to a country which opened its doors to my ancestors and allowed them to settle with many privileges and freedoms. But at what cost to our souls? Many times Mennonites have looked the other way in the face of injustice. Sometimes we were willing or unwitting accomplices. We were given land to farm but did not consider that it was taken away from others. We looked away. Treaties were broken. We looked away. Many left to serve their country in battle and we, who did not, became wealthy. The history of our country, its treatment of First Nations people and other immigrant nationalities, and its participation in the unequal distribution of resources and wealth around the world continue as a lingering legacy of our national identity. What do we remember? What are we thankful for? What are our values?
Personally, I look at Remembrance Day with sadness. To my mind, war represents the failure of humankind. To go to war with another country is the failure of politics, common sense and a common desire to live together. The recognition that we have finally come to the point where where we must kill each other represents a victory for greed, hatred and the will to power. While we may consider our cause just (or more just than those who become our 'enemies'), our history leads us to realize that one war only leads to the next. And for what? What does war achieve? In the end, nothing. Only more war. In war everyone has failed, even the churches.
In our peace churches, we have long avoided war because we said we did not want to kill. My suspicion is that, more to the point, we have not wanted to die. It is my belief that if the peace churches argue against war, they bear the greatest responsibility to work positively for peace. Just as soldiers must go into the thick of the battle where the danger is highest, we ought not to shirk from danger or difficulty. We have much to contribute. From God's call to tear down the walls of hostility between nations, cultures, the sexes, the weak, the helpless, the disenfranchised and all who are marginalized, we need to take deliberate steps encouraging justice and reconciliation between all groups. First of all, I believe that peace begins at home. And so, reconciliation should also begin at home as we seek to be reconciled to those in our churches who have chosen the military as a way of serving their country. We may not agree with each other but we should be reconciled one with another. Secondly, we must reconcile with our aboriginal brothers and sisters who still bear the scars and open wounds of discrimination and mistreatment from decades of Canadian "justice." We have taken so much and shared so little. To practice respect and to seek true justice would be a good response from all of our churches. Finally, we should be willing to put our lives on the line for peaceable solutions. While not deliberately courting danger, we must not hide from dangerous places. Peacemaking can be a dangerous business.
We should engage in truth-telling in our churches and demand it from the leaders of our country. In a world where jingoistic responses often masquerade as patriotism or reasoned thinking, I wonder whether we would recognize the truth. As has been so often the case in war and in politics, the first casualty is the truth. Our commitment to follow Jesus should include a commitment to speak and seek the truth. Pacifism should never be confused with 'passivism.'
My own experience in seeking peace has been sadly lacking. But I am reminded every year at this time that to honour our dead and to give hope to our children we must be people of peace. I cannot disparage those who go to war to protect the innocent. But it should not stop there. In a conversation with a family member over the Mennonite peace stance, I was asked whether I would refuse to go to war for my country. I said yes but I said I also hoped I would be willing to die for my country and my Master in the service of peace. I still want to believe that.
The other side of my thoughts goes to what our place in this country represented in earlier wars and what it has become. As a Mennonite I feel compelled to be grateful to a country which opened its doors to my ancestors and allowed them to settle with many privileges and freedoms. But at what cost to our souls? Many times Mennonites have looked the other way in the face of injustice. Sometimes we were willing or unwitting accomplices. We were given land to farm but did not consider that it was taken away from others. We looked away. Treaties were broken. We looked away. Many left to serve their country in battle and we, who did not, became wealthy. The history of our country, its treatment of First Nations people and other immigrant nationalities, and its participation in the unequal distribution of resources and wealth around the world continue as a lingering legacy of our national identity. What do we remember? What are we thankful for? What are our values?
Personally, I look at Remembrance Day with sadness. To my mind, war represents the failure of humankind. To go to war with another country is the failure of politics, common sense and a common desire to live together. The recognition that we have finally come to the point where where we must kill each other represents a victory for greed, hatred and the will to power. While we may consider our cause just (or more just than those who become our 'enemies'), our history leads us to realize that one war only leads to the next. And for what? What does war achieve? In the end, nothing. Only more war. In war everyone has failed, even the churches.
In our peace churches, we have long avoided war because we said we did not want to kill. My suspicion is that, more to the point, we have not wanted to die. It is my belief that if the peace churches argue against war, they bear the greatest responsibility to work positively for peace. Just as soldiers must go into the thick of the battle where the danger is highest, we ought not to shirk from danger or difficulty. We have much to contribute. From God's call to tear down the walls of hostility between nations, cultures, the sexes, the weak, the helpless, the disenfranchised and all who are marginalized, we need to take deliberate steps encouraging justice and reconciliation between all groups. First of all, I believe that peace begins at home. And so, reconciliation should also begin at home as we seek to be reconciled to those in our churches who have chosen the military as a way of serving their country. We may not agree with each other but we should be reconciled one with another. Secondly, we must reconcile with our aboriginal brothers and sisters who still bear the scars and open wounds of discrimination and mistreatment from decades of Canadian "justice." We have taken so much and shared so little. To practice respect and to seek true justice would be a good response from all of our churches. Finally, we should be willing to put our lives on the line for peaceable solutions. While not deliberately courting danger, we must not hide from dangerous places. Peacemaking can be a dangerous business.
We should engage in truth-telling in our churches and demand it from the leaders of our country. In a world where jingoistic responses often masquerade as patriotism or reasoned thinking, I wonder whether we would recognize the truth. As has been so often the case in war and in politics, the first casualty is the truth. Our commitment to follow Jesus should include a commitment to speak and seek the truth. Pacifism should never be confused with 'passivism.'
My own experience in seeking peace has been sadly lacking. But I am reminded every year at this time that to honour our dead and to give hope to our children we must be people of peace. I cannot disparage those who go to war to protect the innocent. But it should not stop there. In a conversation with a family member over the Mennonite peace stance, I was asked whether I would refuse to go to war for my country. I said yes but I said I also hoped I would be willing to die for my country and my Master in the service of peace. I still want to believe that.
Very insightful piece. You probably know I was troubled by the lack of recognition of Remembrance Day on Sunday. Poppies grow in many colors and have been used around the world for thousands of years in many ways. They've appeared on flags and even on coins. On November 11 I wear a red one to gracefully honor those who served in war.
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