This Is Your Weapon

II.      Vows of Rejection

“We renounce violence of the heart, tongue and fist, neither willing nor working harm to any”

9. I will reject violence of the fist: I will not retaliate toward anger or assault, provocation or violence, in word or action; I will not seek or inflict any injury, harm or death toward any person.

(Idi Amin testing a new weapon)

Idi Amin has been referred to as Africa’s Hitler. His eight-year reign of terror over Uganda in the 1970s resulted in hundreds of thousands killed. Amin perpetrated gross human rights abuses, violent political repression, ethnic persecution and extrajudicial killings. When church leaders spoke up in protest, they were interrogated and killed. Festo Kivengere, an Anglican bishop who escaped into exile after Archbishop Janani Luwun was murdered for speaking out against Amin’s tyrannical regime, was asked if he would strike back at Dictator Amin if he had the opportunity: “If you were sitting in Ida Amin’s office with a gun in your hand, what would you do?” Bishop Kivengere responded, “I would give the gun to Amin and say, ‘This is your weapon; my weapon is love.”* 

The late peace activist Art Gish also reflected on personal retaliation with a in brief piece called, “What If I Had Punched Him Back?”⁺

“During the Vietnam War, as I was distributing anti-war leaflets at a high school, I was accosted by a 20 year old man. He cussed me out, then punched me in the face.

What should I have done?

Since he was bigger than I was, there was no point in punching him back. That could have been a disaster for me.

I did remain non-violent, and immediately after punching me, he broke down in tears, telling me that he was scheduled to leave for Vietnam the next week, and how deeply he did not want to go. A long, intense conversation followed between the two of us.

Suppose I would have been bigger than he, and that I would have punched him back. What would I have accomplished? It would only prove that I was bigger than he, which I would already have known.

By being non-violent, by expressing openness and acceptance, I allowed the possibility of a breakthrough, of communication and new possibilities.

Last week I had a similar experience when I received a fantastic amount of hostility from another person. Each attempt of active listening, giving "I" messages, and trying to reach him seemed to fail. The hostility continued to pour out.

Yesterday I received from him the most humble letter I have ever received. His apology and recognition of his behavior were deeply moving for me.

What if I would have become defensive and failed to try to reach him? What if I had punched him back?”

(Martyred Archbishop Janani Luwun)

As you make today’s vow, pay attention to the situations you’re in this week where you have the opportunity to retaliate or pay an aggressor back in some way: “I will reject violence of the fist: I will not retaliate toward anger or assault, provocation or violence, in word or action; I will not seek or inflict any injury, harm or death toward any person.”

For Reflection and Action:

Hear Paul’s call for the church in Romans 12:9-21. Read it sentence by sentence, at least twice.

• When are you most tempted to retaliate, to pay back evil with evil, to be avenged?
• What wrongs have been done to you which you need to turn over to God for vengeance?
• To what good is God calling you (and your church community)?
• Bishop Kivengere wrote, "A living church cannot be destroyed by fire or by guns." What gives you hope and courage to reject retaliation, to do good in the face of evil?

Prayer Focus (Romans 12)

Lord Jesus Christ, we need your help to do this thing!

You set the bar high with “turn the other cheek, pray for and love your enemies.”

Holy Spirit, help us not hit back at those who harm and persecute us,

Fill us with creativity to bless them with good.

Give us strength to resist repaying anyone evil for evil.

Discipline us to live peaceably with all.

                                           

Lord, you say, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.”

We entrust the repayment to you; we give up the right to avenge ourselves.

Gives us the hospitality to feed our hungry enemies, giving them refreshing drink.

In your name, we will not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

May it be so. Amen.

 (*) Dale Auckerman, “What Would You Do If?” in What Would You Do? edited by John Howard Yoder. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press (1992), pg 82. See also Bishop Kivengere’s powerful short book, I Love Idi Amin

(+) Art Gish, “What If I Had Punched Him Back?” Manchester College, Bulletin of the Peace Studies Institute. Vol. 20, nos. 1-2 (1990), pg 21