Imagine

Take a guess.

In World War II, what percent of soldiers in battle actually aimed and fired at an enemy soldier?

According to an interview I once read, it was an astoundingly low number—20%!

If that’s accurate, 80% of the soldiers couldn’t bring themselves to shoot another human being.

Even while under fire in battle.

That shows that the vast majority of people are naturally non-violent.

And it takes a lot of intense conditioning to make them killers.

The interview was with a peace activist named Paul Chappell.

He seemed different from many other peace activists.

First of all, his background is different.

He’s a West Point graduate, and spent two years serving in Iraq as an Army Captain.

Besides that, he had thoughtful answers, rather than mere criticisms.

He quotes Gandhi and Martin Luther King.

But he also quotes Generals Eisenhower, McArthur, Bradley and McCrystal.

A striking aspect of his answers was his clear optimism that mankind is moving away from war.

He believes that people who support war and even those who promote war,

Can be convinced to change their position.

And people who oppose war, but do nothing about it, can be moved to action.

And all that can be achieved through discussion of the facts.

He believes in the basic goodness of human beings.

And in the power of Truth.

Violence is the extreme antithesis of the action we’re called to in today’s readings.

Abram sets an excellent example in our passage from Exodus.

Strain is growing in the relationship between him and his nephew, Lot.

Or at least among their people.

So, Abram comes up with a generous solution to avoid conflict—divide the land.

And he gives Lot first choice in selecting which area to take.

Our Psalm proclaims:

He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
The psalm offers some examples of a just person, and one is the person:

Who harms not his fellow man.

Those messages of Exodus and the Psalm fit well with the message of the Gospel.

Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.

A corollary to what Jesus presented as the second great commandment.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

When things are looking pretty grim,

Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria.

It’s encouraging to hear from the optimists,

Who believe we’re making real progress.

Imagine what our world would be like if everyone did follow that great commandment.

We would have—almost—heaven on earth.

And that’s precisely what Jesus is working with us to bring about.

He’s asking us to spread the word.

To set the example.

To draw more people to that narrow gate.

To finish his work of building the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth.

Tuesday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time

Mt 7:6,12-14                                 Read this Scripture @usccb.org