Were you following the news of the visit of the Holy Father to Iraq last week? He brought a message of peace, of inclusion, of reconciliation – a true message from God. What a contrast to 2003 when the US invaded Iraq not with peace and reconciliation but with a plan of battle that included “Shock and awe.” That was not a message from God. Now God can do shock and awe; think of the fire and brimstone at Sodom and Gomorrah, think of Noah and the flood, think of Moses parting the Red Sea. These were all pretty awesome events that, no doubt, shocked the people. However, notice that these events were all early in Israel’s history. By the time the prophet Elijah came around God had changed tactics. When Elijah went looking for God he found the divine presence not in the shocking and awesome events of earthquake, volcano or hurricane. Rather, he found God in a “tiny, whispering sound.” Why this change of strategy on God’s part? God had done all of those awesome events in the hopes that they would cause the people to change. Instead, after an initial step back because of the shock the Chosen People acted just as they had before. Shock and awe does not change minds and heart. Pope Francis in his visit to Iraq adopted a better tactic for changing lives. He gave and received forgiveness. He bridged seemingly unbridgeable divides. He built relationships to prevent future misunderstanding and misjudgment. That is how you produce true and lasting change.
The story of Pope Francis in Iraq should not surprise us. It is a reflection of the divine strategy of redemption we see in the coming of Jesus. “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son … so that the world might be saved through him.” With the coming of Jesus God replaced the strategy of shock and awe with a strategy of love and sacrifice. Of course, Jesus did some pretty awesome things: changing water into wine, calming the storm, raising the dead. But did you ever notice how most times when Jesus does perform a healing he says, “Don’t tell anyone about this.” He does so not because he wanted to be modest about his accomplishments (“aw shucks, ma’am, t’wernt nothing”) but because he feared that focusing on the shock value of the miracle would cause people to miss the love and sacrifice which were his true mission. Our hearts are changed because we are touched by a sacrificing love so great that it lays down its life, not because we are amazed at divine power.
How do we adopt that strategy as a church? As a starting point, our goal is not to be an awesome or amazing parish. You can sometimes get the idea that the best churches are bulging at the seams, with dazzling preaching and entertaining choir. Folks might be excited by that. They might be entertained by that. They might be awestruck by that. But will their hearts and minds be changed? One thing this pandemic has taught us is that St. James does not need amazing spectacle to be church but only our witness of love and sacrifice. Even in the midst of a global health crisis we can call each other by name. We can forgive and be forgiven. We can reach out a hand in compassion. We can love one another. We can sacrifice our time in mentoring a young person. We can involve ourselves in projects which help to build up the community. We can strive to eliminate racism from our systems, our structures, and, most importantly, from our own hearts. We can donate our resources to those less fortunate than ourselves. It might not be flashy. It might not be eye-catching. No one would say “awesome” to any of it. But when we are people of love and sacrifice, Jesus is honored, light comes into the world and hearts and minds are changed.
Shock and awe might be unforgettable but it doesn’t seem to be very effective in leading to conversion. Think what that says about prayer. If we expect some kind of shocking or awesome experience out of our prayer that gets us all warm and tingly inside we will be disappointed more times than not. But if we expect our prayer to help us to love even people who get on our last nerve, if we count on prayer to deepen our commitment in service to God and neighbor, then we will find the blessed assurance which comes from joining our prayer with that of Jesus. God abandoned the strategy of shock and awe in favor of one of love and sacrifice because Jesus wants disciples, not admirers. Anyone can be shocked into astonishment that Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes to feed the five thousand. But disciples love enough that they will make sacrifices of time, talent and treasure to ensure that the hurting will be cared for in our here and now. Anyone would be awed that Jesus could make the blind to see, the deaf to hear and the lame to walk. But disciples love enough that they give of themselves so that others see in their actions the presence of God, hear in their words the message of God, know that their steps are on the way to God. Anyone would be impressed that Jesus is the light of the world and the prince of peace. Disciples love enough to let their little lights shine on all their actions so there are no more secrets and lies worming their way in to destroy the serenity of home and family. God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son. Jesus so loved the world that he gave his life so that we might live. Because of that we have changed our hearts and minds so much that we will make the sacrifices which are necessary in order for this world to become the place of love, of peace and joy and happiness that God intends. Now that is truly something awesome.
