“Put your sword away!”
-Jesus addressing Peter in the Garden of Gethsamane“My kingdom is not from this world.
If my kingdom were from this world,
My followers would be fighting
To keep me from being handed over.
But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.”
-Jesus addressing Pontius Pilate in the Praetorium
We cannot fight for the kingdom of Christ in the manner that the nations of the world fight;
for the moment we do, we are no longer the kingdom of Christ but the kingdom of the world.
The kingdom of Christ comes by the cross and not by the sword.
But do we despise the cross and crave the sword?
Is our faith in the sword a manifestation of our deepest unbelief?
Are we guilty of the same cynical pragmatism as Pontius Pilate?
“Pilate deserves our sympathies, not because he was a good though tragically misunderstood man, but because we are not much better. We may believe in Jesus, but we do not believe in his ideas, at least not his ideas about violence, truth and justice.” -Miroslav Volf, Exclusion and Embrace
These thoughts came to me today while reading the Gospel of John and a new biography of St. Francis of Assisi. Francis attempted to thwart the madness of the Crusades and the misguided agenda to eradicate Islam and expand Christendom through violence and war. His attempts were unsuccessful and the Crusades ground on to their bitter and bloody end; an end which did nothing to convert Muslims to Christ or change the politics of the Middle East, but did saddle the church with lasting shame.
Will we ever learn?
Jesus, help us.
Thy government come
Thy policy be done
On earth
As it is in heaven.
The peace of Christ be with you.
BZ
PS: Earlier this year I read an excellent book on St. Francis and the Crusades.
The Saint and the Sultan: The Crusades, Islam, and Francis of Assisi’s Mission of Peace
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Yes, Jesus help us, and may the peace of Christ be with you.
wow i never knew that Francis of assisi propagated violence…sometimes when zeal or religious fervour is coupled with selfish ambition it can lead to dangerous consequences..like Watchman Nee says we must discern every that is of the soul and not of the spirit and put it to death..the mission is ultimately His so i guess without His clear guidance it will only lead to our flesh trying to get the glory..
You misunderstood, Premji. Francis detested the violence of the crusades and tried (unsuccessfully) to stop it.
oops sorry about that Pastor. I was a little shocked at my own interpretation or rather misunderstanding of this blog as i’ve heard only great things about this man. Thank you very much for clarifying Pastor.. I guess we need more of his ilk.
I think too many Christ-followers secretly crave the sword when it is in the hand of another. We would never want to be the ones to drop the bomb or pull the trigger, but we privately desire someone else to do it. From this we need to repent. Granted, the sword has been put in the hand of the State, but we don’t need to like it or rejoice I it.
You fasten all the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you set back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion’
As young people’s blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud.
Thankfully Jesus WILL forgive them for what they do.
I think too many Christ-followers secretly crave the sword when it is in the hand of another. We would never want to be the ones to drop the bomb or pull the trigger, but we privately desire someone else to do it. From this we need to repent. Granted, the sword has been put in the hand of the State, but we don’t need to like it or rejoice I it.
You fasten all the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you set back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion’
As young people’s blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud.
Thankfully Jesus WILL forgive them for what they do.
To this day, I shudder when I hear of Christians having a ‘Crusade’…it flashes back the memories of ‘The Crusades’ which Francis was attempting to thwart.
Jesus help us thwart them in our day!
MY
The phrase ” holding a crusade” sounds to much of the world like “holding an inquisition” or “holding a witch-burning.” We should repent for the crusades and then permanently retire the word. I first learned this from my Jewish friends, who, understandably, have a very negative connotation with the word “crusade.”
It’s crazy how the symbol of the cross made it’s way onto the shields of crusaders… It’s like God took the symbol of death and tyranny from the Roman Empire and made it represent something of beauty and then we took it back tried to make it ugly again.
To wield a sword beneath the banner of the cross and to do so in the name of the one who said, “love your enemies,” may be the ultimate exercise in missing the point. That we continue to have a romantic fascination in the crusader knight shows how easily we are seduced away from fielty to the Jesus way.
Pastor Brian,
What about Christians in the military?
Neither Jesus nor the Apostles issued a blanket prohibition on military service.
But the kingdom of God does not come by military means.
That’s the point in this blog.
As a Christian who served in the military I did not serve to take up my sword and fight. I served to honor my country and to help protect the freedoms we have here. I will admit it is hard to keep the commandment “love your enemies” while you are serving. You are consistently being told who that is. But at the same time you do not have to hate your enemies. You have to understand that for them, they are doing the exact same thing you are. Which is serving to protect their freedoms. I think serving our country is one of the greatest sacrifices anyone can ever do. Be it in wartime or peace time. To commit to serving other in that way allows us to show others what it is to be a Christian. One of the ways I looked at it was that I was willing to lay my life down for someone I didn’t even know. So that they might be kept safe. I talk a lot to my friends about my time in service but I rarely talk about why I served. For me to talk about it, I am afraid that I would sound pretentious over it. And I do not want to come off that way. I am very proud that I served don’t get me wrong, but at the same time the reasons I did are between me and God. I did not serve to try and force my beliefs onto someone else. I did not serve to fight under the banner of Christianity. I did serve with honor, loyalty and respect for my fellow man. I never once thought that I was fighting to advance the kingdom of God.
It really disturbs me when I hear and read about the history of the church. And how many bad things were done in the name of God. So many times in history you can look and see that the name of God is used to justify an act of violence. I hurt when I see that. We can still see that being done today. It has to stop. We have to listen and understand what Jesus was really teaching. You know I was not alive in the 60′s, but I think they definitely had one thing right “peace not war” that is how we an turn others to Christ. By showing the compassion Christ did. By showing the love for the sick and the hurt. By loving your neighbor as your self. Who is our neighbor??? Luke 10:29-37
As a Christian who served in the military I did not serve to take up my sword and fight. I served to honor my country and to help protect the freedoms we have here. I will admit it is hard to keep the commandment “love your enemies” while you are serving. You are consistently being told who that is. But at the same time you do not have to hate your enemies. You have to understand that for them, they are doing the exact same thing you are. Which is serving to protect their freedoms. I think serving our country is one of the greatest sacrifices anyone can ever do. Be it in wartime or peace time. To commit to serving other in that way allows us to show others what it is to be a Christian. One of the ways I looked at it was that I was willing to lay my life down for someone I didn’t even know. So that they might be kept safe. I talk a lot to my friends about my time in service but I rarely talk about why I served. For me to talk about it, I am afraid that I would sound pretentious over it. And I do not want to come off that way. I am very proud that I served don’t get me wrong, but at the same time the reasons I did are between me and God. I did not serve to try and force my beliefs onto someone else. I did not serve to fight under the banner of Christianity. I did serve with honor, loyalty and respect for my fellow man. I never once thought that I was fighting to advance the kingdom of God.
It really disturbs me when I hear and read about the history of the church. And how many bad things were done in the name of God. So many times in history you can look and see that the name of God is used to justify an act of violence. I hurt when I see that. We can still see that being done today. It has to stop. We have to listen and understand what Jesus was really teaching. You know I was not alive in the 60′s, but I think they definitely had one thing right “peace not war” that is how we an turn others to Christ. By showing the compassion Christ did. By showing the love for the sick and the hurt. By loving your neighbor as your self. Who is our neighbor??? Luke 10:29-37
Sorry about the double post I am not sure what happened.