Patriotism over Pacifism

Embracing courage to follow the Lord

05/28/2018

Mark 10:17-27 As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother." He replied and said to him, "Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth." Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, "You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." At that statement, his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Some time between the two great World Wars, C. S. Lewis delivered a controversial talk to a pacifist organization in England called, “Why I am not a Pacifist.” That would be like coming the I.C. Ladies Auxiliary and giving a talk called, “Why I am not a Catholic.” It was either very brave or very foolhardy. But I’d like to share a small section of it with you because today is Memorial Day, and we might well give some thought to war and peace, and why men and women would die for their country.

Of all Lewis’ preponderance of points against pacifism the one that touched me deepest was the argument of courage versus cowardice. Lewis contends soldiers face the worst evils (in fact they face all evils simultaneously), saying: “All that we fear from all kinds of adversity, severally, is collected together in the life of a solider on active service. Like sickness, it threatens pain and death. Like poverty, it threatens ill lodging, cold, heat, thirst and hunger. Like slavery, it threatens toil, humiliation, injustice, and arbitrary rule. Like exile, it separates you from all you love. Like the gallies, it imprisons you at close quarters with uncongenial companions. It threatens every temporal evil – every evil except dishonor and final perdition.”

That’s the courageous side that soldiers stand on, but pacifists have a much easier route to take. Lewis continues: “On the other hand, though it may not be your fault, it is certainly a fact that Pacifism threatens you with almost nothing. Some public opprobrium, yes, from people whose opinion you discount and whose society you do not frequent, soon recompensed by the warm mutual approval which exists, inevitably, in any minority group” (like the Ladies Auxiliary). The reason I mention Lewis’ essay today is to remind us why we celebrate Memorial Day: we honor those men and women who chose courage over cowardice. They did not choose war over peace; they chose patriotism rather than pacifism.

If we study the scriptures carefully we discover that courage is an indispensable virtue for every Christian. A rich young man approaches Jesus and declares his desire to follow Our Lord. Jesus answers: “Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come follow me.” We all know how the man reacted because that’s how most of us would have responded as well. “At that statement, his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.” It would take the courage of a soldier, who’s willing to part with all possessions, even the precious possession of life itself, to serve others, and to follow Jesus. Sooner or later our decision for or against discipleship will involve choosing between courage or cowardice, like a soldier chooses between patriotism and pacifism.

On this Memorial Day, therefore, I think we should do two things. First, take time to honor the women and men who have made the supreme sacrifice for patriotism, and let us pray for those who still are ready to make that sacrifice day after day, the “soldiers on active service.” Like Lewis said, they face “all adversities” combined at once. That takes profound courage. Second, let us muster up that same virtue in the face of the hurdles and harassments that keep us from following Jesus more closely. Maybe we will have to give up possessions, or perhaps lose our reputation, or maybe we’ll be corrected by others, or have to persevere in a vocation that feels fruitless and futile. Ruydard Kipling eloquently explained the value of courage in his poem “If” writing: “If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew / To serve your turn long after they are gone, / And so hold on when there is nothing in you / Except the Will which says to them ‘Hold on!’”

At the end of the day, Christianity belongs only to those who are courageous and not cowardly. That’s to whom the future of this country will belong to as well.

Praised be Jesus Christ!