Righteous Indignation

Learning from two giants of non-violent resistance

06/12/2025

Matthew 5:20-26 Jesus said to his disciples: "I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven. "You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, Raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny."

Many years ago Fr. Warren Harvey, the first Black priest of the Diocese of Little Rock, gave me a painting of Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was depicted as standing at a desk and hanging on the wall behind him was a painting of Mahatma Gandhi. It was a striking painting of two modern champions of non-violent resistance as the best means to confront injustice.

Both men galvanized two groups of people who desperately desired a path to defend their human dignity but were being deprived of it. African Americans here in the United States, and Indians under the British Empire. And I think their philosophy of non-violent resistance has a very timely message for all people protesting across the United States today.

Peaceful protesting is a hallmark of American history going back to our founding days. The American Revolution was sparked by the British government’s overreach and injustice, namely, taxation without representation. That injustice led to the so-called “Boston Tea Party”. And this right to peaceful protest is enshrined in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

It reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibit the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech; or of the press, or” – and this is the money line for us – “the right of people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” The key word, of course, is the adverb “peaceably”, and that is precisely what Gandhi and King would insist on.

Let me share a few quotations from these two giants of non-violence in the hopes that their words might reach the ears of today’s protesters or at least touch our own hearts. Dr. King said: “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”

A second quote by Dr. King: “Darkness cannot drive our darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” A third quote from King: “We must learn to live together as brothers, or perish together as fools.” Dr. King certainly had a persuasive way with words.

Here are a few quotes of non-violent wisdom from Gandhi: “An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.” Here is a second quote: “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” And a third quote from Gandhi: “I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.”

Even though King was a Baptist and Gandhi was a Hindu, their words can help us Catholics better understand Jesus’ words in the gospel today. Jesus exhorts his followers: “Whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.” I think the best way to avoid that sinful anger is to learn the ways of non-violent protest.

Sometimes we must disagree with our brothers and sisters. But we can disagree lovingly, that is, without anger, when we adopt the spirit of non-violent resistance. Often what really needs to change are not so much unjust laws, or policies, or practices – although sometimes they do – but our own hearts.

The anger, resentment, and revenge that reside there, beating in our own breasts is often the true enemy. In other words, the spirit of non-violence turns the sword of righteous indignation away from our neighbor and plunges it into our own bosom, and kills the anger and hate that are lurking there.

Praised be Jesus Christ!