Imagine

Asking Jesus to heal the wounds of war in our hearts

Philippians 2:1-4  

          Brothers and sisters: If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also everyone for those of others.

          One memory indelibly etched in my mind is how I fought with my siblings while growing up. One of us was always upset with the others about something, and it didn’t matter if it was trivial or titanic, we were sure it was the other’s fault. My parents bemoaned this childish cold war by saying: “All we want is for our children to get along and not fight with each other!” Have you ever felt that way with your kids? Ironically, I remember thinking something similar about my parents: “All I want is for my parents to get along and not fight with each other!” It’s funny how all families fight, but we see the problem clearer in others than in ourselves.

          Now, some argue that God and religion are the root causes of our fighting. Do you remember that lovely little song by John Lennon called, “Imagine”? He sang, “Imagine there’s no heaven / It’s easy if you try / No hell below us / Above us only sky / Imagine all the people / Living for today…Aha-ha!” He goes on: “Imagine there’s no countries / It isn’t hard to do / Nothing to kill or die for / And no religion, too / Imagine all the people / Living life in peace…You…” In other words, without religion or politics we’d have a more peaceful world. After all, aren’t these two topics what people fight over most? Richard Dawkins, the argumentative atheist, asserted in his book The God Delusion that religion was the main motive for most wars in human history. God and religion are the real reasons we fight.

          In the first reading today, St. Paul also seeks a solution to all the fighting, but he finds the answer in Christ. He writes: “If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking the same thing.” In other words, he’s saying like my parents: “Can’t you all just get along and not fight with each other??” But instead of just complaining about it, he urges the Philippians to invite Jesus to touch and heal their hearts. You see, it’s only when Jesus declares peace to the wars raging in our own hearts that we can live in peace with others. Albert Einstein said, “Peace is not merely the absence of war, but the presence of justice, of law, of order – in short, of government.” And the first place to implement that “justice, law and order” in in our own hearts.  If you never establish peace inside of you, you’ll never find it outside of you.

          Folks, have you been fighting with anyone lately? Are you fighting with your brothers and sisters like I used to? Maybe you argue angrily with your spouse like my parents used to with each other? With one week left before November 8 and the election, are you picking political fights? Do you wage a cold war on the internet against “invisible enemies” by what you post on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? Do you fight with God and blame him for your problems and pains, like Dawkins does? Well, may I suggest that a bigger battle rages inside you that you may be ignoring?  Ask Jesus to heal the wounds of war in your heart and to establish his peace there, first. If the peace of Christ does not reign in your hearts, it’s useless to “imagine” peace anywhere else.

          Praised be Jesus Christ!