Last week on the news I heard three really disturbing stories right in a row. And although at first they seemed unrelated, I realized a common thread.
First, a rogue gunman killed 9 college students in Oregon. It seems he thought they needed to die before he could rest in peace.
The second was about a Russian air raid on Syrian terrorists, who the Russians thought needed to die before they could have peace. And that was because the terrorists kept killing people who they thought needed to die before they would have peace, like a godless American rogue gunmen who was killing people he thought prevented peace.
Then there was a hurricane that was just ripping through the land, wiping out all sorts of things that apparently it needed to destroy before it would dissipate in peace. Maybe it was because governments were killing terrorists who were killing lone gunman who were killing people like us.
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This is what I got from it all: I was reminded that for peace to be found, certain battles must first be fought.
And it makes me think that although sometimes we think Peace is the ultimate ethic, and that anything that causes suffering cannot be of God, I wonder if some non-peace must first happen against the things that cause violence, so that peace can then eventually come.
I wonder if maybe, sometimes, battles must be fought so that then peace can follow.
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Raw Spoon, 10-1-15
