[After Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss], Jesus’ disciples realized what was about to happen, and they asked, “Lord, shall we strike with a sword?” And one of them struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said in reply, “Stop, no more of this!” Then he touched the servant’s ear and healed him. And Jesus said to the chief priests and temple guards and elders who had come for him, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? Day after day I was with you in the temple area, and you did not seize me; but this is your hour, the time for the power of darkness."    

In the movie "Star Trek," Captain Nero of the massive Romulan vessel "Narada" portrays the evil that can possess human beings. Nero feels certain that he has watched Spock destroy his home planet, although it did not happen the way he thought, but he is bent on revenge, not only toward Spock, but to all of the Federation who in his mind sanctioned the action. He destroys a number of Star Fleet vessels, and then he acts out his revenge by making Spock observe the destruction of Spock's own planet Vulcan. He then is ready to destroy every planet of the Federation beginning with Earth. His rage is the result of revenge. He will not listen to what really happened, and in his rage, he will accept his own destruction before he will acquiesce to compassion offered by the Enterprise crew.    

The apostles' reaction concerning their friend and leader Jesus when he was arrested as a common criminal is typical of human nature. The arrest was not a just action, and when justice is not served, we want to fight, we want justice served, even if we must become violent in serving it. It is the whole idea of a "just cause" for violence. And it has merit at times: there is such a thing as a "just war." For that very reason, Jesus' doctrine is so difficult. Jesus' reaction to the way his apostles' showed their loyalty was immediate and without question: "No more of this!" He even healed one of the men who perpetrated the actions against him.

Revenge is natural. "I'll get you back because you deserve it" is a common feeling, and it often guides our thinking. Nero in the movie "Star Trek" is bent on revenge for what he thought happened to his family and his nation. But if we are to develop with integrity, we must listen closely to the Christian doctrine of the way to treat injustice. It is indeed difficult, but maybe it is the only way to stop the violence of our natures. Violence begets violence, and Jesus' doctrine simply says, "We must stop the cycle of violence, even if it means our own suffering."

It is not easy. Our Christian leaders must make the careful decisions on how to respond to the violence on a global scale. They will have to work with the "just war" theory. But we are not working with global realities in our day-to-day living. We are working with minor infractions that involve the way people act unjustly or without charity toward us or our families. We want to strike out and hurt in some way. It is then that we must hear Jesus' difficult words, "No more of this."  Violence in whatever form is not the answer to injustice.    

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, your Son gave us the incredibly difficult doctrine of no revenge in whatever form even toward the most bitter of our enemies. It is such a complicated commandment because of our circumstances. Help us at least do the best that we can in our own lives. Be with us, we pray. 

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©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America