sermon excerpts: Personality of War

... In this story of David versus his rebellious son Absalom, we find the troops are going to war. And not just any skirmish, it was epic based on the numbers that we hear: groupings and companies of hundreds and thousands, 20 000 killed in one day.

We see that thousands of years have passed and for all the innovation and progress and civility that we profess has evolved over the years, some things are painfully the same: terror plot in Britain, Israel and Lebanon escalating attacks in the leadup to a UN ceasefire, tension in Caledonia.

Seven Canadians were killed in Afghanistan in the past nine days. It is a miniscule fraction of what was related in the fateful day in Ephraim Forest, but this week as assembly after assembly gathers on Kandahar airfield to pay respects to another fallen soldier, we are reminded that these men and women killed in accidents and attacks, are more than tragic statistics and scorekeeping. They have names, families, stories, strengths and weaknesses like each of us.

So we try to genuinely pay tribute to: Cpl. Andrew Eykelenboom, Master Cpl. Jeffrey Walsh, Master Cpl. Raymond Arndt, Cpl. Christopher Reid, Sgt. Vaughn Ingram, Cpl. Bryce Keller, and Pte. Kevin Dallaire. We honestly try to do justice to their sacrifice, but it becomes a bit too much to process when we receive all their names at once. Yet, there are 20 other soldiers and one diplomat killed during Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan.

Not to mention those Afghan civilians and rebels who are killed, those soldiers of the US and other nations, and that’s just one situation in one country. Considering the state of the world, it boggles the mind if we think too much about it. So we don’t. We focus on our side and how we’re doing.

So when we hear of 20 000 lost lives in battle centuries ago, it is easy to ignore the inhumanity of it and concentrate on the strategic implications. That’s the only way to survive a war – to suspend the personalities of the enemy – whether they are young or old, grizzled or scared, good or evil.

So we quite easily we fall into the us-them trap. Whether we call it liberal or conservative, Muslim or Jew, French or native, wealthy or welfare, sinner or saint, we start to take away the humanity of those who don’t think like we do on one particular issue, especially those who look like us or don’t eat the same food or speak the same language. We make big deals over little differences.
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Victory was won; yes, David reclaimed his throne, his rightful, God-given place as the leader of Israel and Judah, but at what cost? Two of his sons were dead, his daughter raped by one of them, the baby born to Bathsheba died. David, even though he made enemies of his own children, loved them as their father and grieved their loss.

We cannot turn off love. It is a fact of our being, we love someone despite what they’ve done or not done. We may not like them, but the love remains. Such is the case for David and his sons. He may have forgiven, neither side would ever forget, but his sorrow is a demonstration of this to his troops, to his people and all those who would read this scripture after.

The same holds true for God’s love for us. The chosen tribe of Israel continually wandered away from God. They repulsed the holy one with their wayward actions impure deeds and poor treatment of one another. Yet God’s love remained.

... It was easy to demonize Absalom, to cast him as a rebellious, ungrateful upstart seeking greater glory and power than he deserved. It was easy to scoff at his humiliating death, hanging awkwardly in a tree by his hair, his mule having run off, totally alone and vulnerable. It was easy to say he got what he deserved. It was hard to remember he was once a boy, brother and friend.
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War stories often tell of people in battle, feeling like they’re on their own, not knowing if the reinforcements are on the way, if they’re winning or losing. That is part of human existence, we don’t ever have the full picture.

So we try to make the most with the limited experience and understanding that we have. And of course it isn’t enough… But we try anyway, for good or for bad. As overwhelming and heartwrenching as the world can be, especially in times of conflict; let us remember that God’s love is greater than all of our cruelty, anger and indifference.

We do not need to be in Afghanistan to have conflict and fear in our lives; too much of it is within our homes and churches. Yet as people of faith, of hope, as followers of Christ, we have the bread of life that leads to a better way to live and treat the world. We are called to communicate with one another, to share our stories and in so doing, find common cause with each other and the one who created us.