by Most Rev. Dr. Robert M. Bowman, Presiding Bishop, United Catholic Church
Before I start my sermon, I should tell you that we’re at war. And I’m not talking about Saddam Hussein shooting down a U-2. The United States has been attacked with weapons of mass destruction, and an invasion of our coastline is under way in both California and Delaware. Submarines have been spotted going up the Potomac toward Washington, D.C. The President has asked for all able-bodied men and women under the age of 65 to report for military duty. That includes me. Is there anyone else here with any military experience?
Now relax. None of this is true. We’re not at war. There is no attack. I just wanted you to experience a little of what it might feel like if we were.
I remember Pearl Harbor day. I was seven years old. My grandmother had taken me to see Fantasia at the theater up in Hollywood. I think it was Grauman’s Chinese. At the intermission they made an announcement that all military personnel should report to their duty stations immediately. When we came out of the theater, the newspaper headlines blared “WAR!”. My Dad was 4-F, so it didn’t hit us as hard as lots of others. Dad became district chief of the Air Raid Wardens. In a blackout, we would drive around in our car with no lights. I held a flashlight with red cellophane over the lens at the back window so nobody would run into us.
For many, it was far more traumatic. Maggie’s Dad was already trained and commanding an engineer’s battalion. He soon left for Africa and Europe. They wouldn’t see him for nearly four years. All over the country, people pitched in. If they couldn’t fight, they took the place of those who could. Rosie the Riveter became a fixture on the assembly line. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt asked for sacrifice and commitment, he got it.
If President Clinton had to make a similar call today, he would get a similar response. He’d probably have his present Chairman of the Joint Chiefs on one side of him and Colin Powell on the other. Party divisions would be forgotten.
The British are down on their monarchy right now. The recent golden anniversary celebration has not overcome the people’s dismay at the way Diana was treated. But if Britain were invaded, and the Queen appealed for the people to rise up and resist the invaders, they would respond. All ages, all races, all political parties. They would rise up as one to defend their Queen and their country.
And it’s not just people in the rich countries with lots of affluence to protect who are willing to respond. In Iraq, women and children are volunteering to be human shields to protect Saddam and what’s left of their country.
So what would happen if our Supreme Commander made such an appeal? Would we respond, stop our petty squabbling among ourselves, and put our bodies on the line? That’s not an idle question, because he is. This very day, our Supreme Commander, our Lord and Master, Our King, Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God is calling us into his service. How will we respond?
Our kingdom, the kingdom of God is under attack by the forces of hatred, selfishness, and greed. We are being invaded by consumerism, tribalism, and unfettered capitalism. A fifth column has succeeded in getting us — the people of God’s kingdom — squabbling among ourselves, divided by race, divided by class, divided by party, divided by political philosophy, divided by religious denomination.
Every time we say the Creed, we express our belief in “one” church. Yet Christendom is split into thousands of pieces. At this very time, some of these pieces are warring against others — the Orthodox Serbs against the Roman Catholic Croats in Bosnia, the Presbyterian Orange Scotch-Irish against the Roman Catholic nationalists in Belfast.
How can we say the church is “one”? We say so because God does. We are all citizens of the kingdom of God. Yes, civil wars are breaking out in the kingdom. Brother against brother. How do you think that makes God our father feel, to see his children killing one another? The King is calling us to rise up together and heal this cancer in the body, this division in the kingdom. How will we respond?
All too often we respond like spoiled, undisciplined children: “He hit me first.” “She’s got my toy.” “He’s making faces at me.” “She touched me.” We always have some excuse for our failure to love, our refusal to follow Jesus. Usually it’s some injustice from the past. But injustice is no excuse for failing to love. Our church is founded on love — and on injustice. Christ’s resurrection was a victory of love over the most unjust act in history — the crucifixion. We celebrate that unjust act with the sign of the cross, with the crucifix on our altars, and in the Eucharist we share.
How can we dare to rationalize our rejection of the Great Commandment to love just because we have been subjected to some “injustice”? We knew it would happen. Jesus promised us it would happen. “You will be hated for my sake.” “Blessed are those who suffer persecution for righteousness’ sake.”
And what did Jesus tell us to do about it when it happens? Fight? Hate? Kill our persecutors? No! “Love your enemies.” “Overcome evil with good.” “Take up your cross and follow me.” His cross was not just. Why should we expect that ours will be? No. If we are to be members of the kingdom, if we are to follow our King, then we must meet injustice with love, as he did.
Of course it’s not easy. That’s why we need the church to help us, to hold up the banner of the King, to rally us together, to remind us that our King has set the standard before us. The mark of the kingdom is this: “Those Christians, how they love one another!” Our King leads the way. Wherever he asks us to go, he’s been there before us. Whatever he asks us to do, he’s done before. Whatever he calls on us to give, he’s given. Whatever sacrifice he calls us to make, he’s made a thousand times over.
Our King is not an armchair general behind the lines. He’s up front, blazing the trail. He’s with us in the trenches, shielding us with his body. He’s been there; done that.
There was a tragedy in Egypt a few days ago. One of the tourists was trapped under two others who had been shot dead. As the terrorists went around, methodically shooting the survivors in the head, this woman smeared her head with the blood of the man on top of her, and played dead. It worked. She was saved by the body and blood of a stranger.
In a similar way, when danger and terror strike us, we are saved by the body and blood of Christ the King. Jesus paid the price. He redeemed us with his blood. He has earned our loyalty. And now he calls on us to save the kingdom. All God asks of us, the soldiers in his army, is to love him, and love each other.
Doesn’t that sound easy? It’s not! Loving our neighbor means a lot more than being friendly to the other people in this church. Jesus made it plain that the “neighbor” we were to love includes those we dislike, mistrust, and fear. And the love we are to show them is not a warm fuzzy feeling; it is a commitment to care for them, to meet their needs, to serve them, to minister to them.
Last week, I issued a call to ministry. Each one of you is to select a ministry — prisons, hospitals, nursing homes, Daily Bread, Habitat for Humanity — something, in addition to evangelism, which we all must do. This week, that call is being issued again, not by me, but by Christ the King.
The United States is not at war, not under attack. But the kingdom of God is always at war, always under attack. Jesus does not ask us to die for him, but to live for him. He does not ask us to kill for him, but to love for him. Men and women, soldiers of God, step up and answer the call of your commander-in-chief, Christ the King.
Let us pray. Dear Lord, we thank you for being our King and accepting us as members of your kingdom. We thank you for redeeming us from slavery and leading us to freedom. We will follow you anywhere. We have heard your call, and we answer, “Yes, Lord. Take me. I live to do your will.” Amen.
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