Here are some comments from the Introduction to Andre Trocme's "Jesus and the Nonviolent Revolution." Andre Trocme was a French pastor during WWII, whose community sheltered and helped safely transport thousands of Jews to safety. The end of this reminds me both of our Matthew study discussion of Jesus' Third Way (Walter Wink) in reference to Jesus' arrest in the Gethsemane, and of Isaiah 58 which we discussed yesterday in church:
"Yet, as Trocmé shows, Jesus refused both the way of violence and of spiritual quietism. He called for practical changes but rejected violence as a means of achieving social change. Instead he articulated and exemplified a way of life that obviates the kind of social order that produces injustice and poverty, and the violence inherent in them. Jesus’ nonviolence was not a philosophy or a tactic, but a matter of obedience to God.
"Trocmé makes it clear that Jesus should be the center of the church’s life and practice, not nonviolence or revolution or justice. Jesus’ nonviolent revolution, and ours, is rooted in the cross. Jesus was ready to sacrifice his “cause,” the liberation of his people, for the sake of a single human being in need of healing. Human need–be it physical, emotional, spiritual, or social–was Jesus’ reason for being, and should be ours. Jesus’ sacrifice makes possible a new social order where human lives are dignified with justice, uplifted in compassion, and nurtured by peace." (p. x)
Jesus and the Nonviolent Revolution is available at Plough Press as a free downloadable ebook.
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1 comment:
This really pulls on me. Having lived for eighteen years in Lancaster Co., hard core pietism and pacifism I was a lot turned off. But reflection and seeing where we are today and what the Theology of the Cross means I've tried to look at violence and our reaction to it differently. I am still searching. This from Andre Trocme is really interesting. Thanks Mark.
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