The Huntingtower Bulletin

From the Chaplaincy

How to Stop a War

The mission and purpose of Huntingtower is to be a beneficial presence in the world, to uplift thought and bless mankind. But sitting here safe at home in Australia how can we bless those in the current conflict in Eastern Europe? 

 

At Huntingtower the Junior School students learn a different virtue every week.  Here are some that they study: Caring, Compassion, Cooperation, Courage, Courtesy, Forgiveness, Friendliness, Generosity, Gentleness, Humility, Kindness, Love, Patience, Respect, Tolerance, Unity.

 

Wow, wouldn’t it be wonderful to see evidence of these virtues from the world leaders involved in this conflict.  We can pray and know that God’s true man or woman, as reflections of God, good, always display these qualities.

 

Prayer for the establishment of peace and humane behaviour in the world, is like a pebble thrown into a pond. The pebble doesn’t sink straight to the bottom without having an effect. It creates ripples that continue to move outward.  In the same way, each time we pray with conviction that the power of good will ultimately triumph over evil – that decency and harmony will prevail, that sanity and compassion will override aggression – think of those prayers as sending out ripples that can heal hateful, warring and destructive thinking.

 

We can also guard and model our own behaviours. How often do we not give an inch driving on the road, or aggressively defend our self-righteous opinion, or speak rudely to retail staff or a colleague?  When we display courtesy, kindness and unity and see those virtues in other we are starting that ripple that spreads to others.

 

Although these negative behaviours cannot be compared with the devastations of war, it encourages us to believe that heartfelt prayer and setting an example for peace and harmony can and does lead to healing resolutions. Mary Baker Eddy says “One infinite God, good, unifies men and nations; constitutes the brotherhood of man; ends wars; fulfils the Scripture, ‘Love thy neighbour as thyself;’ annihilates pagan and Christian idolatry,—whatever is wrong in social, civil, criminal, political, and religious codes; equalizes the sexes; annuls the curse on man, and leaves nothing that can sin, suffer, be punished or destroyed” (Science and Health p. 340).

 

Each one of us can make a powerful contribution to stopping wars—and preventing them from starting—right where we are. We can all be peacemakers no matter what the human odds.

 

“A dewdrop reflects the sun. Each of Christ’s little ones reflects the infinite One, and therefore ..‘one on God’s side is a majority’” (Mary Baker Eddy, Pulpit and Press, p. 4).

With God there are no sides, no divisions. There is only God, the infinite One. So, to be one with God, to see the oneness of God and bring our thoughts and lives into harmony with it, is not only a majority—it is unanimity.

 

During WW2 a young US lieutenant, who was gracious and peace-loving, with deep love for humanity, prayed daily using the 91st Psalm “Whoever goes to the LORD for safety, whoever remains under the protection of the Almighty, can say to Him, "You are my defender and protector. You are my God; in You I trust."  One day on a reconnoitring trip in a jeep he went around a bend and came face-to-face, bumper-to-bumper, with an enemy jeep. The enemy soldier immediately raised his rifle, at exactly the same moment as the young lieutenant raised his rifle. Both soldiers took aim. Both soldiers attempted to pull the trigger. Both rifles jammed. After several attempts to unjam their rifles and an awkward moment of wondering what to do next, the enemy soldier shrugged his shoulders, put his jeep into reverse and retreated. For the lieutenant it was a blessing that blessed both men and he saw the rest of the war out, with that same prayer, and never found himself in a situation that demanded he kill another person.

 

 

References:

The Chaplaincy Team