Passionate (not angry) peacemakers
by Jim Compton-Schmidt, Fresno, Calif.
Regarding “Passionate (not Angry) Peacemakers” (July 8) by David Brubaker: The first two paragraphs of Brubaker’s article lay out a centered discussion about the frustrating areas in which peacemakers find themselves today: in the Sudan, Congo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Colombia and Myanmar or Burma. Left out are such places as the conflicted Native American locations, the Palestinian occupied territories and the possibility of someone bombing Iran between now and the taking of office of the next U.S. administration.
Then Brubaker loses his way. He says, “But passionate, angry peacemakers tend not to bring about positive change in their societies. Passionate, principled peacemakers do.” (As if to say that anger can’t be a part of a “principled” approach to peacemaking.) Brubaker quotes a lot of Scriptures to prove that anger has no place in “doing” peace. It is there that I differ with his article.
First, I don’t find any reference in the article to the “anger” that was present in Jesus as we follow him in his three-year journey through the Middle East. What was his reference to a “brood of vipers”—while talking to the “church” leadership of his day—all about? Second, how did Jesus’ frustration play out when his “followers” were more concerned about who was to sit at his right hand in heaven than they were about their work here on earth? Third, can we assume that Jesus was not “angry” as he tipped over the moneychangers’ tables in the temple—perhaps the last straw for the power structure’s decision to do away with him once and for all? Should we assume that his anger expressed in Scripture had no effect on how we view Jesus’ willingness to function in our world and his call to us to go and do likewise?
Associated Issue: Urgency and patience - July 8, 2008
Associated Article: Passionate (not angry) peacemakers
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