Jesus Weeps: The Ways That Make for Peace
Jesus' words, as he wept over Jerusalem, are more compelling today than ever: If this day you only knew the ways that make for peace... (Luke 19:42). Surely Jesus weeps today as he did then. He weeps over Littleton, CO; over Jonesboro, AR; over Pearl, MS; over Paducah, KY; over Springfield, OR; and every other school and playground where children are killed, especially by other children. And Jesus weeps over Oklahoma City, memorialized in granite, as he weeps over every other community and country where people are killing people. He wept over the violence at the World Trade Center towers and the violence in Afghanistan. An Jesus continues to weep over his beloved city of Jerusalem and throughout his Holy Land. Today, Jesus needs more than our own tears of mourning. He needs us to teach and live the ways that make for peace. These ways that make for peace have been articulated in a unique way in the Pledge of Nonviolence. In the face of escalating violence, the Pledge of Nonviolence offers individuals, schools, youth groups, families and faith communities a way of living each day nonviolently. "In the face of escalating violence, escalate love."