Pacem In Terris - By Averthanus L. D’Souza

GOA, Dec. 18, 2009, 16.30 Hrs (Averthanus L. D’Souza):

If there is one thing that occupies the minds and hearts of most people in the world today, it is the prevalence of violence. Violence seems to have escalated exponentially both in its geographical spread as well as in its manifestation. In the not too distant past, we were aware of violence more as a conflict between warring nations or as a clash between groups of persons – such as vendettas or family feuds. But in more recent times, we see violence as a manifestation of a demonic presence in our midst. Present day violence appears to be both disproportionate and irrational. More frighteningly violence is now not merely directed against the other; it is being directed against oneself. Violence has existed in human society from time immemorial. But the intensity and the nature of violence has taken on quite different characteristics in modern times.

The Bible gives us the first account of fratricide in the incident of Cain killing his brother Abel. The story misleads us into believing that God acted arbitrarily (and unfairly) by not accepting the sacrifice of Cain as He had done the sacrifice of Abel. But there is much more to the narrative than meets the eye at a superficial level. Surely, God who is infinitely just and infinitely merciful could not have rejected a sacrifice offered with proper motives. One has only to contrast this story with the story of Abraham who was asked to sacrifice his only son; and he proceeded to do so in total and implicit obedience to God’s command. God rewarded Abraham for his implicit obedience by sparing the life of Isaac.

The lesson to be drawn from these incidents seems to be that the mere act of sacrifice, by itself, is not acceptable to God. Sacrifice has to be made with implicit and utter obedience to God. Sacrifice is, and has always been, a very widespread phenomenon in practically every known religion. Sacrifice has been an essential ingredient of religion. Sacrifice still remains the central point of the expression of man’s acceptance of God’s authority.

The Bible again reveals to us the truth that God does not want sacrifices to be offered to any other God. He is a “jealous” God who demands total and unconditional obedience from His people. Moses was very explicit about this. Jesus demonstrated this by sacrificing His own life on the cross: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” (Lk. 23: 46).

Christmastime is a time for celebration. But for most people the reason for the celebration has been completely forgotten. Christmas, like many other feasts, has been superficialized and commercialized. Many Christians have been diverted from the true meaning of Christmas. Like life itself, the attention is focused on celebration, music, dressing, dancing and eating. Life itself has lost its meaning: therefore the celebration of life has also lost its meaning. It is now time to seriously reflect on the meaning of life and to begin, once again, to appreciate the magnificence of the birth of God Himself in human flesh. St. John begins his gospel with the profound description of the mystery of the Incarnation. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” (Jn. 1:1-5)

St. John continues to tell us: “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” (Jn. 1: 14).

The “world” as we know it, continues to live as if the creator does not exist. Even more foolishly, we pretend that this world which we inhabit was created by us; by our own ingenuity, by our knowledge, and the mastery which we have acquired of technology. We believe that we have become the Masters of the Universe, and that we can control everything around us, including the creation of life. We have enthroned Science in our Universities and in our Institutes of Technology. We have become arrogant enough to believe that we understand all of Nature’s processes – physical, chemical, biological, astronomical. We have reached a stage of proclaiming ourselves to be God, and demanding to be acknowledged as such. We confer on ourselves awards for achievements in science, technology, economics, physics, chemistry, sports, acting, singing, comedy and even stupidity. And violence continues to plague us; hatred continues to dominate our political and economic life. We continue to kill our brothers because our own achievements have not been acknowledged. We continue to wander in the wilderness and to build golden calves to celebrate our superiority over the rest of the world. And we wonder why the entire universe refuses to obey our commands.
And the voice in the wilderness still continues to call us to repentance. “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord. . . “

And the Word “was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.” (Jn. 1:10-13)

In April 1963 Pope John XXIII issued his famous Encyclical “Pacem in Terris” which has taken its place in the world as one of the most significant encyclicals ever promulgated. The encyclical opens with the observation: “Peace on Earth, which men of every era have most eagerly yearned for, can be firmly established only if the order laid down by God be dutifully observed. The progress of learning and the inventions of technology clearly show that, both in living things and in the forces of nature, an astonishing order reigns, and they also bear witness to the greatness of man, who can understand that order and create suitable instruments to harness those forces of nature and use them to his benefit.

“But the progress of science and the invention of technology show above all the infinite greatness of God, who created the universe and man himself. He created all things out of nothing, pouring into them the abundance of His wisdom and goodness, so that the holy psalmist praises God in these words: O Lord our master, the majesty of thy name fills all the earth. (Ps. 8:1)” Pope John XXIII goes on to elaborate in the encyclical the need for restoring to this world the order which God has imprinted on it. Peace is possible only when the order of Nature is restored and respected. Sin has caused global disorder – disorder between man and himself; between man and woman; between man and his society; between societies; between humanity and his physical environment; and most of all between man and God. In our ‘sophisticated’ world we have given appropriate labels to these various disorders – psychological disorders; familial dysfunctions; social tensions; environmental degradation and social sin. However we describe the problem, the root cause remains the same: sin. Christian understanding of sin is quite clear, viz. that sin has four simultaneous consequences. Sin causes disorder within oneself, disorder between oneself and others, disorder in the larger community of humankind; and a disturbance in the entire cosmos. Sin is never a purely individual action. It always has a social, an ecclesial and a cosmic dimension. Sin destroys the harmony which should distinguish the entire universe. Peace can only prevail if the original order of the universe is restored. Man by himself is not capable of such a massive restoration – notwithstanding his (supposed) mastery over the powers of Nature. Only God who created the universe can redeem it. And this is precisely what He has done. God sent His only beloved Son to earth to assume our human nature and by his divine power to redeem the entire creation. The birth of Jesus Christ is the most significant event in history. It is a world shaking event, the entire repercussions of which we cannot even begin to comprehend. But, (and this is a very big But) the good news is that God has invited humankind to participate in His redemptive action. We are privileged to be partner with God in His redemption of creation. However, we need to shed our arrogance and pride and acknowledge our participatory role in this epic task.

This is why the army of angels who announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds said: “Glory to God in the highest heaven! And peace on earth to men with whom he is pleased.”

May the Peace and Blessings of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always.