Peter
Would have sided with Clint Eastwood
Retribution justice the order of the day
Stand up to all who threaten you
Take the sword in hand
No one should get away with it
Do you understand!
But Jesus knows his enemies will get him
Overwhelming force at their command
Offer the wicked man no resistance
Non-violence where he takes his stand
Yet he does not cower at their coming
Gethsemane encounter standing tall
When struck he asks the striker for the reason
If none then why did you strike at all?
To suffer as a recipe for action
Seems retrograde seems no point at all
Inflicting harm clearly has no traction
Only leads to war and others fall
But can we suffer? Can we cope with illness?
Can we suffer wrong and still do right?
Challenge yes but do not stoop to anger
Faithfulness will bring us to the light
Brian Fahy
17 February 2022
+ As Jesus says to Peter, suffering is not in human calculation. We move to fight all injustice. But God’s way involves the willingness to take on suffering as a path that leads to peace. It is the hardest thing to do.
Erris Poetry 