Put Away Your Weapons

 A reflection for the Multi-Faith Vigil for Gaza
6th January 2023

There is a strange cameo in the gospel stories of Jesus' last night before his crucifixion (Luke 22:49-51, John 18:10-15, Matthew 26:51-55). 

Jesus and his disciples had left the city of Jerusalem and walked across the Kidron valley to Mount of Olives, to a place where there was a garden called Gethsemane. 

Jesus had walked away from his disciples to pray on his own; and then Judas, the disciple who had decided to betray Jesus, arrived with a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, along with some religious leaders who had seized their chance to rid themselves of this turbulent preacher.

Suddenly, the peaceful garden was transformed, and violence was in the air. 

Judas walked up to Jesus and famously betrayed him with a kiss.

All hell was about to break loose, and it was one of Jesus' disciples who struck the first blow. 

Simon Peter, Jesus's right-hand-man, had a sword with him, and he drew it and struck the head of the high priest's slave, cutting of his right ear. 

We are even told this slave's name, he was called Malchus, because sometimes it's the little personal details that turn a story like this into reality for those hearing it.

But what happened next was so unexpected. 

You would think that this striking of the first blow, against the slave of one of the leaders of the armed mob, would be the signal for a bloodbath. 

But instead, Jesus shouted out in a loud voice, 'No more of this!' and told Simon Peter to put his sword back in its sheath, proclaiming that all who take the sword will perish by the sword.

And then he touched the wounded ear of Malchus the slave and healed him, before going with those who had come to arrest him, to face execution the next morning.

Well, you might think - this is nothing new. Just one more story of violence and betrayal and murder in a land that has seen so much of these down the millennia to the present day; except this story is different, and I think it speaks to our situation today.

The difference is that Jesus did not meet violence with violence. Instead he acted to heal the wounded, and then chose to absorbed the ferocity of the crowd into his own body. 

The victory over evil and death that Jesus proclaimed would not be won by force, but rather through the eternal power of love even in the face of death.

And today, at our multi faith vigil for Gaza, we have been remembering those who have also sought to bring healing to the wounded, those who give care and not violence, and whose bodies have been broken by others.

Well, Jesus continues to be crucified in our world: wherever healing and love are displaced by violence and hatred.

And the path to new life in the places of violence and death is still open. But we need to hear Jesus speaking to us: 'No more of this!' he says, because 'all who take the sword will perish by the sword'. 

And so we call for a ceasefire now, and with Jesus we say 'No more of this!'. It is time for a different path to be taken, one which leads to the hope of life, rather than the spiralling violence of death.

Please join me in prayer as you are able:

God of love, God of peace, we pray for the crisis in Gaza. 

We pray for those who bring healing, for healthcare workers, aid workers, and negotiators. 

We hear the voice of Jesus calling for people to put down their weapons, and we echo that call for ceasefire. 

May hatred, fear, and suspicion be displaced by a rediscovery of the common humanity between peoples, 

and may people of faith in all traditions discover through their scriptures the voice of the one who calls us to love our neighbour. 

Amen.