Memorial of Saint Martin of Tours, Bishop

 Lectionary: 494

“The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. There will be those who will say to you,
‘Look, there he is,’ or ‘Look, here he is.’
Do not go off, do not run in pursuit. For just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation.”

Many people today celebrate Armistice Day, recalling the ceasefire that ended the First World War on November 11, 1918. At the time it was simply called the Great War, and was the worst catastrophe the world had ever seen. Unfortunately the armistice was only that, a ceasefire; and the war would resume in 1939, a horror known as the Second World War. (In the United States, which has a penchant for dismissing painful memories, the day is called Veterans Day.) 

It is ironic that, from time immemorial, November 11 is the feast of Saint Martin of Tours. A soldier, veteran, and -- after his baptism -- a pacifist. For for the first many centuries one became a saint by way of martyrdom. Saint Martin was the exception to prove the rule. Although he faced certain death as a pacifist in the front line of a Roman army, he became a bishop and lived to a ripe old age. As bishop he courageously opposed the execution of some heretics. If he would not kill as a Roman soldier, neither would he kill as a disciple of Jesus. 

On this Veterans Day, recalling the horrors of modern warfare from the American Civil War to "America's longest war" in Afghanistan we might ask if war has ever settled anything. Although legal slavery ended in the United States in 1864, racism, which is the ideology of slavery, still sabotages our cohesiveness as a nation. Ideologies, be they white supremacy, Nazi Aryanism or Islamic terrorism, are not suppressed by war; nor is any nation freed by the struggle. 

In today's gospel, Jesus urges us to wait on the coming of the kingdom. You'll know it when it comes; there'll be no doubt. We should neither suppose it's over here or over there, nor should we suppose we will generate it by conquest, engineering, propaganda, or education. The human being is not that simple; we're not created to kneel before the powerful. We're more inclined to passive aggression, conspiracy, sabotage and outright aggression in the face of oppression. 

Peace is God's gift. Regardless of how much we long for peace, it is not something we can engineer or create. It is given to those who deal justly with others, especially to the least among us. 

"But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation.” Rightly does the Church celebrate Jesus and the martyrs as true soldiers. In their willingness to worship God alone in the face of savagery, we find the inspiration to "do justice, love goodness, and walk humbly with our God. (Micah 6:8)