December 01, 2020

Sts. Edmund Campion, SJ, Robert Southwell, SJ, and Companions

Is 11: 1-10

Longing for the peaceful kingdom

In this lovely poem from Isaiah, we read of the peaceful kingdom that will be ushered in by a shoot from Jesse’s stock. This shoot is Jesse’s son, David, who will govern the lands of Israel and Judah with wisdom and justice.

A world where lamb is safe from wolf —the lowly free from harm— is deeply appealing. But how, exactly, can Hobbesian barbarism of bellum omnium contra omnes (“the war of all against all”) give way to a peaceful kingdom of reconciliation and kinship? Pope Francis’s recent encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, provides a key insight.

A true “artisan of peace” (FT §284) does not turn a blind eye to violence or injustice in hopes of avoiding conflict. Resistance has its place. But as we confront others, our motivations matter. Only a hunger for righteousness—rather than a “thirst for revenge” (FT §71)—can bring forth an authentic shoot of the peaceful kingdom. Which motivates you?

—James Millikan, SJ, is a scholastic of the Jesuits West Province currently studying philosophy, social science, and applied mathematics at ITESO, the Jesuit university of Guadalajara in Mexico. 

Prayer

O God, who calls us to grow in wisdom and righteousness, grant that, as we labor as artisans of peace, we may recognize your presence even in those we find most difficult to love. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.

—James Millikan, SJ