Terry Paul Choyce
May 11, 2008, Brunswick Street United Church
For the last few years my singing group has been singing The Women's Peace Song at rallies, workshops, and even recently, at a funeral. I'd like to sing you the first verse:
"If every woman in the world, had her mind set on freedom
If every woman in the world, dreamt a sweet dream of peace,
If every woman, of every nation, young and old, each generation
Held her hands out, in the name of love
There would be no more war."
I don't think there is a person on this planet who doesn't say that they want peace. But we know that saying and doing are two different things. People want peace on their terms. And often, conflict arises when people do not get what they want, and they resort to violence to get it. This has been happening since humanity started, and it is continuing in many parts of the world today.
The Bible is full of stories of battles, war, and violence. From Cain killing Able in Genesis to the almost constant conflict the Jews had with their neighbours and conquerors, to the horrible cruelty of the Romans. There is no lack of blood and suffering in the Bible.
Jesus came to help put a stop to this hatred and killing. His was a message of peace and forgiveness. John 14:27 says "Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you." Ephesians 2:14 to 16 says:
"14 For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. 15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. 16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death."
Somehow the message of peace has been lost to some Christians over the years. The Crusades during the middle ages was a gruesome time, as Christians slaughtered people who were not Christians. In the 1940s Germany was a Christian country, yet they killed many millions of people, in particular the Jews. And the United States prides itself as a largely Christian country, yet they seem to be almost continuously at war.
Last week Jaurmar Carvery was killed in Uniack Square, A promising young man, senselessly murdered. On Monday, in my town, Bedford, a 14 year old girl was stabbed in a park, and that was the same day two teenage girls assaulted another girl at a Bedford bus stop. It seems there are killings and shootings every day now in HRM. We live in a violent society, with violence perpetuated and glamourised by the TV, movies, video games, and with what happens in the homes. It is up to us to put an end to this cruel way of dealing with problems. It is up to each of us to be examples of how a person can control their temper and control their negative thoughts. We each have to live peace for there to be peace.
So how do we stop the violence? Eckhart Tolle, in his book A New Earth says that conflict starts when being "right" is more important than being happy or at peace. On page 75 he says, "Whatever you fight you strengthen, and what you resist persists." When we put our thoughts and emotions into feeling and believing that we have been wronged, then we live as victims and we are miserable. But if we can be nonjudgmental and accepting, if we can be problem solvers instead of problem creators, then we will live with happiness and peace.
One of my favorite poems was written by Sister Mary Southard. It goes:
"The song of peace is women's song.
She sings the song of life's seasons-
Rhythms of birth and death, receiving and giving,
Times of waiting and fulfillment, suffering and joy.
She sings a gentle song of listening and hope,
Of wholeness and unity, of harmony with earth
And reverence for earth's gifts.
Her song is compassion, her song is love.
If nations would be healed, woman's song must be sung.
If there would be peace, woman's song must be heard."
Today is Mother's Day, a day when we honour the women who raised us. I bet there could be no better way for you to honour your Mother than to try to live your life with joy, compassion, and gentleness. Every mother wants her child to be safe and happy and healthy. So do all you can to live that way. And if we all did that, if every person on this beautiful Earth decided to make their mother happy by living in peace, than there would be no more violent conflict and there would be no more war.
The last verse of Women's Peace Song goes like this:
"If all our sons and all our daughters
Stood together in freedom
With sons and daughters of every nation
A global chorus for peace,
If all our sons and all our daughters
Reached in friendship across the waters,
Refusing to be enemies,
There would be no more war."
©Terry Paul Choyce. Used with permission from the author.
