Seek the Lord and Live…

I have been to more cemeteries than I can count over the past 55 years. I remember the hallowed ground of Arlington National Cemetery where so many of my military colleagues (literally women and men I served with and knew personally) are buried. I remember Madingley’s Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial near Cambridge, England with its row upon row of headstones in military formation where the American dead of WW2 are buried or memorialized. The cemetery at the Gettysburg National Battlefield is striking with the dead of two armies made up of American brothers who fought each other and died during the Civil War. All of these cemeteries share one thing in common. They are filled with the remains of women and men who died in battle or who carried the scars of battle into life after service. Theirs was a life often shattered by violence and warfare.

The picture above is of a different cemetery than the ones I have mentioned thus far. This is the cemetery where the Presentation Sisters are buried in the Presentation Sisters cemetery on the convent grounds in Dingle, Ireland. These sisters lived a life different from the lives of those buried in Madingley, Gettysburg, and Arlington. Some may have experienced the horrors of WW2 as civilians. They may have experienced the loss of loved ones who answered the call to serve King and Country. But for the most part, they lived a different life. They lived a life devoted to prayer and service to the Lord. They taught the youth of Dingle and served in the community.

What do they have in common, these warriors and nuns? I believe that, among other things, the nuns and warriors saw the oppression of a people (often the poor and powerless) at the hands of either the privileged elite or despots. As I reflect on that question and answer, my thoughts turn to the lesson from the Hebrew Scriptures for this coming Sunday. The opening portion of verse six in chapter five of the book of Amos states: “Seek the Lord and live…”. That is the call of God to all of God’s children. Seek the Lord and live! That was the life of the Presentation Sisters. That was the hope of many of the warriors who lie beneath the hallowed ground of Madingley… of Arlington… of Gettysburg… This seeking was not only for themselves, but for those whom they served, defended, or tried to care for.

As a military chaplain, I know countless cases where those who were called to serve in uniform experienced the horrors of war. I know the fear and the pain they carried. In far too many cases, I helped them to carry and deal with that pain and fear. I am also confident of the hope of many whom I came into contact with. They wanted to live! When faced with the horror of war, or the sheer mind-numbing boredom which bookends the moments of sheer terror in battle, they wanted to live. They also examined their own faith in the light of a new and terrifying reality. They also sought to understand and come to terms with the root causes of the battles and wars they experienced.

My Oxford Annotated Bible shares a very interesting commentary in the introduction to Amos. It struck me that it is just as relevant today as it was in the time of Amos. “The book of Amos is a compilation of sayings attributed to the prophet Amos, who was active in the first half of the eighth century bce, during the long and peaceful reigns of Jeroboam II of Israel (788–747; Am 1.1) and Uzziah of Judah (785–733). In this period, Israel gained a height of territorial expansion and national prosperity never again reached. At the same time, this prosperity led to gross inequities between urban elites and the poor. Through manipulation of debt and credit, wealthy landowners amassed capital and estates at the expense of small farmers. The smallest debt served as the thin end of a wedge that lenders could use to separate farmers from their patrimonial farms and personal liberty.”

Amos saw the writing on the wall. If the people didn’t seek the Lord, the house of Israel and Judah will be consumed by a fire of their own making. If they turn justice to wormwood (an herb with a sweet aroma but a bitter taste) and bring righteousness to the ground, they will reap what they sow. Because they trample and push aside the poor, their end will not be pleasant. What could they do to turn around the destiny which they were heading towards? “Seek good and not evil, that you may live; so that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you… Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate…” (Amos 5:14-15) That was what it was going to take to turn the kingdoms around. Later on in verse 24, Amos declared, “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

The nuns likely saw the way the poor and working class in Ireland were treated by the rich landowners. In many cases they sought to walk with the oppressed as nuns have often done. I think of the dear nun, Sister Judith who my wife Denise worked with at “The Quest for Social Justice” (a non-profit organization in Mobile, Alabama that sought to connect faith communities in the area of Social Justice). She had dedicated her life to teaching and later on to standing up for the powerless and oppressed. Sister Judith was small and slight of stature, but she was a fiery force to be reckoned with when it came to speaking up for the voiceless. I think she and Amos would have gotten along quite well!

I also believe that many who served this nation in times of war also believed that they were standing on the side of the oppressed against an oppressor. That was pretty evident and easy to see in WW2. It is a bit more difficult to see for me personally in wars since then. I have lost a lot of faith in governmental leadership thanks to what I have seen and experienced in my own uniformed service. It often appears that the ruling elite in Washington, D.C. and other places are a lot like the elite described in the introduction to the book of Amos in my bible.

I can tell you from personal experience that the person in uniform tries to make sense of what is going on both in the greater scheme and in their own little corner of the world. For me it led to disillusionment with the “ruling elite” in and out of uniform. It led me to question their motivations. It led me to question my own motivations for serving. It led me to wonder if they were indeed seeking good and not evil! It led me to wonder the same thing about my own motivations – were they selfish or selfless? It challenged me to wonder whether I was truly seeking to serve the Lord.

If we choose the path of lording it over others we are wrong. If we choose to place our faith in riches, wealth, and power, seeking our own gain without regard for others, we have missed the mark. We have not hated evil and loved good. So Padre, what do we do with all of this, you might ask? What difference can we make against a system that seems hell-bent on self-destruction?

To answer that question, I turn to the Sisters of the Presentation. Did they change world systems? No. Did they make a difference in their corner of the world? Yes! Even though there is only one Sister left in that particular order (she lives in an apartment within the complex), that one Sister still is making a difference in the village. The convent is now a center of education and training (Diseart Centre of Irish Spirituality and Culture). But Sister still makes her daily rounds in the village visiting former students and sharing the love of Christ with those whom she meets.

How will you, dear reader, hate evil and love good? How will you help to establish justice in the gate? Each one of us has a responsibility to do that. It may never be on a national or international scale. Yet we still have a responsibility to be instruments of God’s love, peace, mercy, and justice. Micah tells us to do that by doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God. Jesus tells us to do that by loving God and loving our neighbor. And he means by loving EVERY neighbor. Seek the Lord and live… how will you do that? The answer will impact not only your own life, but the lives of an infinite number of other people.