Lent IV

The Fourth Sunday of Lent

1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a; Psalm 23; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41

War. What is war? How do you understand it?

Simply put, war is people killing people. The reason is irrelevant.

 

On the ground are ordinary people like you and me, “whose lives have nothing to do with the calculations of generals or the ambitions of politicians: children asleep in their beds, mothers preparing meals, elderly people who cannot run fast enough to reach a shelter.” [Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David, Vice President of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences] When missiles slip through air-defense systems, they do not disappear harmlessly in the sky. They explode “where people live—inside apartment blocks, hospitals, hotels, [and] crowded streets.” [Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David]

 

War is the destruction of homes and families, of infrastructure and culture. War is the cause of indescribable suffering and the creation of orphans. Picture the miles and miles of rubble that Israel has created out of the Gaza Strip. Call to mind the images of miles and miles of Palestinian families, elderly, and children forced to walk, displaced within their own country. For what reason? So, more destruction can be wrought.

 

War is the taking of life; human and animal. The poisoning of waters, land and sky as we devastate the environment. We never consider the destruction we cause to other forms of life and their habitats that share this planet with us.

 

Beyond the Spanish-American and Civil Wars, we have never experienced global war on our soil. Never experienced the devastation of our cities; the displacement of our grandparents, children, the sick and families being forced to leave everything behind at a moment’s notice to go; to go where?

 

I find it ironic that our country wants to stop Iran and other countries from having nuclear weapons, yet we are the only nation to have ever used them. The ability to annihilate all life in moments. Europeans are cautious. They have experienced war and its devastation for centuries; the Wars of Religion in the 16th century, Napoleon marching from Belgium to Moscow in the 18th century, WWI and WWII in the 20th century and now, Ukraine in the 21st century. As a people, we have no such experience or memory of war except for the veterans who suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, mental illnesses, homelessness and addictions.

 

As we have waged war, we never take into consideration the seeds of memory, hate, and the yearning for revenge that are sown within the hearts and souls of a defeated people. A hate and memory that are kept alive through storytelling which feeds future generations to continue the cycle of violence.

 

What a waste of humanity and resources is war. And for what reason?

Power? Control? Anger? Jealousy? Greed?

 

We have had to listen to the most vile, hyper-masculine, power dominating, ugly, and hawkish words about the war in Iran from our government officials. The cruelty and coldness of the remarks are disheartening and inhuman. There are over 50-armed conflicts taking place throughout the world. Today, war seems more like “a choice than something that is a matter of necessity.” [Blase Cardinal Cupich]

 

The stories of sacred scripture reveal to us many forms of blindness.

§  The blindness of Samuel seeing only the strong appearance.

§  Pharisees who, due to their opaque interpretation of the Law, are blind to the glory of God.

§  The physical blindness of the man.

§  Parents, blinded by fear, who distance themselves; unwilling to stand by their son.

 

Is not war a form of blindness?

 

Nations that go to war always presume that they are in the right. Many arrogantly presume God is on their side. Both attitudes are a form of idolatry, self-righteousness and blindness. There is never any self-reflection. Just the desire to be the winner. And we want to be on the winning team no matter the cost. What does “winning” even mean?

 

War is the worst kind of blindness. A self-imposed blindness. A blindness that Jesus cannot cure.

And what makes contemporary war particularly troubling is not only the scale but also the way it is being fought. Much of today’s warfare is conducted through digital command systems, drones, satellites, and artificial intelligence. “From distant command centers, military operators stare at screens where maps, radar signals, and algorithm-generated targets move like icons in a computer game. A cursor moves. A coordinate is selected. A click is made. And a missile is launched." [Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David] War as video game. Super Mario on steroids.

 

This is starkly being experienced in recent White House video posts which splice footage of the war alongside NFL [National Football League], MLB [Major League Baseball] highlights, action movie scenes, cartoons and video game references. Condemned by Blase Cardinal Cupich of Chicago, he stated, “The moral crisis we are facing is not just a matter of war itself, but also how we, the observers, view violence, for war has become a spectator sport…”  We need to ask ourselves, is there a difference between our viewing such social media posts and the cheering crowds in the Roman Colosseum where violence and death were sold as spectator sport?

 

Such technology can create the illusion that war is clean and controlled. Yet the screen does not show what happens when the missile reaches its target. "And when the smoke clears, the casualties are not symbols on a screen. They are human beings." [Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David]

 

Our Catholic Social Justice Tradition speaks of a just war predicated on there being a just reason, such as self-defense, to kill and destroy. The Just War Theory are a set of principles rooted in Cicero and developed by Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas. Its principles are four. The need for a just cause. The declaration of war by a legitimate authority. The intention of restoring peace and not out of vengeance. All other means to peace have been exhausted. The principles act as guardrails for reflection by nations but more often than not are applied only after engagement has begun. The Just War Theory then becomes an academic, legal, and theological exercise.

 

Today, as I have described, war is antiseptic. It is therefore easier for war to metastasize like a cancer. The Iran War has now engulfed 17 nations. And can any national or military leader claim to foresee the unexpected that can totally change the outcome of war? Remember Napoleon’s defeat outside of Moscow by “old man winter.”

 

War is the absolute failure of the human experience. And the tragedy of war is not only the destruction it brings, but also the frightening ease with which it can be started.

 

Why can nations not talk honestly with each other?

Why do nations fear each other?

Why do governments lust after power and control?

 

Once a war has begun, those who are opposed are to remain quiet so as not to dishearten the nation. Why? Why should the voices for peace, mutual understanding, diplomacy, and listening be silenced? So, we can more clearly hear bombs exploding and the cries of children and mothers?

 

I’m sure there are people who will say to me, “There are evil people, governments, and nations from whom we need to defend ourselves and others.”  I am not naïve. Almost everyone rightly believes that the Khamenei regime has for decades been brutal and repressive and should be replaced but war can easily spiral out of control. When does it stop!

 

How does a Christian respond to war?

Certain questions must be asked. Questions like “When will humanity wake up from the madness of war? Who will hold the architects of war accountable? When powerful leaders launch wars in the name of ‘security' or 'preemption'… will the world simply watch in silence?” [Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David]

 

The first recorded human act after Eve and Adam were exiled from the Garden was the murder of a brother by a brother. War in miniature.

 

I have no answers. But there is in me a deep sadness; a helplessness. War is the killing of God in the human soul. Cain was already spiritually dead before he raised his arm against his brother, Abel. At the heart of our faith is the execution of Jesus of Nazareth, the killing of the Son of God who said, ““I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind”. Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to Jesus, “Surely we are not also blind, are we?”” [See John 9:1-41]

A question we ourselves need to contemplate.

15 March 2026