This past week saw the passing of the Catholic thinker Rene Girard, whom Fr. Robert Barron calls “one of the most influential Catholic philosophers in the world.” Girard spent his academic career in this country, but was born and educated in France, and his work has great relevance to the recent, violent events in France. Girard’s basic insight, inspired by the literary works of authors like Shakespeare and Dostoyevsky, is that we human beings learn what to desire by seeing what other people desire. Fr. Barron notes, “I come to want those gym shoes, not because of their intrinsic value, but because the hottest NBA star wants them.” This is problematic if two (or more) people come to focus on the same object, because each person’s desire enhances the desire of the other in an escalating spiral. Thus, arguments over trivial matters can escalate into even deadly fights. The French say, “Violence calls to violence.” Jesus’ exhortations in his Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5-7) are directly opposed to conflicts caused by escalating desire, and his approach is the only one that can defuse the escalating global violence of our day. The following excerpt is from a thoughtful reflection by Rt. Rev. Pierre Whalon, Bishop-in-Charge of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, on Jesus’ call to us at this crucial point in time:

Yes, Jesus did command us: “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” “Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you.” (Matt. 5:44; Luke 6:27). Really? Yesterday several terrorists killed at least 128 people in six separate but coordinated attacks here in Paris. According to the Islamic State group, Da’ech, this was planned in advance and ordered from their base in Syria, in retaliation for the French involvement there.

The French president, François Hollande, has promised to reply in kind: “We will be merciless.” Meanwhile, hundreds of families are mourning their dead and wounded. “Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you.” Doesn’t that just “enable” them? Here is where our baptismal promise to “follow and obey Jesus as Lord” cuts into our lives. We should do good to those who hate us, because Jesus has told us to. So how can we?

Jesus asks us to follow his way, as love is the only power in this world that can literally and figuratively save us. In the short term, we need the police and the military, but the question of the terrorists concerns not only us here and now, but the whole human race. What word do we have for these people? Our first instincts are to demonize them, to label them as “Islamic fundamentalists” or some such, and cheer as the Rafale bombers carry out a massive campaign in retaliation. But this is too simple. It is not what Jesus would have us do. What he wants is harder. When we baptize or confirm people, Episcopalians always repeat the promise to “strive for justice and peace among all people”… We need therefore to chart a way to make peace. Peace, not appeasement or total war. In order to be able to do that, we first need to turn back to Jesus and ask for help, like this: O God, the Father of all, whose Son commanded us to love our enemies: lead them and us from prejudice to truth: deliver them and us from hatred, cruelty, and revenge; and in your good time enable us all to stand reconciled before you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p. 818.). Fr. Tom