Non-violence is the greatest and the most active force in the world…. One person who can express Ahimsa in life exercises a force superior to all the forces of brutality.
—Mohandas Gandhi, Harijan, March 14, 1936
Peace activist Father John Dear describes nonviolence as an expression of who we are more than something we do:
Active nonviolence begins with the truth that all life is sacred, that we are all equal sisters and brothers, all children of the God of peace, already reconciled, all one, all already united, and so we could never hurt or kill another human being, much less remain silent while wars rage, people die in poverty, and nuclear weapons and environmental destruction threaten us all. As we deepen into this vision of our common unity, we come to understand that we are one with all humanity, all creatures, all creation, and God. So nonviolence is much more than a tactic or a strategy; it is a way of life that is based in the oneness of creation, the unity of life itself. It is not passive but active love and truth that seek justice and peace for the whole human race and all of creation, and so resists systemic evil and violence, persistently reconciles with everyone, works to create new cultures of justice and peace, yet insists there is no cause however noble for which we support the killing of any human being. Instead of killing others, we work to stop the killing and are even willing to be killed in the struggle for justice and peace.
Dear names how the nonviolence exemplified by Jesus, Mohandas Gandhi, and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. can disarm our systems and world:
Gandhi and Dr. King invite us to read the Gospels from the perspective of nonviolence so that the nonviolence of Jesus might disarm us, guide us, and direct our lives, and together, disarm the human family to live in peace as one with creation.…
The visionary nonviolence taught by Gandhi and King flows from our disarmed hearts, from our inner depths, where we renounce our inner violence, let God disarm us and cultivate interior nonviolence, then moves us to practice meticulous interpersonal nonviolence with our families, neighbors, co-workers, communities, cities, nation, all creatures, and Mother Earth. As we face the structures of violence head on with the power of organized nonviolence, we build grassroots, bottom up, people-power movements to end tyranny and injustice and institutionalize nonviolent democracy and social, economic, racial, and environmental justice. When organized on large national and global levels, active nonviolence can peacefully transform entire societies, even the world, as Gandhi demonstrated in India’s revolution, as the civil rights movement showed, as the growing women’s, LGBTQ, and environmental movements demonstrate, as the People Power movement showed in the Philippines, and as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the churches of South Africa showed against apartheid. Gandhi said that nonviolence, when it is harnessed, becomes contagious and can disarm the world.
Reference:
John Dear, introduction to The Gospel of Peace: A Commentary on Matthew, Mark, and Luke from the Perspective of Nonviolence (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2024), xx–xxi, xiv, xxi.
Image credit and inspiration: David Clode, untitled (detail), 2018, photo, Australia, Unsplash. Click here to enlarge image. Like a butterfly in open hands, peacemaking requires the humility of opening our hearts to the delicate dance of co-creating a just peace.
Story from Our Community:
I recently traveled to San Damiano chapel in Assisi, Italy, where St. Francis first heard Jesus’ voice. It’s a tourist site now, and as I settled in to pray, cell phones were ringing, families were chatting, and a Franciscan priest was speaking to a group of visitors. I felt annoyed. The noise was affecting my chance to pray in this holy place. In an instant, I felt inspired beyond the noise into a deeper space within me. In that moment, I experienced Oneness—with and among—all the noise and strangers around me. I am grateful for the unexpected wisdom I found in that holy place.
—David P.