The Rev. Stephanie Johnson
In the Book of Isaiah, we read that the prophet says “And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” (2:4) This concept of a radical, hopeful view of peace in our world upended by violence seems hard to imagine.
As we witness the destruction, horror and immeasurable loss of life in the Holy Land this week, we are stunned by the speed with which death tolls rise and lives upended so quickly. We continue to see the unfolding horror of the war in Ukraine with rockets streaming down on villages. The war in Sudan is unceasing.
In our own nation, the scourge of daily gun violence continues, with many of us becoming almost complacent in the face of the nearly weekly mass gun shootings. In 2022, according to the CDC over 48,000 people in the US died by gun violence from suicide, domestic violence, gang violence, accidents and mass murders.
As people of faith, we are invited to call upon God for comfort as we remember that for every violent death, family and friends are upended forever by the horror. Generations of trauma will be embedded into the fabric of families and societies as we continue to witness tragedies which may be large scale or intimate.
Somehow even though social media and technology has allowed us to stay connected, we are at the same time numbed by the constant barrage of news showcasing the violence in our world. We want to look away at the carnage, yet are sometimes drawn into it as a witness to the pain.
Even as we may experience this pain and existential sorrow brought forth by violence, our faith brings us hope and possibility. Through the words of the prophet Isaiah, God reminds us that we are called to seek a better way, to turn to tools of destruction into that which abundantly grows God’s kingdom of love. We are called to stand up to hatred and violence with radical love and an outpouring of respect. And against all secular reason, as followers of God we can strive to live more fully into the hope and possibility that we will never need to “learn war any more.”
Earlier this year the leadership of the Greenwich Clergy Fellowship concerned about rising antisemitism, homophobia and increased gun violence, invited the national project “Swords into Plowshares” to bring a program to our community. Founded on the Biblical precept from Isaiah 2:4, the program will be an offering to imagine this transformation from violence into abundant growth through the melting down of a gun into a garden tool. We will gather to discuss the impact of violence on our world, our community and our neighbors. All are warmly invited to join us that day to share in hope and renewal. The program will be held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 200 Riverside Avenue on Sunday, November 5th at 1PM. For more details email hello@stpaulsriverside.org
Reverend Stephanie M. Johnson is the Rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Riverside. She is the President of the Greenwich Clergy Fellowship.
