God and Prayers for War
Someone sent me a question about the Pope's recent comment that went viral about God not hearing the prayers of people who invoke His name in war, or words to that effect. It was a rather long query, which largely only asked on question. The poster was saying she had Protestant friends who were using the quote to badmouth the Pope and how she should respond. I wrote up a response to the question:
________________________________________________________
Well, a few things to take into consideration here:
1.
Whenever a catchy quote from a Pope is taken and run with in the media
and people start losing their minds over it, it is *very important* to
read the quote in the actual context of what the Pope was actually
saying. I am very much in favor of always reading primary sources and
not hearsay or what the media says that he said. Read it for yourself
before jumping to conclusions.
In this instance, it was from a homily he gave, the exact text of which you can read here from the actual Vatican website: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/homilies/2026/documents/20260329-palme.html
2. Secondly, what is the context of this homily? If you look, it is a homily for Palm Sunday. That is very, very critical here. He was preaching to the Bible text of Christ's triumphal entrance into Jerusalem the Sunday before Holy Week. What is going on in that story? Christ is entering Jerusalem for what will be the final time. There are all kinds of expectations from various groups that the Messiah is coming. Many believed this Messiah was going to be a political figure that was going to kick out the Romans and bring back the good old days. One might even go so far as to say some of the more extreme Zealots were hoping this Messiah was going to Make Israel Great Again. He was going to be the new King David or General Judas Maccabeus. Not all people who were there believed this or wanted the Messiah to be like this, but many were caught up in the pomp and circumstance of believing this Jesus was coming and he was going to take his place as the Messiah.
3. What does Jesus actually do on Palm Sunday? He enters Jerusalem, and despite all the calls from various factions to begin a political or military revolution, he chooses to not do that. As is the mantra that the Pope uses in this homily that he says over and over: Jesus comes not as a war world or as a New Caesar, but fulfills the promise we sing on Christmas day: Dona Nobis Pacem: Give us Peace. Jesus comes as the King of Peace for His kingdom is not of this World.
4. Jesus begins his ministry in the Desert. The Devil tempts him, taking him to the pinnacle of the Temple, showing him all the kingdoms of the world and tells Jesus if he but bows down and worships the Devil, Satan will give Jesus all of these kingdoms. Jesus quotes Scripture back to Satan: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve." Jesus clearly tells Satan He will not worship a God of War. There were plenty of War gods in Greco-Roman times, and Jesus rejects that.
What is always missed in the Temptation is that it ends with "And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time." The Devil was not permanently banished after the Temptations. Fast forward 3 years to the end of Jesus' earthly ministry, Jesus returns to the Holy City and the Temple. And again, Jesus must resist the same three temptations in his triumphal entry. I won't go into how all that works out in the narrative here, but again, Satan comes to Jesus in another form, this time the people of Jerusalem, and tempts him again with food, power, and testing God's will over his own. And, again, Jesus rejects the temptations offered him if only he took up the mantle of the warlike, political Messiah so many were wanting.
Jesus begins to fulfill the calling of the Christmas manger: he comes riding a donkey (like unto the Donkey Mary rides to Bethlehem on). He comes as the King of Peace with an anthem not of war drums but of the theme of Silent Night, Holy Night, where all is calm and all is bright. It is his birth into Jerusalem, so to speak, where his ministry turns to the work of truly becoming the Saviour of the World: Through the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Holy Week and Easter. It is only as he comes at the King of Peace that He can accomplish these ends.
5. Now, getting back to what the Pope actually said in the context of Palm Sunday:
"Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: “Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood” (Is 1:15)."
Notice he quotes Isaiah, who writes many of the passages we will hear during Holy Week about the Suffering Servant. Jesus chose not to listen to the prayers of the people that Palm Sunday who were praying for a warlike Messiah to violently expel the Romans. He rejects the prayers (i.e. entreaties) of Satan who tempts him with power and violence and greed.
Notice the Pope also does not actually say God does not listen to the prayers at all, but that He rejects the prayers. There is a difference there. People who invoke God's name to justify wars without first consulting God in prayer and humility turn God into a propaganda slogan and a mascot.
In this instance, it was from a homily he gave, the exact text of which you can read here from the actual Vatican website: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/homilies/2026/documents/20260329-palme.html
2. Secondly, what is the context of this homily? If you look, it is a homily for Palm Sunday. That is very, very critical here. He was preaching to the Bible text of Christ's triumphal entrance into Jerusalem the Sunday before Holy Week. What is going on in that story? Christ is entering Jerusalem for what will be the final time. There are all kinds of expectations from various groups that the Messiah is coming. Many believed this Messiah was going to be a political figure that was going to kick out the Romans and bring back the good old days. One might even go so far as to say some of the more extreme Zealots were hoping this Messiah was going to Make Israel Great Again. He was going to be the new King David or General Judas Maccabeus. Not all people who were there believed this or wanted the Messiah to be like this, but many were caught up in the pomp and circumstance of believing this Jesus was coming and he was going to take his place as the Messiah.
3. What does Jesus actually do on Palm Sunday? He enters Jerusalem, and despite all the calls from various factions to begin a political or military revolution, he chooses to not do that. As is the mantra that the Pope uses in this homily that he says over and over: Jesus comes not as a war world or as a New Caesar, but fulfills the promise we sing on Christmas day: Dona Nobis Pacem: Give us Peace. Jesus comes as the King of Peace for His kingdom is not of this World.
4. Jesus begins his ministry in the Desert. The Devil tempts him, taking him to the pinnacle of the Temple, showing him all the kingdoms of the world and tells Jesus if he but bows down and worships the Devil, Satan will give Jesus all of these kingdoms. Jesus quotes Scripture back to Satan: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve." Jesus clearly tells Satan He will not worship a God of War. There were plenty of War gods in Greco-Roman times, and Jesus rejects that.
What is always missed in the Temptation is that it ends with "And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time." The Devil was not permanently banished after the Temptations. Fast forward 3 years to the end of Jesus' earthly ministry, Jesus returns to the Holy City and the Temple. And again, Jesus must resist the same three temptations in his triumphal entry. I won't go into how all that works out in the narrative here, but again, Satan comes to Jesus in another form, this time the people of Jerusalem, and tempts him again with food, power, and testing God's will over his own. And, again, Jesus rejects the temptations offered him if only he took up the mantle of the warlike, political Messiah so many were wanting.
Jesus begins to fulfill the calling of the Christmas manger: he comes riding a donkey (like unto the Donkey Mary rides to Bethlehem on). He comes as the King of Peace with an anthem not of war drums but of the theme of Silent Night, Holy Night, where all is calm and all is bright. It is his birth into Jerusalem, so to speak, where his ministry turns to the work of truly becoming the Saviour of the World: Through the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Holy Week and Easter. It is only as he comes at the King of Peace that He can accomplish these ends.
5. Now, getting back to what the Pope actually said in the context of Palm Sunday:
"Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: “Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood” (Is 1:15)."
Notice he quotes Isaiah, who writes many of the passages we will hear during Holy Week about the Suffering Servant. Jesus chose not to listen to the prayers of the people that Palm Sunday who were praying for a warlike Messiah to violently expel the Romans. He rejects the prayers (i.e. entreaties) of Satan who tempts him with power and violence and greed.
Notice the Pope also does not actually say God does not listen to the prayers at all, but that He rejects the prayers. There is a difference there. People who invoke God's name to justify wars without first consulting God in prayer and humility turn God into a propaganda slogan and a mascot.
"God
is on our side" is a very dangerous promise. As CS Lewis allegorized in
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: "After all, Aslan is not a tame
lion." God will not be mocked or turned into a play thing to justify war
in the form of violence. Violence is senseless and chaotic, so if
people pray for God to intervene for violence, God will indeed ignore
such prayers. Sometimes God will intervene in human wars that are just
uses of force, but it is always on God's terms, not our own petty
political terms.
What the Pope was getting at is:
What the Pope was getting at is:
Do we mean what we say on Christmas eve that the Christ child in the manger is the King of Peace?
Do we mean what we say on Good Friday: Behold the hard wood of the cross, on which hangs the salvation of the world?
Do we mean what we say at the Easter vigil when we proclaim for the first time since Ash Wednesday: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, *peace* to people of good will?
Do we really want to serve a God who forsakes the words Dona Nobis Pacem, so that He can answer our prayer of Dona Nobis Gerere (Give Us War)?
Comments