He was in many people’s eyes just an uneducated farmer. He had made mistakes in life, like all of us, and he had his faults. Many people, including his parish priest, bishop, and many close friends, thought he was crazy. His name was Franz.

Franz was born in 1907. He was a loving husband and a devoted father of four young daughters. He had been inspired by a dream in 1938. In his dream, he saw a marvelous train coming around a grand mountain to pick up a large group of people. For the people, young and old, the train was the latest craze, the rage of the moment. Almost everyone rushed to get on the train, but then Franz heard a voice, “This train is going to hell!”

Physically waking up, Franz understood the train to represent the Nazi Regime. Spiritually waking up, Franz then refused to fight with the German armed forces. Because of his refusal, Franz was arrested and later beheaded in 1943.

Today, just as in Franz’s Austria, we, like the Austrians, are being propagandized into wars. No doubt, there are grave evils to be addressed, but war, if it should ever come, should only come as a last resort.

It’s deadly wrong to leave the causes of conflict largely unaddressed, not seeking first to create peace through the establishment of justice, and then when people get caught up in the fight, decide to vanquish them through military might.

Yes, in this moment, all this applies to the United States, to my beloved country, to us. Obsessed with our own comforts and security, and blind to the needs and grievances of others, we have spent trillions of dollars on war efforts while investing relatively little time, effort, or money into justice-making or peacemaking. For this reason and others, our current war efforts are not wars of last resort; they are not just; and they are not of God.

I am not talking about our soldiers; they are good people, and most are sincerely seeking to serve our country and humanity.

I am talking about the current calls to war, deceptively scripted for our consumption. Our leaders, our media, and all those behind this are urging us further into war, further into perpetual conflict, and further into something worse. We may feel the lure of their war train calling out to us, “All aboard!” and yes, it may all look marvelous but “This train is going to …!”

Please listen deeply to this story.

While an innocent man was still urging his close friends to pray and resist temptation, an armed crowd, led by a another friend, arrived. Determined to arrest the innocent man, they grabbed him. Immediately, a close friend drew his sword, swung it, and cut off a man’s ear. But the innocent man said, “No more of this!” and he touched the man’s ear and healed him. The innocent man then said, “Put your sword back into its sheath! For those who live by the sword, die by the sword!” He was then bound and carried away.

This is the only time in the Gospels that a follower of Jesus caused someone grave physical harm. Jesus’ first response is clear and direct: “No more!” and “Put away your sword!” His subsequent, more reflective words speak of a death, which all who live by the sword experience. While physical death is not to be excluded from Jesus’ meaning, we know that not all who live by the sword, physically die by the sword. Here Jesus is speaking of a deeper death, a spiritual death that comes whenever we live by the sword. From this story’s perspective, by our own actions, we all share in this death, but this death can be remedied by the healing touch of the Messiah, the innocent man, who allowed himself to be bound, taken away, beaten, and killed for our benefit.

Postscript:

While the Catholic Church, which I love, sadly did not support Franz Jagerstatter well during his life, this church in 2007 did honor him as a martyr for his faith and now calls him “Blessed.” In the words of Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, “In a time like ours, the testimonial of Blessed Franz, his unbroken bravery, and his imperturbable strong conscience is a shining example.”

Prayer:

Learning from our past, let us pray that all of us from every faith and from every good spirit will not wait too long to recognize the path to peace, and that we will earnestly seek healing and justice for all, and do all that we can now to avoid war and work for peace. Let’s pray too that it’s not yet too late for each of us to join together and say, “No more!” and to leap off our train and leap into the loving arms of the Spirit for Peace.

Thanks all and thanks be to God!