© 2023, Dr. Tamilio
I just finished watching the movie Oppenheimer, as I mentioned in my recent Advent reflection that you might have received via email. The complexity and fast pace of the film requires two viewings. It is a powerful, mammoth film. I am hesitant to mention movies in sermons (other than The Exorcist, which I have cited many times), because those who haven’t seen it are lost and may be subject to having the movie spoiled for them. I’m not going to do that, and I’m not going to dwell on the film at length. Suffice it to say, the viewer walks away from the movie realizing what the main character does. The invention of the atomic bomb opened a door that could never be closed. You get that sense in the film when they test a prototype in the desert sands of Los Alamos, New Mexico. This was not long before the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. You never see the bombing of Japan or the effects of the bombings. You only hear about them. However, you do see the test from beginning to end. It takes your breath away.
When the bomb detonates, the screen is filled with fire that curls and unfurls. Red. Black. Orange. Purple. Sparks. Flames that look like we are seeing the center of Hell. Those who worked on the Manhattan Project are in awe as they look at the blast through sunglasses and welding shields. There is no sound for what seems like an eternity. The onlookers watch billows of flames unfold in complete silence. Eventually, the speed of sound caught up with the visual effects, and the shockwaves made the speakers on my TV seem to explode as well.
The film is framed by a quote by Prometheus. Prometheus is the mythological character who stole fire from the gods and gave it to human beings. According to the myth, this is what led to technology and human progress. Prometheus is punished for this, but the damage is done. The quote cited in the film is “Now I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds.” You did not hear that wrong. That isn’t a type-o. It is not “Now I have become Death,” it is “Now I am become Death” — a powerful testament. Prometheus is now dead. It is his identity. Death is spelled with a capital “D” in the quote. It is a name. It is also a play on Yahweh telling Moses that his name is “I Am.” Prometheus is death because he has given humankind the ability to destroy itself.
This identity, in turn, has been given to humanity with the gift of fire. Fire is essential and can be used for life-giving and life-saving purposes. We would not survive without it. However, fire, as you all know, can also destroy. Promethius’ theft and “gift” to humanity have opened a door that has unfathomable consequences. The atom bomb gave birth to the nuclear age. We (and other nations) now have the ability to destroy the world several times over. With the wars that are unfolding across the globe, and the wars that are sure to come. I feel as if we are facing the threat of a nuclear war more than we have since the height of the Cold War. The Doomsday Clock is getting closer and closer to midnight.
And yet, the predominant religion in the world is Christianity. There are 2.382 billion of us on this planet. That is the equivalent of the entire population of the world in 1940. We worship the God made manifest in Jesus of Nazareth who was referred to as the Prince of Peace, and on this day, when we prepare to celebrate his birth and anticipate his return, on this day we light the candle of peace on the Advent wreath and sing “Let There Be Peace on Earth.” That stands in stark contrast to the reality we face.
Jesus does not show us the way the world is, but the way God intends it to be. Put aside the thinking that the God of the Old Testament is one who wills violence and war whereas the God of the New is a God of peace, love, and understanding. God is God. Jesus is God incarnate. There isn’t a different God for each Testament.
At the very beginning of our religious narrative, God created us to live in Eden (Paradise). The objective was not for us to eat the forbidden fruit, let alone to pick up arms once we left the garden and kill each other. If anything, we can see God’s intent for us in a passage we recently read in our Tuesday night Bible study. In Isaiah 2, we have a vision of the world as God intended it to be. Isaiah writes:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.”
Our God is a God of peace. The swords and spears we have used to kill one another must change when we stand before God’s holy mountain with people from all nations. They will be used as tools to fulfill the basic needs of all. But since we harnessed Promethius’ fire, we too “are become” the destroyer of worlds. We’ve beaten our swords and spears into weapons of fire, weapons of mass destruction, not ploughshares and pruning hooks.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this is not what God wants. Not a big theological leap to get to that one! Jesus wants us to live in peace with all humankind. His teachings throughout the Gospel make that clear.
I recently came across a devotional reflection that made me look at this idea realistically. It is by none other than the late Billy Graham — the legendary evangelist. Graham writes:
The peace that Jesus came to bring was not the peace of appeasement or the peace of compromise and conformity. It was a spiritual peace. The world doesn’t give peace, for it doesn’t have any peace to give. It fights for peace, it negotiates for peace, it maneuvers for peace, but there is no ultimate peace in the world. But Jesus gives peace to those who put their trust in Him…His peace is available to everyone who will receive it.[1]
Maybe that’s it. Maybe it is a way of being. Maybe it is understanding that even though we’ve been handed Promethius’ fire, we received a different fire, too: the same fire that the followers of Christ received on Pentecost. It isn’t a fire that destroys, rather, it is one that ignites the soul and burns with the love of God. It is a peace that passes all understanding as Paul told the Philippians (4:7). It is one that is to guide our lives, one that sees life differently. We advocate for peace. We do not see the military solution (with all deep respect for the military) we do not see the military solution as the first or only solution to conflict. It is a peace that calls us to love our enemies and even pray for those who persecute us, as Jesus taught in Matthew 5:44.
This isn’t easy to do. Lesli White writes about this and says, “In order to allow the peace of Christ to rule your heart, you must first focus. We live in a world that continually demands…our attention. We struggle to keep our thoughts in order and our task lists and projects completed. There’s no doubt that it’s hard to focus. But focus is crucial when it comes to our relationship with Christ.”[2]
[1] Taken from “Billy Graham Daily Devotion: The Peace of Jesus” (online).
[2] Lesli White, “How to Allow the Peace of Christ [to] Rule Your Heart,” from Beliefnet.