“Lord, Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace”—But Not Yet

Last updated on: March 27, 2017 at 9:30 pm by Paul Louis Metzger

“Lord, Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace”—But Not Yet 2017-03-27T21:30:44-07:00 Paul Louis Metzger

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The Peace Statue “Heiwa Kinen-zo” located in Nagasaki Japan’s Peace Park was built to remember the victims of the nuclear bombing of Nagasaki, to cry out against a recurrence on earth, and to pursue world peace.

The prayer often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi referred to as the “Peace Prayer” begins, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.” Even though it is often claimed that St. Francis did not pen the prayer, it still resonates and penetrates our hearts as if he or someone like him did. But how often do we pray for peace when we are engaged in intense conflicts?

I wonder what St. Francis would say if he were here today, when countries like the United States and Russia voted against nuclear disarmament at the United Nations. Here’s what one U.S. authority said in opposing nuclear disarmament today:

“There is nothing I want more for my family than a world with no nuclear weapons,” Ambassador Nikki R. Haley of the United States told reporters outside the General Assembly as the talks began. “But we have to be realistic. Is there anyone who thinks that North Korea would ban nuclear weapons?”

Ours is the only country that has dropped a nuclear warhead—actually two—on another nation, and yet we fear the North Koreans. We may have every reason in the world to be on high alert with North Korea, but might not other nations have good reason to fear us, no matter how civilized we might be in so many other areas?

Former U.S. President Barack Obama opposed the call for nuclear disarmament, as does current U.S. President Donald Trump. President Trump claimed recently that while he would personally wish for a nuclear free world, America should be at “the top of the pack” with nuclear armament (Refer here).

Most nuclear powers oppose talks favoring nuclear disarmament. Maybe they’re just being realistic, as Haley stated. But how will such thinking ever move us realistically toward a nuclear free world?

I will never have to push a nuclear bomb button. And yet, the mindset and heart set I bring into every conflict plays a part, however small, on the world scene, as does yours. How easy is it for others to push our buttons?

How do we respond to personal slights on social media and to drivers cutting us off on the road? Everyone likes the “Peace Prayer,” as long as it does not have to be attributed to us or brought to our attention during heated exchanges that may or may not go nuclear. At those inconvenient times, we might as well pray similarly to the young Augustine concerning sexual purity: “Lord, make me chaste, but not yet”: “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace—but not yet.”

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