 |
| |
Renowned peacemaker, author and Jesuit priest John Dear spoke to a packed church crowd at SJA: Sunday, November 9 at 3 pm.
The awesome singers Tim & Paul Frantzich [ http://www.brothersf.com/ ] set a reflective and prayerful tone and SJA’s Peace and Justice Ministries Coordinator, Julie Madden introduced John Dear as a prophet of peace and hope. Consistent with Hebrew scripture, the title of prophet has not come cheap—John has been arrested more than 75 times—humorously stating that he is a certified “recidivist!” He has spent more than a year of his life in jail and has been mocked by armed U.S. soldiers standing outside the doors to his New Mexico parish—all this because he so fervently believes in peace. John was nominated in 2008 for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Dear’s unflappable persistence in speaking and acting on behalf of peace stems from his life-changing decision in college to leave behind his frat-boy, party-all-night lifestyle and instead become a faithful follower of Jesus Christ. In turn, that decision has, over many years, led him to live out the Beatitudes of the nonviolent Jesus in every dimension of his life rather than simply quote them when convenient from time to time. John mix personal humor and profound thought into his presentation: “Love your enemies, don’t nuke ‘em” was the original Greek translation of the Gospel of Matthew. Gandhi believed that Jesus was the most radically non-violent person in history—witness the non-violence when Jesus was met by his betrayer and the guards that arrested him!
From his conversion to Christianity, to his calling to become a Jesuit, to the extreme dangers and delights of a life dedicated to truly living out the radical, forgiving love of Jesus, Dear’s incredible story touched anyone in the audience who believes in the power of peace.
After his presentation John was available to sign his most recent book—A Persistent Peace-One Man’s Struggle for a Non-violent World, and over 80 people took advantage of the offer!
To follow up on the inspiring and disturbing thoughts shared by John Dear check out some of his other writings including Transfiguration (2007), LivingPeace: A Spirituality of Contemplation and Action (2004) and Mohandas Gandhi: Apostle of Non-violence (2002) to name a few, or check out his website at http://www.fatherjohndear.org/.
Video of the presentation
 and  |
 |