John Howard Yoder

John Howard Yoder (1927-1997) was a Christian theologian, ethicist, and Biblical scholar best known for his radical Christian pacifism, his mentoring of future theological giants such as Stanley Hauerwas, his loyalty to his Mennonite faith, and his 1972 masterpiece The Politics of Jesus.

Living the Disarmed Life

(Following is a short writing of Yoder's that some might consider to epitomize his issues of concern, faith, and reasoning. This article is adapted from presentations in 1961 on The Mennonite Hour broadcasts in Harrisonburg, Virginia.)

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Following the example of Jesus himself, the first Christians and the writers of the New Testament were quick to see in the book of the prophet Isaiah a description of the innocent sufferings of Christ. They read there:

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:"He was counted among evildoers.

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:For our welfare he was chastised.

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:Mistreated, he bore it humbly,

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::without complaint,

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:silent as a sheep led to the slaughter,

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:silent as a ewe before the shearers.

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:They did away with him unjustly

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::though He was guilty of no violence

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::and had not spoken one false word. " (Isaiah 53:4-9)

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In all ages these words concerning the one called the "servant of the Lord" have been beloved by Christians for the portrait they paint of our crucified master. We find these same words echoing in the New Testament, not only because they are beautiful words to describe Christ and his sacrifice on behalf of sinful humanity, but also because they constitute a call to the Christian to do likewise. There we read:

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"If you have done right and suffer for it, your endurance is worthwhile in the sight of God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered on your behalf, and left you an example; it is for you to follow in his steps. He committed no sin, he was guilty of no falsehood; when he suffered he uttered no threat." (1 Peter 2:20-22)

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The innocent, silent uncomplaining suffering of Christ is, in this teaching of Peter, not only an act of Christ on our behalf from which we benefit; it is also an example of Christ for our instruction which we are to follow. This portrait of Christ is to be painted again on the ordinary canvas of our lives. Had not Jesus himself said that those who would follow him must deny themselves and take up their cross? What then does it mean for the Christian to bear a cross?

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We meet in this world some suffering which is our own fault; we bring accidents upon ourselves by our carelessness, our punishment by our offenses. This is not "bearing a cross"; as Peter wrote, there is no merit in taking punishment for having done wrong. "What credit is it," he asks, "if when you do wrong and are beaten for it, you take it patiently?"

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We also sometimes suffer in ways we cannot understand, as from an unexpected or unexplained illness or catastrophe which strikes us. Such suffering the Christian can bear, trusting in God's supporting presence and learning to depend more fully and more joyfully in God's sustaining grace. Yet this is not what Jesus was talking about when he predicted suffering for his disciples.

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The cross of Christ was the price of his obedience to God amid a rebellious world; it was suffering for having done right, for loving where others hated, for representing in the flesh the forgiveness and the righteousness of God among humanity, which was both less forgiving and less righteous. The cross of Christ was God's overcoming evil with good.

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The cross of the Christian is then no different; it is the price of our obedience to God's love toward all others in a world ruled by hate. Such unflinching love for friend and foe alike will mean hostility and suffering for us, as it did for him.

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Jesus instructed his disciples, simply and clearly, not to resist evil. He said,

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"Whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn and offer him the left. If he sues you for your shirt, let him have your coat as well. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, only so can you be the children of your heavenly Father who sends his sun and rain to good and bad alike." (Matthew 5:39-45)

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In saying this Jesus was not a foolish dreamer, spinning out futile hopes for a better world, thinking that if only we keep smiling everything will turn out all right, with our opponents turned into friends and our sacrifices all repaid. He knew full well the cost of such unlimited love. He foresaw clearly the suffering it would mean, first for himself and then for his followers. But there was no other way for him to take, no other way worthy of God. Jesus' teaching here is not a collection of good human ideas; it is his divinely authoritative interpretation of the law of God.

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In 2,000 years the world has not grown much more loving. The example of Cain, who killed his brother, still sets the basic pattern for dealing with conflicts, whether within the family or in the world of nations. Among nations it matters little whether they be religious or not in name; the choice of weapons and the readiness to retaliate are similar. How few are they, how few even within the Christian churches, who in this embattled world seek to be conformed only to Christ, to find in the suffering servant of the Lord, and not in some honored ruler, king, or warrior, the model for their lives!

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"It is by this that we know what love is,"says the apostle, "that Christ laid down his life for us. And we in turn are bound to lay down our lives for our brothers." (1 John 3:16)

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Christians whose loyalty to the Prince of Peace puts them out of step with today's nationalistic world, because of a willingness to love their nation's friend but not to hate the nation's enemies, are not unrealistic dreamers who think that by their objections all wars will end. The unrealistic dreamers are rather the soldiers who think that they can put an end to wars by preparing for just one more.

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Nor do Christians think that by refusal to help with the organized destruction of life and property they are uninvolved in the complications and conflicts of modern life. Nor are Christians reacting simply in emotional fear to the fantastic awfulness of the weapons created by the demonic ingenuity of modern humanity.

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Christians love their enemies not because they think the enemies are wonderful people, nor because they believe that love is sure to conquer these enemies. They do not love their enemies because they fail to respect their native land or its rulers; nor because they are unconcerned for the safety of their neighbors; nor because another political or economic system may be favored. The Christian loves his or her enemies because God does, and God commands his followers to do so; that is the only reason, and that is enough.

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Our God, who has been made known in Jesus Christ, is a reconciling, forgiving, suffering God. If, to paraphrase what the apostle Paul said, it is no longer I who love, but Christ who loves in me, my life must bear the marks of that revelation (Galatians 2:20).

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No individual created in God's image and for whom Christ died can be for me an enemy whose life I am willing to threaten or to take, unless I am more devoted to something else - a political theory, a nation, the defense of certain privileges, or my own personal welfare - than I am to God's cause and God's loving invasion of this world through the prophets, God's son, and the church.

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One of the most difficult things to understand in the history of the Christian church is the haste with which preachers and others have labeled the selfish interest of their class, race, and nation with the name of Christ, making a holy cause of the subjection, or even the destruction, of those whom Christ came to save and bless with abundant life.

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In any kind of conflict, from the fist fight to the labor dispute, from the family quarrel to the threat of international communism, the Christian sees the world and its wars from the viewpoint of the cross. "When we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son" (Romans 5:10).

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The Christian has no choice. If the Lord's strategy for dealing with his enemies was to love them and give himself for them, it must be ours as well.

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