Of Love and Might (Part 5)

Note: This is the final part of this article. The preceeding parts are Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4)

Of love and might, which would you chose?

After pondering over it, I came to a decision that I would follow in the footsteps of my favourite character in the movie, Father Gabriel.

Father Gabriel set out on his mission to the native people, in love. He shared with them the love of Christ. He guided them how to show love. He guided Mondeza in love. The natives showed Mondeza love by forgiving him despite his injustice to their people when he was a slave-trader. Mondeza in return showed them love by being their priest. The Jesuit mission was a mission of love and to resort to bloodshed and violence would contradict the very reason of their being.

Jesus Christ demonstrated love on the Cross, and throughout history, nonviolent resistance has proven to be achieve its objective of freedom. It is undeniable that countless innocent people, including Father Gabriel and the Indians, suffered and even perished as oppressors brutally killed these unarmed freedom fighters. But ultimately, the goal was attained. Remarkable people like Mahatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Jr. have led their people to freedom through non-violent resistance. Even great people like the Reformer, Martin Luther and the Bible translator, William Tyndale let in light during the times of the dark Middle Age without force.

I do realize that Mondeza was also displaying his strong love for the native people and his desire to see them free from oppression by leading them in the fight, and ultimately paying for his love with his life. He was a selfless warrior to the people and I am in no position to say that he was wrong in resolving to might.

In the end, both the priests, together with Indians, died in their fight for freedom; one armed with only love and a strong spirit, the other with might, his own way of love. Either way, bloodshed was not averted…leaving only a handful of survivors.

One difference I note in the fight is that those people who fought with might killed, and were killed. On the other hand, those who resisted in love died without their hands being stained by neither the blood of others nor the guilt of taking another life.

While I understand that “all’s fair in love and war”, if you ask me, I would rather hold on to the words expressed by Mondeza himself when he first decided to serve as a priest:

“Though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains and have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and though I give my body to be burned and have not love, it profiteth me nothing. Love suffereth and love is kind. Love envieth not. Love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child. But when I became a man, I put away childish things. But now abideth faith, hope, love... these three. But the greatest of these is love.” (actually taken from 1 Corinthians 13 in the Bible)

And I certainly share the sentiments of Father Gabriel (as I mentioned in my opening lines) in saying “If might is right, then love has no place in the world. It may be so, it may be so. But I don't have the strength to live in a world like that…”

Of love and might, which would you choose?
*Do feel free to post your comments. Thank you:).


*J.J. -23rd September 2005,12.50am, Sunday