The famous philosopher Plato said this - Only the dead have seen the end of war.
And there is also another interesting saying about war - War is not about who is right; it is about who is left!
And yet till now, nations have not learnt the lessons of war and to this day, nations and races and tribes lift up swords and other kinds of weapons against each other and want to annihilate each other from the face of the earth.
As we begin the season of Advent, we are also aware of the hostilities and violence that are happening now and the lives that are tragically lost.
No doubt we yearn for that peace that is given in the vision of Isaiah - peoples will hammer their swords into ploughshares, their spears into sickles; nation will not lift up sword against nation, there will be no more training for war.
But that vision of Isaiah is not some yearning or wishful thinking but something that will happen "in the days to come" because it is the Lord who speaks in that vision of Isaiah.
In the gospel, when Jesus went into Capernaum, He was met by a centurion, a soldier, a man who is trained for war, and probably had fought in wars.
But that centurion put aside his military significance and pleaded with Jesus to heal his servant.
All the swords and spears in the world cannot do what Jesus can do for the centurion and his servant. And the centurion had great faith in that.
So "in the days to come" let us put aside our pessimism and cynicism that war and violence had created in us.
Let us ask for that faith of the centurion and to turn to Jesus who can heal the world and grant us peace.
And there is also another interesting saying about war - War is not about who is right; it is about who is left!
And yet till now, nations have not learnt the lessons of war and to this day, nations and races and tribes lift up swords and other kinds of weapons against each other and want to annihilate each other from the face of the earth.
As we begin the season of Advent, we are also aware of the hostilities and violence that are happening now and the lives that are tragically lost.
No doubt we yearn for that peace that is given in the vision of Isaiah - peoples will hammer their swords into ploughshares, their spears into sickles; nation will not lift up sword against nation, there will be no more training for war.
But that vision of Isaiah is not some yearning or wishful thinking but something that will happen "in the days to come" because it is the Lord who speaks in that vision of Isaiah.
In the gospel, when Jesus went into Capernaum, He was met by a centurion, a soldier, a man who is trained for war, and probably had fought in wars.
But that centurion put aside his military significance and pleaded with Jesus to heal his servant.
All the swords and spears in the world cannot do what Jesus can do for the centurion and his servant. And the centurion had great faith in that.
So "in the days to come" let us put aside our pessimism and cynicism that war and violence had created in us.
Let us ask for that faith of the centurion and to turn to Jesus who can heal the world and grant us peace.