Rev. Joe Irregular Blog Stuff
25th June 2026 - Pacifism and Pragmatism Stuff
Hello,
In the last Stuff I had a few thoughts on what Jesus might have meant by his famous saying,
I likened it to the Global Sumud Flotilla sailing to Gaza and how they combined pacifism with politics. This time I want to offer another possibility, where pacifism meets pragmatism.
Over the last few weeks I have tried to get into a regular morning prayer routine and, while I tend to nod off or get distracted going through the set prayers, I have found the readings very helpful. You tend to get a psalm and a reading each from the Old and New Testament. These usually follow a book through from start to finish, which recently has been Joshua. from the OT.
Joshua is a horrific account of the genocidal march of the Israelites through the promised land, murdering men, women, children and animals who are not Israelites, in God’s name. After the massacre at Jericho, the inhabitants of Gibeon (Joshua 9:3-26) decide to do something to avoid being slaughtered and trick the Israelite leaders into thinking they have come from far away, outside the promised land, and so are not a threat. They ask the leaders to make a treaty with them, whereby they will be the servants of the Israelites if the Israelites will agree not to kill them. Joshua makes peace with them, swearing an oath to guarantee their lives.
It is three days later, when the Israelites reach the cities of the Gibeonites (which are very much within the promised land) that they realise they have been tricked. However, they honour their oath and do not attack the cities. The Gibeonites become ‘hewers of wood and drawers of water’ (verse 21) for the Israelites, but at least they are alive.
Is this passage what Jesus was thinking of when he said, “If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well” (Matthew 5:40)? Does Jesus offer a pragmatic response to violence in this case, rather than a political one? I have no idea. Does Jesus offer a range of possible responses to oppression, rather than a dogmatic single response?
As usual, I don’t have anything like a complete answer. However, what does seem clear to me is that Jesus is trying to teach a way of responding to violence that moves away from ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’, (Matthew 5:38-39a). What other ideas does he offer elsewhere ……
Peace and prayers, Joe
I should have saved one of these pacifist jokes for today, as they were the cream of those on offer. Forgive for the awfulness of what follows .....
One time I was telling jokes to my pacifist friend, but he didn't like any of them.
I guess he didn't like punchlines21st and 30th May 2026
Shavuot Stuff
Hello,
As I’ve mentioned before, part of my role is to take assemblies at Greatwood Primary School. We get a worship rota with themes, which I try to follow, although I haven’t done Chinese New Year yet. This week the themes were Pentecost and Shavuot so, as the Open The Book team had covered Pentecost on Monday, I went for Shavuot, which takes place this week.
Shavuot is a Jewish festival which celebrates the day that God gave the Hebrews the Torah (the holy book containing Jewish law), 3338 years ago. The festival covers two days (starting today this year) and has its own traditions, including eating dairy food (which can be cheesecake and ice-cream), doing all-night Torah study sessions and, perhaps most importantly, telling or listening to the story again, just as our festivals of Christmas and Easter have stories about Jesus at their heart.
Re-reading the biblical account again threw up a few surprises. For example, the actual 10 commandments don’t get put on slabs until later on and the commandment ‘do not steal’ is actually better interpreted ‘do not kidnap’. In modern terms it is a command against human trafficking.
Depending on your theology, politics or translation, commandment six can be ‘Do not murder’ or ‘Do not kill’. The first version is a legal interpretation (in most countries murder is illegal but some form of killing is legalised) whereas the second interpretation is a far broader, moral, pacifist commandment.
Is Commandment nine about perjury in court, or lying in general? If the latter, can we read into the commandment that lying is OK outside of a court setting?
The story of the 10 commandments is, of course, a huge part of Christian as well as Jewish religious heritage We may not celebrate it but as part of the ‘mythos’/history of our faith it is central. A number of local churches have slabs on their walls with the 10 Commandments written on them in good old King James English (Thou, Shalt, etc). ). If you have any Jewish friends perhaps you can ask if you can join in over the next two days?
If not, I encourage you to read Exodus 19, through to Exodus 20:1-17. The Hebrews have just escaped from Egypt and God meets Moses on Mount Sinai to offer them a deal…….
Peace and prayers, Joe
JOKE OF THE DAYHere are a few 'classic' Shavuot jokes. Bear in mind that dairy products feature heavily in Shavout ...
Q: Which servant of God was the most flagrant lawbreaker in the Bible?A: Moses. He broke all 10 commandments at once.
Q: What type of cheese is made backwards?A: EDAM.
Q: After Shavuot we all need to go on a diet. Why?A: To cheddar a few pounds.
30th May 2026 - Passive, Pacifism, Political Stuff
Hello,
You may have read or heard about the latest Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza, which was stopped by Israeli forces on its way to Gaza. Israel says it’s justified, other countries have described it as kidnap in international waters. What struck me was the accounts of alleged abuse by Israeli forces and the taunting of captives by Israeli National Home Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir ( Itamar Ben Gvir taunts prominent Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouti - BBC News )
The response of the members of the flotilla to the abuse from Israeli forces (which allegedly include sexual assault) reminded me of Jesus’ remark during the Sermon on the Mount, that:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.” (Matthew 5:38-9)
It’s a problematic passage because the usual argument against it being a call for passivism is, ‘Are you really telling me that if someone broke into your house and attacked your family you would do nothing?’ As parents, wives, husbands, etc, could we really say we would do nothing?
However, if we read Jesus as political, then we might reach a different understanding. Movements across the last 100 years have relied on a non-violent approach to protest, even when there is violence going on all around. Gandhi chose this route in the Indian subcontinent and King did the same in 1960s USA. Both made the news and eventually brought about change by bringing pacifism into their protest, but still protesting. In the same way, the Gaza Freedom Flotillas (which have been sailing in different sizes since 2008, and include Christians, Muslims, Jews and atheists in their number (Why we are sailing to Gaza on the Global Sumud Flotilla | Israel-Palestine conflict | Al Jazeera ) bring pacifism into protest, whilst still protesting. All three of these examples are by no means passive. But they are all intensely political.
Was this what Jesus meant by verse 5:39? Stand up for justice (5:6) and peace (5:9) but do it in a pacifist way.
The Global Sumud Flotillas are unarmed and make active decisions note to resist when their boats are boarded, they are assaulted (10 were killed by Israeli troops in 2010) and allegedly abused (see Dispatch from Sumud Flotilla: Sailing into ‘yellow zone’ en route to Gaza | Israel-Palestine conflict News | Al Jazeera ). They know that their humanitarian cargoes are going to have little or no impact (only two boats have ever made it through to Gaza) but they are far from passive.
Peace and prayers, Joe
JOKES OF THE DAY