Listening to the Proms, and Holsts Planets suite - a piece I love - it always strikes me as fascinating that Venus is "The Bringer of Peace" - it was viewed as such in his time, because it looks so peaceful and calm from Earth.
But the exploration of the planet since then have shown that it is one of the most violent, inhopsitable planets we could imagine, and definitely not peaceful in any sense. And it made me wonder about the Quaker testimony of Peace - whether, a times, it can be like this - peace on the outside, but covering (rather than hiding, or ignoring) anger and frustration. Or maybe that was just me.
This morning, sitting in the St Albans Quaker Peace garden (where we had our worship), I was struck by these ideas in a different way.
There are 4 testimonies (or maybe 7 - we couldn't totally agree on this!) indicated there:
Peace
Simplicity and Sustainability
Truth and Integrity
Equality and Justice
Sometimes these are in apparent tension with each other. It is hard to focus on Equality, with Integrity, and not feel like punching some of those on the political right. Seeing Bob Vylan recently, where he made the point that they were not "pacifist punks" - they would fight for many of hte same things that we as Quakers would believe in, but also not only want to punch a Nazi or two, but actually do it.
And yes, the Peace testimony has been one of the important ones for us and for me. It is something of ritical importance for us to hold. In a world where one of the responses to not getting what you want it violence and rioting, to hold to a belief in peace is even more important. But - and I think this is also vital - in a world where truth no longer seems to be the starting point for so many, holding to Truth and Integrity is also critical. In a world where people have to fight for Equality and Justice not just once, but find it is taken away from them, and they need to fight for it all over again, it is important to see these battles as vitally important.
Peace is - as much as anything - a belief, a claim, that violence is not the answer. I would wholeheartedly concur with this. But sometimes, when another party has started wit hviolence - with doing violence to others, physically or agaisnt their humanity, their rights, their personhood, I wonder if the only way to peace is to be prepared to let some of the intense violence of Venus erupt. Because Venus is only apparently peaceful because of this. Sometimes, violence is the only language people speak. And speaking in this, for the purposes of Justice and Integrity may well be the only viable way forward.
But then, what do I know?
