Mark 11:18-19
And when the chief priests and the scribes heard it, they kept looking for a way to kill him; for they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching. And when evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.
Ambivalence: the state of having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something
That ability to hold two opposing views in tension
without ditching one in favour of the other.
I yearn for those days
when ambivalence was acceptable
When it was permissible to condemn
the invasion of a city
and still want to see those whose land it is
live peaceably with their neighbour
It seems that there is a decree abroad
that we must take sides
It is no longer possible to denounce violence
and still have sympathy for its underlying causes
especially when we have been complicit
in the sheer complexity of the divisions
that feed warmongering
and when our lifestyle is funded
by the provision of armaments
In this Holy Week
may our faithful observance
find a way to cradle ambivalence
that fuels love, not hate
that deplores violence wherever it is found
and that takes no prisoners
in the pursuit of peace.
(Liz Crumlish Holy Week 2024)
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