The Lesson of Iraq

I do not deny the deep sadness of Iraq, or the bitter, angry, heartbroken feelings triggered by the current collapse of Iraq in the bodies of Iraq veterans, whether they are against the war, or simply confused about their relationship to this dark story in American life. I breathe this pain and confusion into my heart, bear it, and infuse my tears of light into the darkness. 

I confess that America is powerless. I confess that America is powerless. Sometimes the healthiest thing to do is simply to stop pretending power. Iraq, I'm sorry, forgive me, I love you.

U.S. "power" is the illusory power of the guns: they always come back to destroy us. "Those who live by the sword will die by the sword," Jesus said. Every surrogate army we train and load with weapons becomes a Frankenstein that turns on us to destroy its creator. Our CIA spawned Al Queda in Afghanistan when we thought we were fighting Russians. Saddam Hussein was our ally in the war against Iran. Malaki, who we banked on to be president of Iraq, is a gangster who divided the nation and turned against us. Now a new player comes on the stage, the Sunni army of ISIS; but like past armies, they are just the spawn of the "Sunni Awakening" that the U.S. engineered in the last desperate years of our war in Iraq. We have continued to arm and fund ISIS through Saudi Arabia, in a proxy war against Iran. We have taken sides with the Sunnis against the Shi'a, who are supported by Iran. Thus the U.S., though we consider ourselves so modern, so enlightened, has been sucked into a  medieval tribal feud between rival Muslim sects. How small our "power" makes us!

We can see this tragedy as a lesson about the ego's quest for power, whether political and spiritual. Gurus and life-coaches often promise "self-empowerment." Yet their teaching may just reinforce this ego's craving to be the do-er. Real spirituality has nothing to do with winning power. Spirituality has more to do with loss than gain. It is the courage to embrace our powerlessness.

The oldest Christian hymn, in Philippians chapter 2, tells us that Jesus "emptied himself" of power. The Greek word for this "self-emptying"is Kinosis. Buddhists know this practice of Kinosis, but few modern Christians remember any such practice in the Western tradition.

It is time to recover the spirituality of divine loss. Loss teaches us everything. When I embrace true emptiness, and confess my powerlessness, I touch the unbounded power of compassion. "When I am weak, thn I am strong." (2 Cor 12:10)

Friend, don't seek power. Become the power-vacuum.