Greater Than the Violence of This World

Psalm 37:1-6
Do not fret because of the wicked;
    do not be envious of wrongdoers,
for they will soon fade like the grass
    and wither like the green herb.

Trust in the Lord and do good;
    live in the land and enjoy security.
Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him, and he will act.
He will make your vindication shine like the light
    and the justice of your cause like the noonday.

At 8:15 am on the morning of August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, marking the first use of a nuclear weapon against people. Three days later, another would be dropped on Nagasaki. At the time, there was a radiologist named Takashi Nagai working at the Nagasaki Medical College Hospital. Dr. Nagai spent the days that followed digging survivors out of piles of rubble that used to be homes and businesses, providing medical care for them, and working to get as many people as possible out of harm’s way. 

Takashi Nagai was a Catholic convert, having been brought to faith by his wife, Midori, who perished in the bombing. It was this faith that provided him with a sense of hope and purpose amid the devastation. He would spend the remaining six years of his life in a small hermitage built amid the rubble of Nagasaki. He would write and speak passionately, calling world leaders to seek peace in the face of nuclear destruction. Perhaps the most famous line attributed to Dr. Nagai is, “The love of God is greater than the violence of this world.”

May his memory help us to see a way toward peace in our time.


Rev. Ryan Young