Category: justice

War and Peace, Part 3

What? A three-part blog? Yes, it’s true, even though I had promised my blog titled “War and Peace” was not going to be as long as Leo Tolstoy’s work of the same name. His book was 1400 pages long, so I have a way to go before breaking my promise. But I do promise there will not be a Part 456 to this topic.

So, why a third part? I had a few more things to say about the topic, and I saw that Part 2 was approaching the length of the Hundred Years War, so I needed to close it up. I hope that the following thoughts will complement what I already said, and provoke some thoughts on your part. Also, no more Latin phrases; I would hate to create a casus belli (reason for war) for you to raise up arms against me.

In no particular order, here are my additional thoughts on warfare:

1. What about a one-on-one battle? Imagine how many lives and resources would be saved if warring nations each chose one champion to fight his or her enemy counterpart. This is actually biblical: the Philistines sent out their champion, Goliath, to fight the champion of the Israelites. He challenged the Israelites, saying, “Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” And the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.” We know, of course, that David arose as Israel’s champion and slew Goliath, winning the battle (1 Samuel 17:1-58).

This idea was portrayed in a 1970 movie called The Challenge. The story is about a confrontation between the U.S. and an unnamed Asian country over recovering an American jet that crashes in the other country’s waters. Rather than fight a war over the jet, the countries agree to implement a plan called “Surrogate” in which each country will land one soldier on an uninhabited island to fight it out. Whoever kills the other, wins the “war” for his country. Needless to say, both countries cheat and land a second soldier to improve their chances of winning. And that’s the problem with the idea of a champion; the stakes in real life are too high to risk the outcome of a single battle.

2. Is a war just if you fight to defend only your material possessions? At the personal level, can you use force to defend your home or car if someone breaks in to steal but does not threaten to harm you? The law says that the person’s life is more valuable than your material objects, so you can’t harm them to make them stop. But what is left out of that view is the fact that your property is important for your survival and well-being. Your possessions cost part of your life to acquire, and will cost more to replace. If someone steals all your food, what will you eat? If someone takes your home, will you survive on the street? If shoplifting goes on unchecked, can the affected stores survive to provide jobs and needed goods and services? If society devolves into chaos, everyone’s life is at risk.

At the international level, few wars are fought to kill all your enemies in a genocide. Most have been to seize resources the other country has and you want, such as farm land, water, oil, or valuable minerals. When the Ostrogoths invaded Rome, it was because they needed farmland for their people, since they in turn had been driven out of their former lands by other invaders. They needed land to survive. Without it, their people would die as surely as if out to death by the sword.

James 4:1-3 tells us the reason we fight and war with each other: “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”

3. What about preemptive attacks? Is it okay to attack an enemy before they attack you? Obviously, if you are both at peace, and the other country shows no sign of preparing to attack you, such an attack on your part would not be just. But if war is inevitable, a first strike to diminish their war-making ability may shorten the war and save lives. This is what Japan tried with the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 – to destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet and prevent us from stopping their conquests. America has not considered that attack as “just.”

But what about Israel committing cyber-attacks to stop Iran from developing atomic weapons, when Iran has sworn to wipe Israel off the map? What about with drones, missiles, or aircraft? Or does Israel have to wait until Iran strikes first to make their own attacks legitimate?

On a personal level, do you have to wait until a home invader hurts you before you can fight back?

4. Is it morally okay to “bear false witness” (lie) in a war? During World War II the British conducted two hugely successful “disinformation” operations that completely fooled the Germans regarding invasion plans. In the first, they planted false invasion plans on a corpse which they dropped in the sea near Spain. The plans were for an allied invasion of German-held Greece, though the real invasion was set for Sicily. The ruse fooled Hitler, who ordered most of his troops in Sicily to defend Greece instead. Likewise, the Allies created a fictional army led by George Patton, comprised of rubber inflatable tanks and false radio traffic, stationed across from Calais, France, to fool the Germans into thinking Calais was the intended invasion target. The ruse worked, and many lives were saved in Normandy, the true invasion destination.

More recently, in its war against Israel, Hamas claimed that Israel bombed a hospital, killing 500 people including many children. It turns out that the hospital was not hit at all, and the only damage to its parking lot was caused by an errant rocket from a Hamas ally. This lie is representative of disinformation (lies) spread by many groups and countries today wherever conflicts occur.

It seems that the propriety of lying in war depends on the justness of the war. If a country is just in fighting the war, it should use means to shorten the war and achieve victory, even through lying. As the Chinese strategist, Sun Tzu, wrote in his book, The Art of War, all warfare is deception.

5. How much force is appropriate? In today’s conflicts, you hear the call for the more powerful party to use “proportional” responses, meaning they should not use more force than necessary to achieve their goals. This is a principle of just war doctrine, but the definition of proportionality can vary. On the one hand, it would be unjust to nuke a country if one of their ships strayed into your territorial waters, or even if they shot down one of your planes in disputed airspace. On the other hand, you are unlikely to win a victory if you send only as many forces as the enemy has available; the result will likely be a stalemate and a bogged down war of attrition, like World War I, causing much more death and misery than if you had been more forceful in the beginning. The principle calls for using only as much force as needed to bring the fighting to an end and save lives in the long run – but enough force to achieve that end.

This pertains to societal and personal levels of conflict as well. Police are constrained to use non-lethal means when possible, but to use sufficient force and numbers to take control of situations and perpetrators. In personal self-defense, potential victims are allowed to use only as much force as is needed to defend themselves; they cannot shoot someone who only shoves them, for example. In this way the principle of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” in Leviticus 24:20 is fulfilled.

6. How is peace ever possible? Humans’ capacity and desire for war are a great scandal. We should be sustaining and helping each other; instead, we fight and kill, justifying our actions with the flimsiest lies and rationalizations. In the name of national honor we kill and destroy. We want and kill to take what we want. We cause desolation, suffering, and loss, and consider every war as “just.” From the beginning, when the first human born on earth killed his brother, to the future end of time when the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse ride (conquest, warfare, famine, and death), there have been, and will be wars and rumors of war (Matthew 24:6). Only when the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) returns will we finally be at peace. Only then shall we “beat [our] swords into plowshares, and [our] spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Micah 4:3). Only then will we find true peace at every level: personal, societal, and between nations. Only in Christ will we find true peace.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you,the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: 1 Samuel 17:1-58; Isaiah 2:1-5; Revelation 6:1-8.

War and Peace, Part 2

In my previous blog, I presented biblical passages and teachings regarding matters of war and peace. A short summary of those teachings is that God both desires us to be at peace with each other and abhor violence, and permits, even commands, violence (the use of force) to protect people and restrain evil. The question of which command is applicable in any certain situation, is where issues and disagreements arise.

I ended the previous blog with this statement: “There were times when God commanded the ancient Israelites to war against their neighbors and oppressors. Is there such a thing as a just war today? If so, under what circumstances, and how would such a war be carried out?”

This is the question I will try to briefly address. Given that peace is our prime directive, are there times when war is a valid exception to the rule? Is there such a thing as a “just war?”

For the first 300 years of Christianity, the answer was almost always, “No.” Christians were a despised or even illegal minority, and they suffered persecution and death without fighting back. Even when soldiers converted to the faith, they would lay down their arms and refuse to kill other human beings, under penalty of their own death.

One example of this was the martyrdom suffered by over 6,000 soldiers of Rome’s Theban Legion, who in 286 A.D. were slaughtered by other Roman legionaries after they refused to obey the emperor’s command to hunt out and kill other Christians. Other examples abound of Christians who accepted martyrdom without violent resistance, considering their deaths to be patterned after Christ’s own submissive death.

It was after Christianity became legal – and even mandated – that Christians considered war as appropriate and in some cases, necessary. Very soon, the rightness of war was debated. One very influential writer on the subject was Augustine of Hippo (St. Augustine) who wrote:

“The real evils in war are love of violence, revengeful cruelty, fierce and implacable enmity, wild resistance, and the lust of power, and such like; and it is generally to punish these things, when force is required to inflict the punishment, that, in obedience to God or some lawful authorities, good men undertake wars, when they find themselves in such a position as regards the conduct of human affairs, that right conduct requires them to act, or to make others act, in this way.” Reply to Faustus the Manichaean XXII. 74. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, vol. 4, p. 301.

Even after the Church accepted the idea of just wars, certain Christian sects continued to hold and practice pacifist doctrines. These have included the Cathars, Lollards, Amish, Mennonites, Quakers, Moravians, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Seventh Day Adventists. (See the moving story of Desmond Doss, a Medal of Honor recipient, Adventist, and conscientious objector who served as a medic in World War II, in the movie, Hacksaw Ridge.)

When I think of situations when the use of force, even lethal force, might be appropriate, I think of three levels: personal, societal, and international.

First, as individuals we may need to use force to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and those who are in our care and need our protection. If someone is on a murderous rampage (such as the recent killer in Lewiston, Maine), and attacks us or those we must protect, we are not only allowed to stop the attack, we are righteous in doing so. Where we draw the line is at self- defense; we may not invade other people’s homes and harm them to steal their stuff. We may not torture the wrong-doer or act as vigilantes, roaming the streets looking for law-breakers to punish. We may not kill someone over a perceived insult or minor wrong; this is where “turning the other cheek” comes into play (Matthew 5:39).

The second level is societal. God raises up governments and charges them with subduing evildoers from harming their subjects/citizens. Romans 13:4 says, “But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he [the ruler] does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.” The police are necessary for a peaceful and ordered society. Where laws are not enforced, the result is rampant crime and societal chaos. It would be nice if police could be like the old British Bobbies, patrolling without sidearms, but those days are past. Nowadays, police have SWAT units to fight criminals with military weapons and tactics. And what happens when police officers themselves step over the line and commit crimes? Then they too should suffer “God’s wrath” under the ruler’s authority.

The third level is international. In a way, it is an extension of personal and societal justifications for violence. It, too, is used to protect those who are, or are about to be, under attack. When one country attacks another, it gathers forces and launches them against the other country. The attacked country responds, and the result is war. Here, one country acts in self defense, and its government uses the sword to restrain the evil being directed at its citizenry. Thus the similarity to the other levels.

Because of the devastating nature of war, countries have entered into treaties to limit aspects of war to protect civilians and regulate the treatment of combatants and Prisoners of War (POW’s). Examples of this are the Geneva Conventions, the Geneva Protocols, and the Hague Conventions. Certain chemical and biological weapons were banned, while the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons addressed such things as landmines, booby traps, and incendiary devices. the intent of the 1980 accord was to limit post-conflict casualties, especially among civilians.

Politicians are not the only ones to consider the question of just wars. Theologians in the Church have also addressed the issue, and have come to the following conclusions on when warfare can be considered “just.”

The first category is about just reasons to go to war (called by theologians, jus ad bellum):

  1. Just cause – innocent life must be at stake
  2. Proportionate cause – the good accomplished by the war must outweigh the evil done by it.
  3. Employed only by a competent authority (Government)
  4. The right intention (to save lives more than to kill enemies)
  5. Probability of success to avoid needless deaths (Luke 14:31 –  “Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?”)
  6. Last resort (All attempts at peaceful resolutions have failed.)

Once a country is engaged in war, it must conduct hostilities in certain ways to remain just. Theologians call this, Jus in bello:

  1. Distinction – between combatants and civilians. You fight against enemy combatants, not civilians, surrendering enemies, POW’s, or neutrals.
  2. Proportionality – minimize collateral damage of civilian life and property.
  3. Military necessity – no violence that does not directly help defeat the enemy.
  4. Humane treatment of prisoners of war – medical treatment, food and water. No torture allowed.
  5. No malum in se, that is, do no acts that are evil in themselves, such as rape and  torture.

Finally, people have recently added a third area of just war: Jus post bellum. This concerns justice after a war, including peace treaties, reconstruction, environmental remediation, war crimes trials, and war reparations. Those are important issues, but are beyond the scope of this blog.

Ultimately, the purpose of a just war is to end violence and bring reconciliation, for we are fighting our brothers and sisters, those who, like us, are made in God’s image. The goal is not to destroy our enemy, but to stop their evil actions. In this way, former enemies may become friends and allies (such as Britain, Germany, and Japan). This desire for renewed fellowship is an important Christian distinction to conflict. Paul tells us in Galatians 6:1, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.”  And Jesus told us that we are to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44), bless those who curse us, and pray for those who abuse us (Luke 6:28). This doesn’t mean we stand by and allow us or others to be killed, but it gives us the right motives and limits our actions to what is needed and no more.

I hope and pray that neither you nor I face situations where our desire to avoid violence is tested. If so, may God protect and guide our actions!

May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine on you and be gracious to you, that Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Romans 12:16; Romans 15:5; Matthew 5:38-48.

P.S. Stay tuned for Part 3, coming soon!

War and Peace

War and Peace.  That was the title of Leo Tolstoy’s great work, his magnum opus, an 1869 novel set in Russia during the war against Napoleonic France. It was magnum in both literary impact and in size – some 1400 pages long, with a cast of 500 characters. It is also the name of this blog, though you can take some comfort in my promise that this blog will likely be shorter than Tolstoy’s epic.

This blog, and the thoughts that brought it to mind, were triggered (a sadly appropriate term) by the events of last Saturday, when the group known as Hamas launched a coordinated attack from Gaza into Israel. The attackers killed over 1,300 Israelis and captured an unknown number of hostages. They also launched thousands of rockets at Israel, adding to the number of dead and wounded.

Israel has declared war on Hamas, and after regaining territory from the invaders, the Israeli military amassed troops on the border, poised to counterattack into Gaza to destroy Hamas. We will see what comes next, though everyone expects the war to be brutal and bloody.

Amid the many calls for peace and negotiations, was the dissenting voice of one Israeli, who said that for there to be peace, the perpetrators who killed so many civilians must themselves be killed. To him, and many like him, the path to peace will lead through war. In the words of the old Latin adage: Sic vis pacem, para bellum (If you want peace, prepare for war).

This situation has raised the question of what Christians should believe – and do – about war.  Historically, Christians have responded in many different ways, from mounting crusades to fighting defensive wars to insisting on pacifism. Therefore, we cannot depend on tradition for our position; we need to go to the Scriptures for guidance.

On the one hand, we see that God’s desire is for us to be at peace with each other. In Genesis, God condemns the spilling of others’ blood, “for God made man in his own image” (9:6). Later, he gave the 10 Commandments, in which he said, “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13). Luther explained that this commandment went far beyond prohibiting killing, to also mean, “We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need.”

Then we read Psalm 46:9, which says, “He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire.”

And we have Jesus’ words in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9), and, famously, “Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matthew 5:39). And when Jesus told us what are the greatest commandments, he summed them up as loving God and loving our neighbor (Mark 12:31); it’s hard to reconcile loving our neighbor with killing him. Finally, we read Paul’s admonition in Romans 12:18, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”

From these passages, it is clear that God does not desire war and killing. Therefore, pacifism can be a legitimate response by those seeking to honor and obey God’s word.

On the other hand, we unfortunately live in a fallen and sinful world, in which most people don’t care what God has said. Some are sinners who hate their neighbors, and some are outright wicked, delighting in killing for their perceived benefit. What do we do about them? Do we let them run rampant in this world, slaughtering innocent people, hoping that they get their just deserts on Judgment Day? What if the “slap on my cheek” becomes a knife attack against a loved one? Do I tell my family member to turn their other cheek to the knife, when I have the means to stop the attack?

Though the Bible commands peace, it is not naive in its understanding of life. Its clear message is that we do live in a world of sin, and that we must be aware of its dangers and deal with them. The passage that tells us to be “innocent as doves” also tells us to “be wise as serpents” because we are in “the midst of wolves” (Matthew 10:16). Therefore, Jesus could command his disciples to sell their cloak and buy a sword (Luke 22:36).

The Scriptures go further in saying how we should deal with the evil actions of wicked people.

  1.  We are not to associate with wicked people, lest we support them or be tempted to do evil. Proverbs 22:24 warns, “Do not associate with a man given to anger; Or go with a hot-tempered man” Psalms 1:1 says, “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!” And Paul warns Christians in 1 Corinthians 5:11, “But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one.”
  2. Capital punishment of killers is not only permitted; it is commanded. God said in Genesis 9:5-6, “And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”
  3. Governments have the duty to protect people and restrain evil. Romans 13:3-4 says, “For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.”
  4. The command about turning the other cheek deals with responding to insults, which a Christian can bear without reprisals. It does not talk about protecting the innocent (or yourself) from violent assaults. While you may choose to forfeit your life when threatened (such as accepting martyrdom), you are not required to do so. Your submission may embolden the attacker to kill others,and your loved  ones may depend on you provision and protection. The old saying, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men should do nothing.” is true. Proverbs 24:11 says, “Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.” Rescuing people may require force.
  5. The biblical statement, “an eye for an eye,” from Exodus 21:23 is often looked at as being a bloodthirsty command. But the point was to limit reprisals to “proportionate” actions. You were not allowed to kill someone who took your eye; you were only allowed to take their eye, too. God’s command was to keep violence from spiraling out of control.
  6. Tribes, gangs, and nations go to war for many reasons: land, natural resources, human resources (slaves), markets (legal and illegal), pride, and security from active and potential threats. James 4:1-3 addresses this impulse to war: “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”

Wars of conquest and genocide are obviously wrong. But are there times when it is legitimate for a nation (or an individual) to go to war? Are there times when not going to war would be a greater evil than actually doing so?

There were times when God commanded the ancient Israelites to war against their neighbors and oppressors. Is there such a thing as a just war today? If so, under what circumstances, and how would such a war be carried out? Those are big questions that deserve answers; in the next blog I will try to address them. Until then, be at peace, and pray for the peace of Jerusalem! (Psalm 122:6).

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Isaiah 2:4; Joel3:10; Micah 4:3-4.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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For Such a Time As This

Have you ever wished you could have lived at some time in the past, when things seemed more peaceful, with clear values and a clean environment? Before Covid and crime and the threats of war loomed over your world? When spouses loved each other and children listened to their parents?

Maybe you watched an historical drama and thought, “I wish I could have lived back then . . .” I know that I’ve done that: I saw some movie and then fantasized being in the story. Maybe it was about Robin Hood, and I saw myself wining the archery contest(by splitting an arrow in the bulls-eye, of course), and championing the oppressed peasantry. But then I thought, I’m not that good an archer, and the times were rough, total obedience to the king was the law . . . and then there was that Black Death thing. Okay, so not the Middle Ages.

But what about the Westerns I watched that had me imagining I was a dashing young lieutenant in the US Cavalry? The bugles blow and the men line up at my command as I save the wagon train from attack! Of course, half my troop would have died of diseases which today are rare. The food was hard-tack biscuits which broke your teeth, dental care was brutal, you had to ride for days in the saddle, and milk shakes had not been invented. So, maybe not that era.

Or instead, how about a hundred years ago, when my grandparents were born? That was a better time than now, certainly, if you ignore the sod house with no running water or electricity  where my grandfather was raised, or the Spanish Influenza, or World War I or the Great Depression.

Or the Age of Exploration, when I could have died with Magellan on his voyage, or the Reformation when I could have had the Plague before I was executed by the Inquisition, or the days of the early Church when I could have been thrown to the lions for the crowds’ entertainment.  And no milk shakes then, either.

You get my point: there is no time in history better than now, no matter how we idealize the good things about it. For there were good things, and bad things then, just as there are now. True, I’m glad I went through school when I did, in the 1950s and 60s, when we knew our genders and mostly listened to our teachers . . . much better, if you don’t count our hiding under our desks during air raid and tornado drills.

It is important for us to accept that we live now, at this time full of its challenges and dangers, just as people throughout history have faced their own problems. We don’t want to miss out on the good things around us, even as we lament the things that are wrong. No matter what we think of these times, now is the time when we have to live.

This is important for another reason, beyond finding contentment in life.

This past week I wrote a short Bible study on the book of Esther for our church’s national women’s group. In that book is the story of a young and beautiful Jewish woman named Esther, who saved her people from a planned genocide by appealing to her husband, King Xerxes. But before she made the appeal, her cousin, Mordecai, pleaded for Esther to do so. What he said to her was the memorable challenge:  “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).

Apparently, those days had their problems, too! But Mordecai showed Esther that the very reason Esther lived when she did, and had married the king, was to save her people. If she had lived at any other time or place, she could not have done what she did, and God’s purpose for her would have gone unfulfilled.

Mordecai’s words to Esther become God’s challenge for us. Could it be, that we were born into the world, and live when we do, because God has a plan he wants us to fulfill right here and right now? Could it be that we have come into the world “for such a time as this?” That just as God sent his Son into the world “when the fullness of time had come,” (Galatians 4:4), he may have determined that each of us be born in our own fullness of time? For as God is above even time, and knows the end of a thing from its beginning, (Isaiah 46:10), he knows what he has prepared us to do. As the Apostle Paul put it in Ephesians 2, God “created us in Christ Jesus to do good works, which he prepared ahead of time for us to do.”

When we understand that God created us to live when and where we do, we certainly can receive peace in the knowledge. But we also are challenged to ask what that purpose is, and how we can fulfill it. What is it about our time and place, and our abilities and resources, that enable us to influence the world around us for God’s glory and the benefit of everyone else forced to live in our day?

Fictional stories are replete (a word from another era!) with people who have special abilities which save the day: superheroes with secret powers that stop the villains; a retired gunfighter who saves the town from a hired gun; a meek kid who out kung-fu’s the town bullies; or the janitor who changes the formula on the chalk board to solve some professor’s impossible equation. We enjoy such fiction, but we live in a  non-fiction world. And we may find that what we can do, though not as spectacular as those fantasies, is just as important and amazing.

So, what can we do that may help fulfill the purpose for our living now, “for a time such as this?”

  1. Prayerfully search your heart. As you pray to know God’s purpose for your life, you may find certain things that inspire you or trouble you. It could be a cause or an injustice. It could be persecution of fellow Christians or blatant public sins. It could be heartbreaking situations that move you to help the people who are suffering. You may be the person God has sent to alleviate the hurts or confront the sins. Such responses may be difficult and even dangerous, but who else will step in except those whose spirits are troubled and yearn for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven?
  2. Pray for the people and situations. Before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham pleaded with him for them to be spared. God’s answer was that for but a few righteous people, he would relent and spare the cities. Perhaps, God has judgments waiting even now, and has sent you to be one of the righteous people to allow others the chance to repent and live. Likewise, when the Apostle Peter was unjustly jailed for preaching the Gospel, the believers gathered to pray for him – and God sent an angel to free him from his imprisonment. James 5:16 tells us, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power.” Maybe God has you living now to provide the one prayer he desires for working out his will.
  3. Use your particular gifts and abilities. Can you sing or write music? Write a hymn or praise song that will honor God and strengthen faith. Can you write? How about a book about heroes of the faith, or novels with noble themes, or even, dare I say it, blogs? Are you good with children? Teach Sunday school or VBS, or babysit, providing Christian nurture (maybe to someone who will one day become a great evangelist). Whatever you can do, or enjoy doing, can bless others and glorify God, as Jesus himself said: “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
  4. Honor Christ by your relationships. How do you treat people? Do you care about people, and show your love for them? A stable marriage, or children who are taught respect while being nurtured, or friendships that cross social divides of race, languages, or politics, all testify to the love of Christ. Honesty, helpfulness, generosity, and encouragement testify to the one who saved you, and may be the witness that someone needs for their eternal salvation. You may live here and now to be God’s means to reach them.
  5. Speaking of generosity. God has blessed you with the “Three t’s” – time, talent, and treasure. You can use those blessings to help others and advance Christ’s Church. You can volunteer, whether informally on your own when you see a need, or in your church. You can share your skills and abilities as mentioned above. You can give of your material and financial blessings to help others and spread the Gospel through local and foreign ministries. God has blessed you by the most generous gift of all: his Son. The least you and I can do is spread some of those blessings around.

We live in “such a time as this.” It is a time desperately in need of Christian presence, action, and love. You and I live in this time, not the past, or the future. Our time is now. Let us not let it slip by without realizing God has a purpose for our being here when and where we are.

Now, may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen

Read: The book of Esther.

 

 

 

A World Without God?

What would the world be like without God?

Besides the fact there wouldn’t even be a world or anything else without God (Colossians 1:17 – “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”), what if God just “walked away” and left the world to its own devices? What if no one knew God or called upon him, or believed in his Son, or lived under the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit?

The Bible has actually given us powerful examples of times and places that the world lived in ignorance of, or rebellion against God. There were our first parents, Adam and Eve, who disobeyed God and tried to put themselves in his place – the result was the death sentence on them and all their descendants (including us). Then came the days of Noah, when the entire world apart from Noah’s family (eight souls) was so hopelessly evil that God regretted having created mankind, and wiped the slate clean with the Great Flood (Genesis 6:6 and following). Then there were great cities filled with evil, such as Sodom and Gomorrah (which God destroyed) and Nineveh (which he spared when they turned to him; see the book of Jonah).

But mankind’s disregard of God is not limited to a few dramatic times and places; it can be seen throughout the world and throughout history wherever people have tried to live without him. The disbelief in God is so pervasive, Romans 3:11 says, “no one seeks for God.” The absence of belief in God or obedience to his Word manifested in ancient times before Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit came into the world:

  1. Constant wars and killings.
  2. Slavery, usually of conquered peoples or the poor.
  3. Abortion and Infanticide: the ancient Romans would toss unwanted children onto the city dumps (only to later have Christians rescue them). Canaanites would sacrifice children to their god, Molech, in a heated iron idol.
  4. Sexual licentiousness. There was an entire ancient Greek regiment made up of male pairs, and it was accepted for tutors to teach their young students more than the three R’s. Cults and religions had temple prostitutes and men could legally kick out their wives for  younger women. God forbidding such behavior is found in God’s law given to the Israelites in Leviticus 18:23, Exodus 22:19, and 1 Corinthians 6:9, among numerous places.
  5. Worship of nature rather than its Creator. Cults thrived that sought to control nature through magic, and gods were invented to represent forces and objects. Wind, rain, land and sea, stars and planets, the sun and moon: all were deified and worshipped.
  6. Selfishness and seeking material wealth and power at the expense of other people.

I’m sure glad we’ve gotten past all that foolishness in our modern world! No, wait, we haven’t, have we? We are every bit as sinful in all those areas as the world ever was:

  1. There are wars between tribes and nations, and hundreds of killings in our own country every week.
  2. Slavery still exists in what is called “human trafficking” as well as in outright servitude of some people to others.
  3. Abortion is rampant, protected, and even publicly funded in our country, with over 600,000 a year (down from 1.5 million due to fewer pregnancies). Now, two governors have spoken in favor of infanticide right after a child is born.
  4. Homosexuality is praised and taught to school children, and no negatives about it, or transgenderism or bestiality are allowed in the public arena. TV, movies, and online videos are filled with sexual innuendo and explicit acts. Acceptance of people is made contingent on accepting any sexual behavior those people do, regardless of what Scripture says about it.
  5. The new nature god is Science, and nature worship continues. Whatever the latest theory is, gets support and funding, and people speak of the planet being alive, self-evolving, and “all there is.” People who would never speak of Father God freely speak of Mother Nature.
  6. And as for selfishness and seeking after material wealth and power, do I really need to give examples?

So how is it that we see the same effects today of a godless world, when God himself came to earth to save us, and left his Spirit with us to guide and strengthen us? You would think things would be different. I think there are three points to make about that:

  1. First, things are different for those who believe in that Savior and trust God’s Word, both his Law and his Gospel. The Spirit does work through the believers to soften the effects of sin and the Fall, both in changing lives and providing remedial care for those suffering the consequences of a sinful world. The Holy Spirit is still active, calling and enlightening people to faith in Christ, and then moving them to show God’s love in Christ to the world. The world would be even worse without the Church being in the world.
  2. Second, even though Christians have brought blessings to the world, we are still sinners, and find that we don’t live up to our calling as well as we should. At times we have contributed to the world’s problems through wars, slavery, and greed, but these were not caused by faith, but by failure. At least our sins are confronted by God’s Word and the Holy Spirit, so that we can, and have, repudiated many social sins.
  3. Third, most of the world does not believe in God, and therefore is living in a “world without God.” Their own perceived needs and desires drive their actions, and social pressures drive their beliefs. Even if they have heard about Christ, they don’t believe. Their hearts are hard, their pride is in control, and they don’t want to submit to divine authority and change their lifestyles. They say in their heart, “There is no God.”

Of course, those who say there is no God are just deluding themselves. Psalm 14:1 and 53:1 say, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.'” There is a God (the God of the Bible), whether or not people believe in him. He does not derive his existence or power from his creation or his creatures; he is what philosophers call, the only “necessary Being.” The rest of us are all “contingent beings.” We depend on God for our existence; he does not depend on us. He existed self-sufficiently from eternity past without us. He did not need to create us, but freely chose to do so out of love.

That God’s existence is real can be known by his creation, especially in his creation of us who were made in his image. Paul wrote in Romans 1:20, “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.” The rest of that passage (verses 18-25) reveals God’s judgment on those who would deny his existence:

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”

Regardless of what people believe, or think they want, God is in the world. The world cannot shut him out, it cannot kick him off the throne and put themselves there, no matter what they want. He is still in charge, and now, just as in the days before the Great Flood, he has allowed the world to follow its own path, a path that leads to destruction. Each of us will face the reality of a righteous and holy God when our lives here end, and one day the entire world will face its day of reckoning. On that day, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11).

So, what would the world be without God? Bleak and doomed. But fortunately, those in Christ will never have to know such a world, for God has promised never to leave or forsake us. Amen thank you Lord!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Colossians 1:15-20; Psalm 53; Romans 1:18-32.

A Time of Drought

We are in a time of drought.

For those of us living in California, that’s hardly news. We are experiencing the worst drought in centuries, coming hard on the heels of a string of dry years. Lack of winter snows, followed by a dry spring and summer, have led to arid conditions, which are impacting crops, livestock, wildfires, and soon, everyday water use by millions of people. According to one report,  2021 could be one of the driest years in a millennium, with only half of the normal precipitation so far this year.

There’s not much we can do to end the drought, since its out of our hands. All we can do is try to endure and manage the water we do have, the best we can, and of course, pray for rain. As Psalm 135:7 says, “He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.” So let us pray that he does just that, and brings the rain.

Unfortunately as bad as the lack of water is, there is another kind of drought that is also devastating our land, here and throughout the country, and that is a spiritual drought. People’s spirits have dried up, turned to dust, and blown away in the hot winds of life, leaving people thirsting and seeking relief in the arid sands of drugs, material possessions, and entertainments. In doing so, they are like survivors on a life raft who drink the ocean water, only to become thirstier and thirstier until death overtakes them. The signs are all around us as violence, drug overdoses, and suicides reach epidemic proportions.

What are the causes of this spiritual drought? Certainly the past year and a half of the pandemic and the unrelenting coverage and warnings about it have played a part, but the drought goes much deeper. We have survived epidemics and even wars before, but now the situation seems much worse. What’s to blame?

The primary cause of our spiritual drought – and its horrible consequences in society – is our nation’s general rejection of God. This is not to say that there aren’t numerous believers, because there are. The problem is that we have removed the name of God, and the fear of God, from our public life. Every institution has been stripped  of its God-given responsibilities and moral restrictions. Politicians and public officials, educators and students, judges and corporations, movie stars and sports celebrities, have banished God and sought to operate by their own power and desires. In the words of Judges 17:6, “. . . Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

All people are sinners, and we have all broken God’s commandments in both the spirit and the letter of the law, but in former times we at least recognized the validity of those laws; now we have rejected the very idea of there being a set of God-ordained requirements that should form the basis of society. This change in attitude and behavior has come through a steady encroachment of atheistic forces, but even our churches have played their part, either by compromising with the culture to “fit in” or by retreating from engagement with society into seemingly safe fortresses. The result has been a spiritually dry, drought-blasted nation.

I have been very discouraged about this spiritual drought and its consequences in our society. It seems that every day things get worse and worse, until my well of hope has almost dried up. But then I remember the book of Lamentations, in which Jeremiah looked with sadness upon the destruction of Jerusalem and its beloved Temple by the Babylonians. He lamented the loss, but then by faith was able to proclaim,

           My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me.

           But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of             the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new             every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:20-24)

Jeremiah put his hope for future restoration, not in what his eyes could see, but in what God promised. Over a century before him, another prophet named Isaiah had given God’s word of promise: “For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants” (Isaiah 44:3). Note that the greater blessing, even greater than water to a parched land, is God’s Spirit. Later, the Lord spoke through the prophet Hosea (13:5) to remind the people, “It was I who knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought.” Although so many have rejected him, and though God seems at times so far away, he has not forgotten his people. Instead, he calls us to return to him and receive the blessings he desires to give us, even to shower upon us. Even if it seems that the world around us is suffering spiritual drought and its terrible results, God’s promises still hold true for those individuals who believe in him and trust in him.

Psalm 1:2-3 describes the man (person) who delights in God and his Word: “but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.” Jeremiah continues God’s promise of abundant spiritual water: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit” (Jeremiah 17:8).

And how does someone become planted near such abundant spiritual water that refreshes and nourishes his or her spirit? Not by laws or hard work, nor by good deeds or exemplary living, though such actions would improve our society. Those are good things, but are only surface changes and therefore temporary. What it takes for true spiritual blessing is answer the call and promise of Jesus Christ, who  Jesus stood up and cried out, “‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”‘ Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive” (John 7:37-38).

If you believe in Christ, you have the Holy Spirit, and therefore your own spirit is alive. Water it daily through prayer and the study of God’s Word. Delight in God’s laws and in his promises. And don’t be discouraged; instead, “trust in the Lord with all your heart” (Proverbs 3:5), and worship the One who provides both natural and supernatural water to sustain us now, and through all eternity.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Job 24:19; Lamentations 3; John 7:37-39; Revelation 7:17.

 

 

 

Our Father’s World

Some of my favorite memories as a child are about the times I spent at our YMCA’s summer camp in northern Wisconsin. From swimming and boating, to great food and fun campfire programs, to trail rides on the camp’s horses, to catching frogs and toads, there was almost always something going on that I now look back on with fondness.

Some of my memories go back to Sunday mornings at the camp, when all the campers would gather at the outdoor chapel for a worship service (the Catholic campers were taken into town for mass, and the one Jewish counselor had the morning off!). Besides the beautiful, peaceful setting looking out through the trees to the lake below, there was one more thing that made those services special: my dad was worship leader and preacher.

Although he wasn’t an ordained minister, my dad was devout in his faith and always involved in some church or lay ministry. In fact, since the YMCA was in those days a lay Christian ministry, he saw the purpose of his work as implementing the organization’s purpose of furthering Christian values and building a Christian society. So, as our Y’s Youth Director, he would come to the camp on Sundays to see how things were going (and to check up on me?), and to lead the worship.

The one thing I remember most from those Sunday services was my dad’s choice of hymns, which always seemed to include the old hymn, This is My Father’s World.* It always inspired me, sitting surrounded by the beauty of nature, hearing birds, feeling the gentle breeze, and seeing the trees and shimmering lake down below. Add to that, the fact that my own father was up front leading the service, and you can see why even today I have such fond memories and an appreciation for that hymn. I still affirm that this is indeed my Father’s world.

But in what way is it my Father’s world, speaking as the song does, of God, being our heavenly Father?

  1. At the time, and for most of my life, the hymn has spoken to me of the natural world which God designed and created by his power. How beautiful his creation is, from mountains to oceans, to rivers and lakes; from trees and flowers to rocks; from sun and moon to stars; and most amazing, creatures from the small frogs I would catch at the camp, to the horses we rode, to the birds, and yes, even to the mosquitos we swatted. Everything in nature that shouted “God!” was praised in the hymn, which reminded us that this world is indeed a gift from God and from him alone.  This world is from him and belongs to him. We just get to live in it.

Think of the ways God has reminded us of this fact. Genesis 1 recounts the creation of all things in the heavens and on earth by God, who sums up his work in verse 27: “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” Psalm 8:3-4 says, “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” Romans 1:19 says, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.” Colossians 1:16 reminds us that by Christ, “all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” Hebrews 3:4 says, “For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.” Jeremiah 32:7 proclaims, “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” There are more verses which proclaim God as Creator, but let me add this one more from psalm 90:2, “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” This is truly our Father’s world as proclaimed in the first two verses of the hymn:

This is my Father’s world,
And to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world:
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas–
His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father’s world:
The birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white,
Declare their Maker’s praise.
This is my Father’s world:
He shines in all that’s fair;
In the rustling grass, I hear Him pass,
He speaks to me everywhere.

From both the affirmations of Scripture and my own senses, I have never doubted that God is real, that he is all wise and powerful, and that he is the Creator and Sustainer of everything that exists. This is my Father’s world – and universe.

2. But recently, I have had to look closer at the hymn’s third verse, which asserts that this is God’s world, regardless of its problems and challenges. With all the horrible things going on in the world, and especially now in our country, it would be very easy to think that everything is out of control, that our faith has lost the battle, and that the forces of evil have taken charge to remake everything in their own image. God’s commandments are thrown out, people look to the material world as all their is. As Carl Sagan put it, “The universe is all that is, ever was, or ever will be.” As Paul put it in Romans 1:25, “they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever!”

But no matter how discouraged we might be, or how dominant the anti-Christian forces seem to be these days, we must not forget the truth which the hymn proclaims in its third verse:

This is my Father’s world:
O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the Ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world:
Why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King: let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let earth be glad!

God alone raises up rulers and brings them down. He alone sets the time span for nations and empires, for the righteous and sinners alike. He is the sovereign, in-charge ruler over all. Though we don’t know his purposes in the events we see or the struggles we face, we must remain confident that in the end, God’s will, will be done on earth as it is in heaven. He will judge us all with perfect justice, so those who mock him will not prevail: “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”(Galatians 6:7). And above all, God’s love and mercy will triumph over all (James 2:13b), for not only is he the all powerful Father, he also loves us more than even our earthly fathers can.

For that I am grateful, to my earthly father for his love and Christian testimony, and to my – our – heavenly Father for all he has done, and will yet do, in this, his world.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Nehemiah 9:6; Isaiah 66:2; Revelation 4:11; Isaiah 45:18

*Public domain, written by Rev. Maltbie Davenport Babcock, published in 1901 as a poem, and in 1925 with the music.

In Like a Lamb, Out Like a Lion

As we move ahead toward the end of March, I am reminded of the old saying: “March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb.” I first heard this statement when I was a kid (Yes, the saying is that old! Or should I say, “olde”?*) I learned that it referred to the change of seasons, and the resulting change of weather, during the month of March, when winter turns to spring. The cold, blustery and stormy weather of the beginning of the month, has transformed – much like the opening of the first daffodils – to sunshine and warm and gentle breezes. March does come in, roaring and charging like a lion, but by the end of the month, it goes out like a frolicking, new-born spring lamb. How cute!

At this point, I must apologize to my Australian friends and readers for my Northern-centric observation, for as we all know, the seasons are reversed in the Southern hemisphere. There, March marks the end of summer and the beginning of autumn, so the warm, balmy weather there gives way to increasingly cool temperatures and stormy winds. To our antipodal friends, “March comes in like a lamb, but goes out like a lion.” And they are right.

But they are right in another way, too, that goes beyond any meteorological meaning, because the phrase, “In like a lamb, but out like a lion” can also speak of the two comings of Jesus Christ.

The first coming of Jesus into the world was lamblike:

The first coming of Jesus into the world was lamblike: as a helpless baby, born in a stable and then cradled in a feed trough. His family was poor, and he remained so throughout his life, having, as he himself put it, “nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20). He came humbly, setting aside his divine rights and privileges, taking on human form and physicality through which he suffered hunger, thirst, torture, and even death. Philippians 2 expresses Christ’s  humbling in the beautiful words, “but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (verses 7-8).

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter

Jesus endured the taunts, derision, mocking, and outright brutality that he didn’t deserve. He refused to use his miraculous powers to feed, heal, or enrich himself; he held firm to his sacrificial servant attitude when tempted by Satan in the desert, and when urged by his own disciples not to go to the cross. His harshest criticism of Peter was when the latter rebuked Jesus for predicting his death at the hands of the chief priests and scribes: “Get behind me, Satan!” (Mark 8:33). And once arrested, Jesus refused to curse or blaspheme his accusers, or beg for their mercy; instead, he fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy: “like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).

This is not to say Jesus was a wimp. Although a lamb can hardly defend itself or attack people (though a fellow church member once suffered a broken leg when one of her grown sheep smashed her into a fence!), Jesus was in no way helpless or cowering in fear. He who had power to calm storms by voice command, turn water into wine, heal the sick, cast out demons, and even raise the dead, could have easily brought judgment down on his enemies. As he told his disciples at the moment of his arrest, “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions  of angels?” (Matthew 26:53). But he didn’t, so that his purpose of saving the world could be fulfilled.

This sacrificial aspect of Jesus’ first coming is summed up in the term, “Lamb of God.” As commanded by the Lord God, the Israelites put the blood of a lamb on their doorposts and lintels during the tenth plague of Egypt; when God struck down the first-born son of each household, he passed over the homes which were marked with that blood. Hence the Passover was born, celebrated to this day by Jews, and by Christians who recognize that the blood of the sacrificed lamb was a symbol of the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross. We who are in Christ are marked by his blood, the blood of the Lamb, so that we are spared eternal death and judgment.

The Scriptures are clear about Christ being the Lamb whose innocent blood was shed to save us from our sins. At the outset of Jesus’ ministry, John the Baptist pointed his own disciples to Jesus and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 and 1:36). Then, in 1 Corinthians 5:7, Paul declares, “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” Peter likewise proclaimed we were ransomed from judgment, not with silver or gold, “but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” And then the final book of the Bible, Revelation, calls Jesus the Lamb no fewer than twenty-four times! My favorite verse of the latter is Revelation 13:8, which speaks of those whose names are written in the “book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (KJV).

Jesus came to us like a lamb, offering himself as the innocent sacrifice for our sins, that whoever believes in him will have eternal life. Thanks to God for his great love, by which he offered up his own son that we might be reconciled to him.

Yes, Jesus came to us the first time like a lamb, but the next time, it will be very different. When Christ returns, he will be a lion.

When Christ returns, he will be a lion.

Lions are impressive animals – on the one hand majestic and beautiful, on the other, powerful and dangerous. No, “Here, kitty, kitty.” Try messing with one of her cubs, and a mother lioness will tear you to shreds – and then feed you to her cute little kitties. It’s not for no reason that lions are called, “the king of beasts.” The Lion King, indeed!

The Scriptures used this symbol of a powerful lion ravaging and destroying its enemies, as a metaphor for God bringing judgment on his enemies. The symbol was applied to the tribe of Judah when Jacob blessed his sons in Genesis 49. Jacob prophesied of Judah, saying, “Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion
and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?” The lion became a sign of the tribe of Judah, and of the king who would come from that lineage: Jesus Christ. From the first book of the Bible, we look to the last – Revelation – which calls Jesus, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Revelation 5:5).

When God prophesied through Hosea to warn the two Israelite kingdoms about his coming vengeance, he said, “For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear and go away;
I will carry off, and no one shall rescue” (Hosea 5:14).

Even when the term “lion” is not used, the effect is the same, that Jesus will return in power and judgment to overcome all enemies and rule the nations. 1 Corinthians 15:25-27 says, “For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” 

Revelation 19:15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

The King, who fulfilled Zechariah’s prophecy by coming to us, humble and riding on a donkey (9:9) when he entered Jerusalem, won’t be riding a donkey next time. Revelation 19 says he will come riding into battle on a white horse: “The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.”

When Christ returns, he will bring judgment on the earth, and all will have to bow and give account of their lives (Romans 14:12). Jesus himself warned, “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,” (Matthew 12:36).

The Good News of course, is that for those who are in Christ there is now no condemnation. Our sins are forgiven, and we stand before the throne of God as his redeemed. Thank God that we can stand before the coming of the Lion with joy and not fear!

In like a Lamb, out like a Lion. It’s a good thing he decided to do it in that order, because if he had come the first time in righteous judgment, we would all have been doomed, “for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?” (Joel 2:11).

May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Revelation 5; Revelation 19

* The first printed reference to this saying was in 1742 in Merry Olde England.

Jesus and Belial

This week I was invited to a prayer session. Actually, everyone was. The newspaper display ad read, “In service to the Elk Grove community, invites you to a virtual Prayer Devotional . . .” The fact that this was not a complete sentence is not what caught my attention; what the ad said next, was: “. . . demonstrating kinship of all Faiths through prayer.”

This ad was placed by the Interfaith Council of Elk Grove, whose members state their purpose as, “Working together – building a just and caring society.” Those are noble goals, even if not everyone seeking justice these days is very caring toward those they oppose. People of every faith, or none, should seek to pursue such goals in both their own lives and that of the societies in which they live. But does such striving indicate the “kinship of all Faiths”? If I invented a religion in which I was the high priest of toad worship, would my religion be part of that kinship? (Don’t laugh – ancient Chinese venerated toads as symbols of wealth and longevity!)

Does a common desire to have a peaceful society where people respect and care for each other mean that all religions and personal faiths are the same? What do the many religions and faiths around us actually believe? Do we indeed share “kinship” with any and all other religions, aside from certain almost-universal moral tenets such as the Golden Rule?

Specifically, considering the newspaper invitation, should Christians pray with non-Christians? To whom are we praying when we pray in unity with believers in other religions?

1. With Hindus, to which god are we to pray: Ganesha (pot-bellied elephant god), Shiva, Krishna, Rama, Vishnu, or Kali, the goddess of death?

2. With Muslims, to Allah, the moon-god? Or Allah the only god, who has no son? Or to Issa (Jesus) who escaped the cross and had Judas die there in his place?

3. With Buddhists, to devas and brahmas that exist in five-layered heavens, or nagas that live in snake form on earth? Or to the impersonal sea to which we return when we die from this illusionary world, like droplets of water?

4. With Mormons, to Jesus, the brother of Lucifer (Satan) who was physically begotten by Adam-god, and was on earth in his journey to godhood, which we can all attain?

5. With Native American devotees, to Bluejay, trickster god of the Chinook; or to White Buffalo Woman of the Sioux; to Taronhiawagon of the Iroquois; to Old Man Coyote of the Crow;  or to another of the dozens of nature gods and goddesses worshipped by the many indigenous tribes of North America?*

6. With Atheists? To matter and energy? Or to material processes that exclude any divine purpose, entity, or intervention?

I could go on, but you get the picture. How can people who have such widely-divergent beliefs pray together? Or as the Bible says, “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3 KJV). Now, you may say that praying together is okay as long as you have in your own mind the biblical Trinity, but in public prayer, no one can tell what you’re thinking; to others, your participation in such interfaith prayers conveys the message that you are in agreement. Your participation validates their religions as being on an equal footing with Christianity.

This is not an issue of praying for non-Christians; I have done this and will do this at any time. We once lived next-door to a Mormon family that had a meltdown one evening. When the teen daughter broke off part of the railing on the staircase, the father came and got me to “be a witness” to what was going on. After hearing them speak (yell) at each other, I asked that we pray for God’s peace for them and the situation. I certainly did not pray to any Mormon god or concept of god, but called on the true God to bring peace to the family, which he did.

Praying for others is appropriate, but praying with them as if we were one in faith or had just different shades of the same faith, is not. Some may view this as narrow sectarianism, or egotistical pride (“I’m right but you’re not!”), or even racism, since some religions are held predominantly by certain ethnic groups, such as Sikhism among the Sikhs of the Punjab and Fiji. But this is not about personal preferences or arrogance. Christianity is the most universal religion of all, with two billion adherents from “every nation, tribe, and language.” No, this is a statement of obedience to God’s own commands, to come out from the world and be separate from them, worshiping the true God and him only (Matthew 4:10, Luke 4:9).

This division between faith in the true God and other so-called gods was commanded in both Testaments and was the basis of the kosher regulations of the Law. Kosher food rules against consuming meat and dairy products in the same meal, are based on passages such as Deuteronomy 14:21 “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk,” which forbids the mixing of two forms of food. Likewise, Deuteronomy 22:10-11 prohibited wearing a mixture of wool and linen, and plowing with both “an ox and a donkey together” Many have wondered why the Torah prohibits such mixtures, concluding it is a mystery. Personally, I agree with many Christian commentators who believe these were reminders of Israel being apart from the other nations. Not only would they eat and dress differently, they would avoid mixing with other religions.

As Christians, these kosher requirements of food and clothing are no longer binding. Christ has set us free, and as Paul (a very kosher Jew!) taught us, all things are lawful to us in Christ. Whether we eat certain foods or not is not regulated, apart from the effect our public eating or drinking may have on others.

But the principle behind the Old Testament food and clothing regulations still applies, that there be separation between those who follow Christ and those who do not.

When the people of Ephesus became believers, they burned their old magic books (which were very valuable) in order to follow Christ. They didn’t just add Jesus to their pantheon of other gods, so as to cover their bases. They recognized the incompatibility of belief in Christ with any other religion. Theirs was no “interfaith” religion.

“And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver.” (Acts 19:17-19)

In 2 Corinthians 6:14-16, Paul wrote: “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols?” The point is that you can’t mix Christianity with other religions in the name of “getting along” or seeking fellowship.

So how do we deal with other religions and the people who practice them? Do we attack them, insult them, or just shun them, refusing to talk or work with them in order to remain separate from untruth? Or should we befriend, associate, and cooperate with them in every area except worship and prayer?

I believer the Bible gives us a clear answer to that dilemma, which I will address in the next blog! (Cliffhanger!) So until then:

May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Acts 17:16-34; Acts 19; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18;

* To be fair, many tribes believe(d) in the Great Spirit, one overall god, to whom Christians have pointed as representing the true God in their evangelism. The missionaries have quoted Paul in Acts 17:23 “‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.”

Are You Woke?

Are you “woke”?

That’s a question people may ask you when they hear you snoring during one of my sermons. Hypothetically. Not that it ever actually happened. How could it? Sure, I did see a few yawns during my times in the pulpit, but I’m sure those were from people who had worked all Saturday night and found peace in what I was preaching . . . right?

More likely, these days when people speak of being “woke,” they’re not talking about the physiological state of not being asleep, but rather about being aware of issues of social justice. According to The Urban Dictionary, “woke” is “A word currently used to describe ‘consciousness’ and being aware of the truth behind things ‘the man’ doesn’t want you to know.” The idea is to be “awake” to the social situations and realities of our history and culture.

It’s an interesting term. Of course, its use implies there is a specific reality to which one should be “woke.” To be considered to be properly “woke,” one must not only know about, but also agree with a certain political viewpoint, specifically that of left-wing politics. It would do you no good to claim to be “woke” to other political or economic realities. You couldn’t say, for example, that you are “woke” to the benefits of the free market. Or are “woke” to the great accomplishments of our nation’s founders. Or, that you are “woke” to the fact that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.

And yet, that last statement is the one true statement that shows you are really “woke” to the reality that is the most important fact of all history, the fact which transcends all others: political, economic, and historical. While today’s use of the term “woke” may seem new, the idea of knowing and understanding truth is as old as, well, the Bible.

Scripture speaks of waking up in three powerful ways besides the normal use of the term to refer to arousing from natural nighttime slumber.

1. The first is the call to wake up from the slumber of going through life unaware of God and our relationship to him. Psalm 14:1 proclaims, “The  fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.'” To go on through life unaware of God, his power and his sovereignty over everything is to be foolish. It is like sleeping all day and missing all that is important in life; worse, our eyes are open, but the cares and needs of the world around us keep our eyes blind to the reality that is really important. Like the person whose house is burning down, but hits the snooze button on his alarm clock to shut off the smoke detector, our “few more minutes of sleep,” ignoring God’s call on our lives, puts us in mortal danger.

Jesus said, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32*). But his statement was not about knowledge in general, or science, or philosophy, or the latest political correctness; rather, it was about being set free from the bondage to sin by knowing him and believing in him. In today’s parlance, he could have said, “Be woke and you will be liberated!”

 The Apostle Paul tells us that when we awake to the reality of God in Christ, our behavior should change. He says, “Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning” (1 Corinthians 15:34).

Ephesians 5:15 promises us blessing if we come out of our sleep-like stupor and turn to God: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

In the early 1700s, a series of revivals swept the American colonies, in which a renewed interest and devotion to Christ spread and impacted many people who had lost their religious fervor. It was called “The Great Awakening,” because people were said to be awakening from their spiritual lethargy. It is high time for another Awakening to come our way!

2. Second, the Bible speaks of being awake and alert as we await Christ’s return and the end of our current age. Romans 13:11 says, “Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.” By this, Paul tells us that there is urgency to our waking up to the reality of Christ’s return.

Likewise, Jesus told a parable in Matthew 25 about ten virgins awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom; five were ready but five were not, so when they were awakened at his coming, only the five who were prepared could enter the wedding feast. Christ commanded us to be like the wise virgins who were prepared: in verse 13 he said, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” His message is clear: we are to always be alert and ready for his coming. Being caught asleep is not an option.

What does this mean for us? It means that when Christ returns to bring judgment on the world, there will be two groups of people. One group will be those who ignored him and his warnings, and fell into a kind of spiritual sleep. The other will be the believers who long for his return, who pray for it daily (does “Thy kingdom come” sound familiar?), and who live in the expectation that Christ could return at any moment. This second group will not be caught off guard when he appears, but will rejoice at the sight of their Savior.

In Mark 13, Jesus  tells of the signs of his return and the end of the age. Four times he commands, “Stay awake!” Sounds like he meant it!

3. Third, Scripture uses the word “awake” to describe our coming resurrection as waking from the sleep of death.

The Old Testament had already used the term “sleep” to refer to death, and “awaking” to refer to our resurrection. Job 14:12 says, “So a man lies down and rises not again; till the heavens are no more he will not awake or be roused out of his sleep.” Isaiah 26:19 proclaims, “Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.” And, Daniel 12:2 tells us, “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

The New Testament reinforces this usage, and gives us the basis for our hope of the resurrection: Jesus Christ, who himself died and rose again as the first-born of those who will be raised (Colossians 1:18).

In Chapter 11 of John’s Gospel, Jesus’ friend, Lazarus, sickened and died while Jesus and his disciples were away. The Lord knew what had happened, and told his disciples, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him” (11:11). Verses 12 and following tell us what happened next: “The disciples said to him, ‘Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.’ Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus has died.'”

Other passages also refer to death as sleep, and to resurrection as waking up. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 describes that great “getting up day”:

“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

The temporary, sleep-like nature of death is memorialized in our word, “cemetery.” Prior to the early spread of Christianity, graveyards were called by the Greek term, “necropolis,” meaning, “city of the dead.” But the early Christians understood that the graves of believers were only temporary resting places where the deceased awaited the great day of Christ’s return and their rising to new life. Therefore, they started using a new word which was the Greek term for an inn, or traveler’s resting place. The new word they chose was “kemeterion,”  which became “cemetery” in English, a testimony to their faith in the resurrection.

Then will come to pass for all of us the miracle referred to in Matthew 27:52  “The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised.”

So, I ask you again, “Are you woke?” Are you awake to the reality of God? Are you awake and ready for Christ’s return? Do you look forward to falling asleep in the Lord and waking up at the resurrection? And finally, are you still awake after reading my blog?

May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: 1 Thessalonians 4, John 11, Job 19:24-26

 

* This quote from John 8:32 appears in the lobby of the CIA headquarters, but without the Scriptural context or meaning.

Statues of Limitation – Part 2

Last time I began addressing the issues surrounding the current smashing and toppling of historical statues, and made the first two of four points: First, that such statue smashing is wrong, and second, that all the people represented by such statues were flawed sinners (with feet of clay) who overcame their flaws to accomplish significant things (whether we like what they did or not). Now, I continue with the final two points:

3. Should we erect any statues at all? While I recognize the value of holding up certain people as examples to us of flawed individuals who nevertheless accomplished great things in their lives, my musings have led me to ask the question, “Should we erect any statues at all?”

My question is based on the commandment given by the LORD on Mount Sinai: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth” (Exodus 20:4 and Deuteronomy 5:8).

The reactions to this commandment have varied by religious communities over the centuries. The Israelites broke it even before Moses delivered it to them when they made a golden calf and worshiped it as their deliverer from Egypt. Later, the Jews prohibited any statues as idolatry, and rose up in armed rebellion against their enemies who put idols in the Temple: first against the Greek rulers in the days of the Maccabees (167-160 BC) and then against the Romans in 66-73 AD. During the Exile in Babylon, the captive Jews refused to bow down to the golden statue which King Nebuchadnezzar had erected on the Plain of Dura; the story of faithful Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is told in Daniel 3. Today, orthodox and some conservative Jews practice what is called aniconism (from “an” meaning “not,” and “iconism,” meaning the use of images). They prohibit any 3-dimensional representations of people, animals, or God, but allow pictures that are 2-D. Additionally, strict Muslims prohibit use of any images, which is why their mosques are decorated with geometric figures and “arabesque” swirls.

Christians have varied their observance of this commandment. Some have propagated such statues as honoring saints and instructing often illiterate populations in biblical and Church history, while others, known as “iconoclasts,” have forbidden and destroyed any such human forms for being “graven” or carved images and thus prohibited.

Today, the idea that statues are forbidden by God seems to have faded away among Christians in this country. We look at the verses following God’s prohibition against carved images and read the ban in context: “You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God. . . ” (Exodus 20:5a). I think we have generally reasoned that as long as you don’t worship the image and call it a god, you’re okay. (Even though we watch television competitions that tout their winners as “American Idols” – something I’ve never been comfortable with.)

I understand God’s commandment to be against worshiping anything or anyone but him, but I still think we should be careful not to invest any hero-worship in our heroes, whether “statued” or not. This applies to all famous people, celebrities of all kinds: athletes, movie stars, musicians, politicians, pastors-emeritus, etc. This concern came to mind in 1990 when I stood in front of the Novosibirsk State Polytechnic University in what was the Soviet Union. Standing with me was a Russian student who pointed to the huge statue of Vladimir Lenin that rose before us. The student leaned toward me and said, “Our last idol.” I hoped right then that I would never consider any statue to be an idol of mine.

4. Finally, what about statues of Jesus? What about the crucifixes that bear his form on the cross? Since we do worship Jesus as Lord and Savior, as the Son of God and the Second Person of the Trinity, are such images prohibited? I actually have mixed feelings and thoughts about this.

On the one hand, we must not worship the image, whether as a crucifix, a statue, or a drawing/painting. We worship the One that such art represents. We don’t know what Jesus looked like for sure, and I think that was God’s intention. Therefore people around the world have pictured him as looking like them, whatever their race or ethnicity. We can worship Christ without any artistic rendering, and must realize that whatever image we have in mind when we think of Christ will be inadequate. How can we describe the risen and glorified Christ in mere human terms? The Apostle John tried in Revelation 1:13-16, saying, “one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.”

On the other hand, I don’t want to criticize the faith and devotion of those who adorn their homes with pictures of Christ or crucifixes that bear the dying form of our Lord. They see his face or form daily, and are reminded of his sacrifice for their salvation. Like crossing oneself or wearing Christian jewelry, their faith is on display, and I commend them for it – as did Luther when he returned to Wittenberg. In defense of such images, while God cannot be confined to any finite image, Jesus did come to earth and become one of us, taking human form and life (Philippians 2:7-8).

I remember as a child (and later as a Sunday school teacher) using the old flannel graphs to tell Bible stories. Some of the flannel figures represented Jesus – walking on the water, healing the sick, sitting with the children. It’s hard to think that those pictures were idolatrous, since they presented visually what we were learning and teaching verbally. Even today, there are non-literate people who cannot read Bible stories in their language who can benefit from such visual representations.

So where do I stand after all these considerations? I think my title for these blogs, “Statue of Limitations,” says it pretty well. God’s prohibition against carved images is to prevent us trying to represent him by anything he has created. As Paul said, wicked men have exchanged true worship of the Creator with worship of his creation: “Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things” (Romans 1:22). Therefore, we who worship the true God must not hold up any statue or image as sacred; Jesus said, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). Our God is greater than any thing we might use to represent him. That is our limitation. But, if a statue or other image can be used to instruct, inspire, or encourage faith, then let it be used for that purpose, for God knows we need it!

And as far as a statue of me is concerned: God knows we don’t need that!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Exodus 20; Deuteronomy 5; Romans 1:18-32; Philippians 2:5-11.

Statues of Limitation

To my many friends and admirers who have wanted to erect a statue of me, whether on the front lawn of my church, in front of City Hall, or in some national park known for its oversized presidential heads, I say: just wait awhile; now is not the time for such an honor to be bestowed. There is just too much statue- and monument-smashing going on right now, and I would hate for your investment to be wasted. I would hate to see my bust get busted. I suggest waiting until the current anti-statue fervor dies down.

Like you, I have watched the news and seen videos of recent vandalism and mob violence directed against many monuments: first, against statues of Confederate generals, then against founding fathers, explorers, and pioneers, and finally even against statues of abolitionists and black soldiers who fought against the Confederacy. The message is clear: “It doesn’t really matter whom the statue represents; if it’s part of American history, it’s evil and needs to come down.”

As I watched these acts of destruction by mob violence, I have considered various aspects of what’s going on, and among my many thoughts, have come down to four issues I would like to share with you.

1. The actions are wrong. They are just senseless acts of hatred against our country. While supposedly motivated by the failures of our society to live up to our proclaimed noble ideals, these violent actions against people, property, and the duly instituted authorities of our country, violate those very same principles. The smashing of monuments and statues are attacks on our country and its history, and attempts to destroy our common identity. The range of targets by the mobs betrays any virtue in their actions. The point is destruction, not improvement. Not to mention the admonitions by Scripture to respect our authorities and render to the government what is due it (Matthew 22:21, Romans 13:1-7, 1 Timothy 2:1-4)

It’s not that I’m approving of statues of men who defended slavery; my great-grandfather, Leander Allen Eddy, fought against the Confederacy, spent time in a prison camp, was wounded in action, and carried a bullet (a Minie ball) in his leg the rest of his life. I’m glad “our side” won. But the Civil War happened, and the generals and soldiers who fought on both sides are part of our heritage. They – and the slaves who were freed – are part of who we are as a nation.

Statues which were erected by communities to commemorate some event or person who positively affected those communities can certainly be removed whenever those communities no longer revere those people or events; but such removals can be done by vote and consensus and not by violent actions of a few people who have no regard for the wishes of those communities. This is not even taking into account matters of private property. If you don’t like someone, buy or build your own statue and destroy that; your protest would actually cost you something and carry more weight.

Interestingly, the start of the Reformation in the early 1520’s brought  about a period of statue-smashing, as well. While Martin Luther hid out in the Wartburg Castle, some of those who were won to his cause back in the town of Wittenberg decided to show their new-found faith by smashing the symbols of the old faith in what had been the Roman Catholic churches. To that end, the religious rebels smashed statues of Mary and the other saints, broke stained glass windows, and tore down other religious images. Luther was horrified to learn of the destruction, and returned to Wittenberg to help stop such actions. He spoke against what he saw as the desecration of people’s faith as well as images.

2. All statues have “feet of clay.” The saying, “feet of clay,” comes from the book of Daniel, chapter 2, describing a dream of the king, Nebuchadnezzar, in which he saw a statue made up of different metals, but with feet of iron and clay. The clay symbolized a vulnerability in a future kingdom, and since has come to represent any vulnerability in a person who otherwise is strong and capable.

So, when I say all statues have feet of clay, I mean that every statue today represents a person who has flaws and faults (except for statues of Jesus, but that’s another topic – see my point #3 below). There is no one who is righteous, not one (Romans 3:10); rather, all have sinned (Romans 3:23). There is no one who could be honored with a statue if sinless perfection were a standard. Nor, with changing attitudes, could the hero of a past era or event by considered a hero today. Thus, Kate Smith’s statue was removed from the Philadelphia Flyers’ arena, even though she inspired millions of Americans through World War II and beyond with her recording of God Bless America, because someone found her recording of a racist song from the early 1930s. (The Flyers had a win record of 100-29 when they played her recording instead of the national anthem before their games; hence, the statue being erected there in the first place.)

George Washington had slaves. Thomas Jefferson had slaves. Cinque, the African slave featured in the movie Amistad, won his freedom, then went back to Africa where he joined the slave trade capturing other Africans to be sold into slavery. Martin Luther wrote horrible things against the Jews which were used by Hitler to justify his persecution against them. John Sutter mistreated the local native tribes in Sacramento, numerous U.S. presidents have had mistresses and adulterous affairs, etc., etc. All our heroes (and villains) have or had feet of clay. We can find fault with each and every one of them because they, like us, were sinners.

So why do they get statutes and we (I’m speaking of me as well) don’t? Because those people, in spite of their sins, flaws, and shortcomings, rose to face the challenges and circumstances of their times and places, and in the process, overcame difficulties to accomplish things, to establish societies, to change people’s lives, to make history, or to win conflicts. They were giants in their effect on their part of the world, even standing on feet of clay. That doesn’t always make them heroes, but it does warrant some recognition, because ultimately their story is the story of mankind: people facing life and striving to overcome difficulties to accomplish something good. The goal is that we, who also have feet of clay, will rise above our shortcomings and flaws to make life better for us, our families, and our communities.

To be continued next time . . . . in “Statues of Limitation – Part 2”

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Matthew 22:15-22; Romans 13:1-7; 1 Timothy 2:1-8

 

 

Blessing the Cursers

Over the past couple weeks, as social unrest has run rampant in our country, people have expressed their anger publicly through demonstrations and even riots. Triggered by the killing of an unarmed African-American man in Minneapolis by a police officer, the protests have grown and morphed into violence, fueled I believe by a combination of simmering angers, political agendas, and covid-19 consequences – such as long-term isolation and job losses. Unfortunately, much of the vitriol against injustice has been directed against people who had nothing to do with the triggering act, such as first-responders, shop owners, and complete strangers.

I received some of the hate this week myself.

It started about 3:15 one morning when my cell phone woke me with a call from a Louisiana number. When I answered, a little girl’s voice asked to speak to Stephanie. Since there is no Stephanie in our home or family, I told the girl that and said she must have the wrong number. She said okay sweetly and we said, “Bye, bye” to each other. No problem; simple error. A few seconds later the same number called, and figuring she had redialed the wrong number, I answered again. I did not expect what I heard this time: an older woman’s voice telling me, “I hope you die and go to hell!” I guess next time I should say, “This is Stephanie” in a high voice.

Over the next couple days I had several more calls and texts from Louisiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Arizona, and even British Columbia. While two were hang-ups, one voicemail was so foul and obscenity-laden I would never repeat what the young woman said. The fact that she was addressing her rant to someone named Katie only made her choice of wording that much worse. Maybe I should have said, “This is Katie” in a high voice to spare the real Katie from such abuse!

The fact other names were used makes me think the callers had the wrong number, but the number of calls and the wide range of caller locations makes me suspect a coordinated political effort.

As I heard each call or read each text message, I couldn’t help but think about how I should respond. Should I mimic voices like I joked above, just hang up, or yell and insult the caller back, telling them to “Get the —- off my phone!”?

While I did toy with playing games with such callers, such as I once did with a phone solicitor wanting to sell me solar panels – I told him no, since solar panels use up sunlight and there’s only so much sunlight to go around – I decided the best thing was to ignore the insults and just hang up.

There were practical reasons for doing so: 1. As my parents taught me, if you engage in a fight you’re only giving the bully what he or she wants: a reaction from their victim; 2. Some of the calls were aimed at others, not me; 3. “Sticks and stones, etc.”; 4. I doubt the callers were open to a calm and logical discussion seeking harmonious agreement; and 5. I don’t know enough nasty words or how to use them to hold my own in a cussing match!

But the real reason not to engage in a dispute, or to bear any grudge against the callers, is even deeper, and that is what our Lord taught us through Scripture.

1. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught us, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:43-45).

2. Likewise, in Luke 6:27-28 Jesus said, “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”

3. Paul wrote in Romans 12:14, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.”

4. Even more generally, the command of both testaments, old and new, is that God commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Therefore, if I truly love my neighbors, I will forgive them their angry outbursts, even as I would appreciate them forgiving my sins. Martin Luther picked up on this and expressed it in his Small Catechism when explaining the Eighth Commandment: “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way.” Yelling back at a caller is not speaking well of that person, who, though misguided, is still my neighbor.

God’s command that we respond with love to those who harm us or curse us does not mean we sit back passively and approve of everything that anyone does. I have to admit that much of what I saw on TV was unsettling and even angering: how can I condone smashing windows, burning cars, and looting goods from stores with smiles on the looters’ faces? Or for that matter, kneeling on a person’s neck until he dies? I felt anger rising in me toward everyone involved because much of what I saw was just not right! But then, I realized I was in danger of my “righteous” anger becoming a sin and recalled Paul’s words in Ephesians 4:26 “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil,” and in verses 31-32, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

Therefore, I refuse to be goaded into an attitude of hate. Instead, I prayed for the people who called, that their hatred be healed and released, and that they come to know the peace which passes understanding in Christ, through whom we can endure all things (1 Corinthians 13:7) and do all things: “through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

May you and I keep that peace foremost in our hearts ad minds, and in our words and actions!

May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Matthew 5, Philippians 4, Ephesians 4:26-32

Borders and Bridges, Part 2

In my last blog, I introduced the idea of “Borders and Bridges” and spoke to the necessity for the first half of that phrase: borders. As I pointed out, from the separations established by God at the beginning of creation (light separated from dark to be day and night, for example) to the structure of cells within a defining and protective membrane or cell wall, to national boundaries, we saw that borders play an important role. We also saw that borders exist in spiritual matters, such as those between God and man, and between the lost and the saved. We read in Jesus’ parable about Lazarus that there is a great chasm (border) fixed that no one can cross between those in paradise and those in Hades who suffer in anguish  (Luke 16:26). Even non-believers establish behavioral boundaries to require permission and respect when it comes to interactions between people. But borders are only half the story. What about bridges that transcend those necessary borders?

Part II. Bridges are Necessary

As necessary as borders, boundaries, and walls are to separate, protect, and identify different individuals, places, and other things, they can also be a problem. If there is no way for anything to cross the border for a good and needed purpose, the barrier can prove to be harmful or even fatal.

A cell wall will cause the cell to die if there is no way for needed nutrients to get into the cell and waste products to get out. An example is type 2 diabetes which I have: the cell membranes become resistant to the insulin needed to transport glucose (sugar) into the cell, where it provides energy. Instead, the sugar remains in the blood above proper levels, where it causes damage to other tissues. Treatment usually begins with medicines which reduce that resistance to allow the insulin to pass into the cell and do its work. In essence, the medicine builds a “bridge” across the cell membrane to bring in what’s needed.

You see the same thing in other contexts. A prisoner locked in solitary confinement is essentially in a cell (duh!). If no one brought food and water through that cell wall, or removed waste, that prisoner would die (and go crazy in the process). A city under siege has its supply lines cut off, sealing it off from the outside world and preventing both reinforcements and any resupply of basic food supplies; the city has to surrender or starve (read Lamentations 4:1-10 about the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem and its consequences). A more recent siege took place when the Soviets blockaded West Berlin from mid-1948 to mid-1949. The city was left in dire straits without food or coal for winter heating until the U.S. and its allies formed an airlift, which over an entire year flew in 2.3 million tons of supplies, saving the city and causing the Soviets to lift their “siege.” The airlift created a vital bridge which preserved the freedom and lives of the Berliners.

Wealth and prosperity come from trade across borders. One person or company or country produces more of one item than it needs, and trades with another entity for what it produces, and now both are richer. For example, our orange tree produced over 100 oranges this year. We couldn’t eat that many, so we gave some away, which prospered more people with good food from our tree. Other people have shared with us their walnuts, lemons, limes, plums, and pomegranates. We were all enriched by the trades. But without such trades, if non-bridegable borders had forced us to keep everything to ourselves, there would have been rotting produce in all our yards and we would have all been a little poorer for it.

Trade was so important to our nation’s founders that they prohibited tariffs between states. The Constitution essentially established a trade bridge across all state boundaries.  When it comes to countries, trade treaties form bridges to allow the transfer of goods and services across boundaries. Both countries are benefited by those cross-border exchanges. That’s why the terms of trade treaties are such big news these days: the prosperity of the trading partners is at stake. The fact that we do have trade around the world is a blessing to everyone: just check out the food can and produce labels in your kitchen to see how much our diet is enriched by having economic bridges with the world.

Cross-border movement of people is important too. Besides international business and tourism travelers, there are those who cross borders to escape persecution or seek a better life. Immigration has been the life-blood of our nation for 400 years; the issue is not whether there should be borders or bridges across those borders, but how easy or difficult it should be to cross those bridges legally. I wouldn’t be here in America if my ancestors had not crossed some borders on their way from the British Isles. By the way, I still have the actual travel papers used by my great-great-grandmother when she emigrated from Germany to Chicago in the 1860’s. Once again, I am glad such a bridge existed for her to do that.

So far, you can see the benefits, and indeed necessity, of bridges in various areas of life. But there is ultimately an even more important area for there to be a bridge, and that is the spiritual. As I showed in the previous blog, our sin created a border between us and God, between us and the joys of eternal life. We were shut out from the earthly paradise in which God placed us, and remain excluded from heaven from birth. No matter how we try, we cannot cross that border by our own strength or goodness. That is what Christ did for us by his death on the Cross; the effect of his death was shown in that the Temple curtain (a border wall) which closed off the Holy of Holies from the people, tore from top to bottom, showing that we now had access (a bridge) to God.

When I consider the interplay between borders and bridges, I see the scriptural, Lutheran doctrine of Law and Gospel at work.

1. God’s Law defines the border between what God accepts and does  not accept. It shuts out those who sin and disobey God, and sets boundaries for our behavior. “Thou shalt not” and “thou shalt” command our obedience and threaten us with harm if we trespass them (a word which means “to step over,” and is perfect border-violating language.). The Law divides the sheep and the goats, the wheat and the tares, and speaks of burning the chaff with unquenchable fire. This is the Law, and God is righteous in establishing and enforcing all such boundaries.

2. The Gospel proclaims that in spite of our sin, the boundaries which would separate us from God and consign us to hell have been breached by God’s mercy. Because God loves us and does not want us to be separated from him or see destruction, he has provided a Savior in his Son, Jesus the Christ. All are invited through faith in Christ to cross over the bridge into eternal life. Now, the way is narrow and not everyone will cross it, but the way is there. Jesus proclaimed he is the way (John 14:6), and Ephesians 2:14 joyously proclaims, “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.” The way is open through faith in Jesus Christ.

There are more things that could be said about borders and bridges, about how they impact life itself and the way we relate to the environment, to each other, and to God. But for now, it’s important to see that both are necessary to order and freedom, to Law and Gospel, to you and me. May we always thank God for his righteousness and his mercy and for the borders and bridges his love provides for us.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Luke 16:19-31; Lamentations 4; 2 Kings 25; John 14:1-6

Borders and Bridges

Borders and bridges. Two politically charged and controversial terms and subjects. Today I drove past an “On the Border” restaurant and the building that used to house a Borders Bookstore. But those aren’t what I or today’s politicians are talking about. And tomorrow, I’m seeing my dentist to have a bridge installed (for real). That’s not what gets the political classes all upset, either.

No, in current political discourse, the terms, “borders” and “bridges,” deal with restrictions on the identities and movements of people. Borders refer to physical demarcations of national identity and sovereignty which separate groups of people, and bridges to connections between individuals and groups. One side says, “Build the wall!” and the other side says, “Build bridges, not walls!” (A third group, the construction industry, says, “Just build!”) The two terms are set as opposites and loaded with all kinds of personal and and political agendas, which I’m not going to get into.

After pondering the issue, and putting aside my own personal political predilections, I have come to the conclusion that both borders and bridges are necessary, not only to the social and political realm, but also to our faith and to life itself.  Let me explain . . .

Part I: Borders are necessary.

When we speak of borders, we can also use the term, boundaries. Borders and boundaries are limits on space, time, matter and energy. They define identity and create units of life. They designate what is, and what is not, when it comes to speaking of anything. If I say who I am, I am separating myself from others who I am not. If I ask how are you, I am distinguishing myself from you. If I say this is where I live, I am defining one certain place as distinct from everywhere else.

This has been the case from the beginning, and I mean, from the beginning. When God created light, he said it was good, and he separated the light from the dark and called one day and the other night (Genesis 1:3-5).  As God continued to create, the separations continued: earth, sun, moon, stars; plants and animals; the sky (“he separated the waters above from the waters below” – Genesis 1:6-7); the sea and the dry land (Genesis 1:9). Then, the pinnacle of God’s creation: mankind. Even in this final act, there were boundaries set: man/God, man/other creatures, and man/woman. Distinctions were made, and boundaries on actions were set: the fruit of one tree was made off-limits, out-of-bounds. And, when the man and woman violated that rule, God expelled them from the Garden and positioned the original border guards to keep them out: Genesis 3 says, “and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.” The original ICE agents. Or should I say, FIRE agents?

As Christians we know the separation was more than closing off a piece of land by a physical border; we know that the real separation was spiritual: sinful man from a holy God, and life from death. (As Christians, we also know how God would build the bridge needed to reunite us, but you’ll have to wait until Part II for that!)

Leaving spiritual matters of borders, consider how essential boundaries are to our biological lives. All life is based on cells which are made up of a bunch of really cool stuff (nuclei, mitochondria, ribosomes, cytoplasm, etc.) which are contained within what? A cell wall (plant) or membrane (animal). The cell wall holds everything together that is needed for the cell to live, and keeps out the substances and other living things that would destroy the cell it is protecting. Whatever is within the wall or membrane is the cell; whatever is outside the boundary is not the cell. Life itself is based on such tiny borders. When a wall or membrane is broken open, the cell dies.

Moving up in size, the collection of cells which comprise an animal, person or plant are grouped together within an outer boundary – skin, exoskeleton, or bark, for example – which define the creature. Again, what is needed to sustain the creature’s life is within the body, and distinguish it from what is outside. When that outer boundary is compromised by injury or disease, the life of the entire body (and the cells which form it) is at risk.

Then there is the social order. The most basic unit of human society is the family. While there are numerous ways we speak of families and define them, the basic definition is of a group of people related through marriage or ancestry, or living together as a household. The classic example of a family is a set of parents living with their children. Whatever the makeup of any specific family, there is a common understanding within the group of who is part of it and who is not. Best friends are not part of a family. An overnight guest or visitor is not part of it. A pet is not part of a family (sorry, Fido and Fluffy). This doesn’t mean others cannot be accepted into the family through birth or marriage or adoption, or treated as one of the family, or expelled from the family for some horrendous behavior, but even all these exceptions depend on there being a social unit called the family which has an invisible, socially agreed-upon boundary. The basic family is formed when a husband and wife vow to forsake all others and keep themselves only unto their spouse; talk about a boundary – a boundary that defines the family!

In the social order above the family come clans, tribes, countries, nations, and other politically defined entities. Even with these, there are borders and boundaries which define membership, citizenship, and sovereignty of people. Whether you look at who pays taxes to whom, who pays tribute to whom, who enforces laws on whom, or who gets to vote for whom, the boundaries our societies draw to separate one people from another make a huge difference in our lives. Laws vary by state, the primaries going on as I write this vary by which state holds them, and the voters of one state cannot vote in a different state.

This kind of division also goes way back in time. We read in the Bible of God separating the people of earth into many nations, beginning by confusing the language which they spoke as they were building the Tower of Babel. Then, we read the names of many nations cited in the Scriptures: the Babylonians, the Egyptians, the Hittites, the Chaldeans, the Assyrians, etc. bearing the names of the places they inhabited. Each had sovereignty over their own lands, and fought wars to gain control of other people and lands. Finally, when the tribes of Israel gained their freedom, God gave each one a separate piece of land in which to love and grow. God gave them laws and boundaries (see Joshua 15) , and forbade them from moving the boundary stones which marked off their borders (Proverbs 22:28). It’s obvious from history, in the Bible as well as from secular accounts, that people have not been satisfied with border restrictions placed on them. For many reasons – land, food, pride, lust for power and wealth – people have fought wars with people who lived on the other side of those boundaries. But ultimately the goal of such wars was not to erase boundaries, but to extend their own boundaries to include their conquered foes. Not always a good thing or a noble goal, but even so, establishing a sovereign nation (or city or states or county, etc.) is needed to social order and safety.

Which brings me to one final point about borders. We speak of respecting boundaries in our personal relationships as necessary for peaceful, respectful interactions with each other. Whether the boundaries are physical (not abusing someone physically or sexually), verbal (not gossiping or slandering someone), or social (not demanding favors, calling late at night, or interfering with someone’s life), there are and should be limits to how we treat each other (the Bible has some good ideas along those lines . . .). Many such boundaries are serious enough that we have passed laws regulating or forbidding their violation; most laws are just that: boundary setters with penalties attached for crossing them. The purpose of such laws and penalties is in line with the biblical mandate for government, which is to restrain evil (Romans 13:1-7).

Boundaries are natural, good, and necessary, but there are times they can be harmful and destructive, too. In those cases, or to prevent such harmful consequences, there also need to be bridges. And those I will cover next time in: Borders and Bridges Part 2

Until then, may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Joshua 15; Romans 13:1-7

Just Be Just

We are currently mid-way or so in the US Senate’s impeachment trial. If you asked, “What impeachment?”, your name must be Rip Van Winkle*, and you’ve been asleep since November 2016. The House managers (the prosecutors) finished presenting their case, and yesterday the president’s lawyers (the defense team) began their presentation. There are at least two days of arguments ahead before we know exactly what will happen.

While watching the defenders reacting to the prosecutors’ assertions, I remembered the words of one of the sayings from the Bible’s book of Proverbs: “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him” (Proverbs 18:17). How true it is, for if you only heard one side of the story, during the impeachment or during any other trial or debate, you could easily be swayed to believe that version. Not until the other side has spoken can you better decide who is right.

I once served on a jury that heard a felony case about a man charged with tethering and abusing his dogs. The prosecutor, an assistant district attorney, showed pictures and presented testimony from two animal control officers. Then came the animal shelter veterinarian who showed and described the dogs’ injuries. When the prosecutor finished, it would have been easy to conclude the defendant was guilty. But then the defense attorney got up and shredded the prosecutor’s case. Not only did the animal officers’ testimony disagree with the physical evidence and photos, the vet testified that apart from the superficial wounds (caused by the dogs when they attacked each other) the animals’ conditions showed they were properly nourished and cared for. Our verdict: not guilty.

It’s interesting that the Bible, and other ancient Jewish writings, hold a lot of wisdom about trials and other legal remedies, such as the admonition in Proverbs that a person hear both sides of a story before deciding what is true.  I’m sure a biblical scholar could write a book about all the lessons, but for now, consider the following few examples of “biblical jurisprudence:”

1. Justice is blind. If you see modern courthouses and statues representing justice, you often see a blindfolded figure holding a scale in one hand. The figure is weighing evidence and testimonies to determine the truth, in order that justice be done. The blindfold is to show that “justice is blind,” meaning that non-relevant factors (such as who is at trial or what they look like) do not play a part in the decision. Of course, this is an ideal; it’s very difficult for people to remain completely non-biased in their verdicts. You would have to have a perfect judge to render a perfect verdict; which we have fortunately in the perfect Judge of the universe. Isaiah 11:3-4 says this about the LORD: “He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth.” God is not swayed in his judgments by the earthly factors that might prejudice our opinions. This truth is reiterated in Acts 10:24 by the Apostle Peter, who declares, “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality [no respecter of persons].”

2. Don’t let witnesses collaborate. There is a reason witnesses are kept from hearing other witnesses’ testimonies before they speak: it’s too easy to let their testimony be swayed or to conspire in a lie. Suspects are questioned separately, as well. There is a story found in the Apocrypha, a collection of non-canonical books and stories written between the testaments. The story is called Susanna or Susanna and the Elders, and tells of a married woman named Susanna who is observed bathing by two elders. Inflamed by lust, they demand she have sex with them, but the righteous woman refuses. Rebuffed, the elders concoct a story that they saw her commit adultery with a young man; Susanna is arrested and sentenced to death until Daniel intervenes and says the witnesses should be questioned separately. When this is done, the two elders give conflicting accounts of where the event took place. When their lies are exposed, Susanna is freed and the elders are put to death instead. Perjury has consequences!

3. Capital crimes require two or more eyewitnesses. Crimes which are punishable by death require two or more witnesses to the act, to prevent anyone charging someone else with such serious crimes just out of spite. The specific text in the Bible is Deuteronomy 17:6, “On the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses the one who is to die shall be put to death; a person shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness.” The writers of the US Constitution included this requirement in the one capital crime they included: treason. Article 3, Section 3 states: “No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.” When the stakes are so high, the corroboration of eyewitnesses is vital for the accused to receive justice.

4. Tell the truth. In today’s courtrooms,witnesses swear or affirm to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” They used to swear to do so, “so help you God,” placing their hand on a Bible. When people looked to God as their judge, they feared God’s judgment on them should they lie under oath. Leviticus 19: 12 says, “You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.” While I’m sad to see such a statement disappear as a sign of the decreasing relevance of faith and religion in our society, according to the Bible we should tell the truth whether under oath or not.  James 5:12 says, “But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your ‘yes’ be yes and your ‘no’ be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.” The commandment to not bear false witness against our neighbor (Exodus 20:16 and Deuteronomy 5:20) is always applicable, even in daily speech; we don’t have to be under oath to be forced to tell the truth. Note that the admonition against false witness is not just about lying in general, but especially about harming someone by false accusations. God sets the standard (“God is not a man that he should lie” – Numbers 23:19) and expects us to be truthful as well. As believers on Christ and witnesses to him as our Lord and Savior, people must know that we speak truthfully, that our testimony be believed and trusted. Proverbs 12:22 says, “Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD,” so don’t lie!

5. God hates those who pervert justice for their own sake. God’s word speaks warning against those who pervert justice and use the law to rob others, especially those least able to defend themselves. Consider the following:

Proverbs 11:1 – A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight.

Proverbs 17:15 – He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.

Isaiah 10:1-2 – Woe to those who enact evil statutes And to those who constantly record unjust decisions, So as to deprive the needy of justice And rob the poor of My people of their rights, So that widows may be their spoil And that they may plunder the orphans.

Deuteronomy 16:19 – You shall not distort justice; you shall not be partial, and you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.

Amos 5:11-12 – Therefore because you impose heavy rent on the poor And exact a tribute of grain from them, Though you have built houses of well-hewn stone, Yet you will not live in them; You have planted pleasant vineyards, yet you will not drink their wine. For I know your transgressions are many and your sins are great, You who distress the righteous and accept bribes And turn aside the poor in the gate.

There are other condemnations of injustice throughout the Bible, but you get the idea. Our desire for justice, for being treated fairly and for having our case rightly heard align us with God himself, who desires that we not only receive justice but dispense it fairly as well.

In this fallen and sinful world, we will not always receive the justice we want, but God’s word promises us that one day, all will be set right. those who pervert justice will be punished, and those whom they mistreated will be justified. While we wait for that day, let us exhibit in our dealing the same high standards of justice and mercy which God has shown to us and demands from us. In other words, just be just.

And let us pray along with the Senate chaplain, Rev. Barry Black, that God’s will be done in the impeachment proceedings, for God’s thoughts are above our thoughts, and his ways above our ways, even as the heavens are above the earth (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord look upon you with favor, and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Susanna and the Elders (available online or in the Catholic version of Daniel, chapter 13); Deuteronomy 19:15-21; and Amos 5:21-24.

*Old timer’s reference to the 1819 short story of the same name by Washington Irving, in which Rip fell asleep for 20 years.

The Hearing

The big news this week has been the Congressional hearings in which Special Counsel Robert Mueller was grilled by members of Congress regarding his findings in his recent investigation into allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election. I’m going to leave opinions on the content of those hearings to others; but I wondered as I heard the grilling by the two opposing parties, what it would be like to have to face that myself. Then I had an even better thought: what if you had to face such a hearing?

Only, in your case, the hearing is not before the US Congress, but before a special committee formed to judge you and decide your eternal fate. Similar to this week’s hearings, there will be two groups of committee members: one side wants to throw the book at you, while the other wants to let you off easy. But just to avoid any connections to our political system, I’m going to call the two parties the Apples and the Oranges*. The two don’t get along, but that’s just what we would expect, because we’ve always been told, “Don’t mix apples and oranges.”

So, how would it go? Maybe, something like this:

You enter a room set up almost like a courtroom. There is a long, semi-circular table facing you, behind which are seated the committee members. In front and facing them sits a small table with two chairs. You make your way forward to the table, when the committee chairman, who is the leader of the Apples, scowls at you and barks a gruff command: “Sit down!”

You take your seat in one of the chairs, and the committee chairman continues, “Frankly, this is a waste of time: we all know you’re guilty, but we have to go through the motions. So let’s begin, shall we, and get this over with . . .” You gulp hard and start to dread what lies ahead.

“Not so fast!” comes a shout from the rear of the hearing room, and a man walks forward, stopping right by your table. “Esteemed committee members,” he says, “I am here to represent the accused as Attorney, Advocate, and Counselor.” The stranger takes a seat beside you. The committee chair groans. “And what credentials do you have to be this person’s Counselor” The man, your self-appointed Counselor, opens up a briefcase and pulls out a thick stack of papers, and lays them on the desk. “Here are my credentials,” he answers, “sixty-six books full. You can read them if you like . . .”

The Apple leader shakes his head and says, “No, we only have about 1400 words to go in this blog, so let’s just get this over with.” Now the grilling begins.

One Apple member asks you, “Do you remember that time when you were a kid and you sassed your mom and made her cry?” You search your memories and the incident comes back to you. You were ashamed of what you said, and you never apologized to her. But before you can answer, one of the Oranges butts in and says, “Look, what do you expect when a kid – just a kid! – gets scolded for spilling a little milk and eating some pie that mom made for a bake sale? It’s perfectly understandable!”

You like the Orange member’s reasoning, and are about to affirm it when your Counselor leans over, covers the mic, and whispers to you: “Don’t worry; I got this. Just tell the truth.” You aren’t so sure, but your Counselor seems absolutely sure, so in spite of your fears, you hear yourself reply, “Yes, I did sass my mom and I am ashamed of it.” The Apple team smile at each other, while the Oranges frown.

The second question follows almost immediately”: “And do you remember that time you were at the store and saw a candy bar you wanted, but didn’t have enough money to buy it? So you slipped it into your pocket when no one was looking and stole it!” Once again an Orange jumped in. “Are you serious? It was just a candy bar that cost maybe 50 cents! [substitute a higher or lower price based on how old you are]. The store had theft insurance, so they weren’t really out anything!”

Again, you like the Orange’s argument. That’s exactly what you had thought back then, when you took it. You really wanted it, and no one would miss it. So you are about to defend yourself when your Attorney once again reaches over and whispers, “Just admit it. I’ve got your back.” Again, you speak into the mic, “Yes. I’m guilty as charged.” This time the Oranges shake their heads, while the Apples grin widely and wink to each other. This is not going well for you.

A third question comes to you from the Apples: “And what about the time you cheated on that final exam, and blamed another student by slipping your answer key into her desk? You cheated and discredited another student. That was just wrong!” Before you can answer, the Orange side speaks up. “Really? Who wouldn’t try to gain some advantage in that situation? The whole grade depended on that final, and the grade determined whether our defendant here would be able to get into a good college! And as for the other student? She was always the top grade getter; she deserved to be knocked down a peg or two.”

You look at your Counselor; please let me defend what I did; please?  But he gives you a look that cuts through your excuse, so you meekly admit, “Yes, I did that. And the other student flunked when the teacher found the key.” Now the Apples were high-fiving each other and the Oranges were hanging their heads in defeat. “How can we help you,” one cries, “when you don’t take the lifelines we keep throwing you?!” But the Advocate whispers to you again, “Just keep telling the truth. I have your back all the way.”

And so the questioning – or should I say, interrogation – continues, and it is not a pleasant day for you. As the charges pile up (how did these guys find out about all these things?) you begin to sweat profusely, maybe in anticipation of your eternal destiny. No charge is omitted, no fact forgotten, no stone unturned. One after another, like the blows from a jackhammer, your life is laid bare for all to see. The Oranges try to explain away your moral failures, but their reasons melt like snow under the heat of the charges.

You hear about that time you swore using God’s name, the time you used Christ’s name in a joke, the time you wished someone would get sick and die, the time you broke your wedding vows – or wanted to, cut corners on your taxes, visited some places that were inappropriate, and so on, and so on. The charges and the evidence are so overwhelming that the Oranges finally give up and start clipping and filing their nails. One falls asleep. But the Apples are radiant with their certain victory; you are going down, and there is nothing you can do about it.

You hang your head in despair as well, as the chair of the committee stands and with a snide grin on his face, delivers the committee’s judgment – or at least, starts to: “We have considered all the charges and affirm they are true. Shame on you! We recommend an eternity in hell with no chance of parole. May God have mercy on your soul!”

Your Counselor jumps to his feet, and shouts in a loud, commanding voice: “God has had mercy on the defendant’s soul. Every one of those charges has been forgiven, and the penalty you would inflict has already been paid . . . by me!” At that the Attorney holds out his hands and you see massive, deep scars on each of them. He reaches down and lifts up the papers from the desk and says to the committee, “You should have read these books before you passed judgment. If you had, you would have known that this poor person, a guilty sinner to be sure, trusted in me for forgiveness and therefore belongs to my Father. This sinner is clothed in my righteousness and no longer faces condemnation. This sinner is also a saint by faith; would you condemn a saint to hell?”

At this the Apple chairman squirms and looks around for help, but his team is all looking down. “No,” he mutters weakly.

Your Advocate continues. “Remember that I came to call not the righteous but the sinner to repentance. I came to seek and to save the lost – which this person, and all of you, by the way – certainly is. And yet by faith, any sinner can be saved. As far as the East is from the West, so far have I removed this person’s sins. I will remember those sins no more. Therefore I declare this saint and sinner to be free, and when I set you free, you are free indeed!”

“And as for the committee, all of you need to examine your own lives. To the Apples I say, ‘Judge not, lest you be judged,’ and ‘Let the one who is without guilt cast the first stone.’ And as for you Oranges, ‘Woe to him who calls evil good and good evil.’ Prepare yourselves, admit your own guilt, and come to me for the same forgiveness I have given to this person before you. For one day, you too will all sit there; pray that I am your Advocate when that day comes!”

A wave of relief, joy, and love sweep over you. The hearing has ended, and you enter into the joy of the Lord which he has prepared for you since before the world began. And that deserves an Amen!

And now, may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Psalm 103:12, Hebrews 8:12, Luke 19:10, Matthew 9:13, John 8:7, Isaiah 53:5

* Not to be confused with current political parties or with “Apple and Android” a topic clearly not addressed here.

 

 

The Real Chief Justice

Yesterday, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS for short) issued some new rulings. As always, I held my breath, waiting to hear what that nine-member judiciary decided was proper and legal for our country in the particular cases they reviewed. Even though I grew up watching and enjoying old Perry Mason episodes, and generally enjoy courtroom movies (My Cousin Vinnie comes to mind as one of those movies), I find myself always nervous and a bit trepidatious when it comes to decisions reached by the “Supremes.”

For one thing, their decisions are far-reaching and the “final answer” to almost everything in our country. Without getting too political, I can say that the Court’s power has grown to such an extent that it can override laws, actions, and policies enacted by both other branches of the federal government. Not only that, it does the same for state laws and even social organizations. It can decide issues of guilt in appeals cases, and direct even social norms and practices – often by split 5-4 decisions. No one else in the country has authority to say “No” to what SCOTUS decides. It is indeed, supreme, and that makes me nervous.

Now, having a supreme arbiter is bad enough, but the problem that compounds my anxiety is that the Court so often gets it wrong. And this is not a political statement: judges appointed by presidents of both parties, judges who are black, white, and Hispanic, male and female, conservative and liberal, Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish, and older and younger have together rendered some absolutely horrific decisions which have negatively affected the lives of millions of Americans. Consider the following decisions, for example:

1. Dred Scott v. Sanford, 1857. Ruled that a slave (Dred Scott) who had resided in a free state and territory where slavery was prohibited was not thereby entitled to his freedom; that African Americans were not and could never be citizens of the United States; and that slaves were the property of their owners.

2. Wickard v. Filburn, 1942. Ruled that an Ohio farmer who grew wheat for his own animals, and not for sale, could still be regulated and fined for affecting interstate commerce because he wasn’t buying his feed wheat on the open market, thus reducing interstate sales.

3. Salinas v. Texas, 2013. Ruled that the Fifth Amendment does not bar using a suspect’s silence as evidence of guilt.

4. Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 2005. The Court ruled that police do not have a constitutional duty to protect a person from harm, even a woman who had obtained a court-issued protective order against a violent husband which made an arrest mandatory for a violation.

5. Kelo v. City of New London, 2005. SCOTUS ruled that it was a valid public use for the government to take land from one private party and give it to another for “economic development.” In this case a woman lost her home to what eventually became a barren, unused field.

6. Roe v. Wade, 1973. The ruling that legalized abortion in the US as a protected “right” has led to the legal killing of over 60 million children ever since.

7. Overgefell v. Hodges, 2015. Overriding state laws and prior SCOTUS decisions (not to mention Scripture and all human history), the Court ruled in a 5–4 decision that all states must grant and recognize same-sex marriages.

8. And last, but not least, as far as this list goes: Box v. Planned Parenthood of Indiana, 2019. The Court ruled that abortions are legal for any purpose, even gender selection. Where we once criticized China for aborting its girl babies, now we can do the same here.

Those with different political and social leanings than I have will doubtless compile a different list of terrible decisions than what appears here, but they would have to agree, if even for different reasons, that SCOTUS is not infallible. On the contrary, it is a flawed, human institution that is subject to the same political and social winds that blow through our country, and too often makes bad decisions regarding important matters that affect us all.

Which brings me to the point of all this: what we call “The Supreme Court” is not really supreme at all. It is not infallible, it is not all-knowing. It is subject to the same failings every person and every human institution faces. If we want to find true justice and true, perfect decisions, we have to look elsewhere.

We have to look to God.

When we do, we discover the awesome way Scripture describes him as the Righteous Judge who renders his judgments according to perfect truth and knowledge, a Judge who is just, fair, and incorruptible.  From Abraham’s plea to God in Genesis 18:25, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” to the Great White Throne Judgment in Revelation 20:11-15, God is the supreme and perfect judge of all mankind (and all spirit beings as well).

Psalm 9:8 proclaims, “and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness.” Psalm 96:13 says, “He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness.” There are many other verses extolling God’s righteous judgments, but let’s consider some reasons that make his judgments so perfect:

1. God is omniscient. He knows all things, and knows the end of a thing from its beginning. There is nothing hidden from him: he knows our actions, our thoughts, and our motives. He sees through our excuses and rationalizations.

2. God cannot be fooled. He knows not only what we do outwardly, but also sees our motives and inward thoughts. Nothing we do will be hidden from him but will be revealed in the Day of Judgment. Luke 12:2 “Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.” And 1 Corinthians 4:4-5 warns us to leave judgment to God, “It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.” 

3. God is not swayed by political considerations or the social position of the ones he judges, “For God shows no partiality” (Romans 2:11). He is not swayed by the outward appearance of people, “For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

4. He can not be bribed or bought. Deuteronomy 10:17 proclaims, “For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.” 2 Chronicles 19:7 repeats this truth: “Now then, let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Be careful what you do, for there is no injustice with the Lord our God, or partiality or taking bribes.” It’s amazing how often we try to bargain with God (that is, bribe him), by offering him some incentive to take our side in a matter. “If only you do this, I will tithe! If only you heal me I will never take those drugs again! If only you help me I’ll start going to church again!” and so on. God doesn’t need anything from us, and will not change his commandments based on what we offer him in exchange. Everything already belongs to God; what can we offer him Psalam 50:10-11, the Lord says, “For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine.” and in Haggai 2:8, “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts.”

5. God’s commandments and judgments are permanent. What he says is true always was and always will be. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8). “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 12:8). “There is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17). And finally, Numbers 23:19 tells us to remember, “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?”

God’s perfect knowledge of our sins and his awesome righteousness and power to judge and condemn us for them can scare us – and it should. Imagine standing before any human court, Supreme or otherwise, knowing that the prosecutor has every word you’ve ever spoken, every text or email sent, and video of everything you’ve ever done. You might start hoping for a plea bargain! Now imagine standing before God who has all that and more- even your most private thoughts and wishes. It should terrify us and cause us to lament and wail our lost condition. Like the congregations that cried out in despair at Jonathon Edwards preaching, we too are “Sinners in the hands of an Angry God”* and know we have no defense. The Law – God’s perfect Law – has rightly condemned us. As Jesus himself said in Matthew 10:28, we should not fear the one who can only destroy our bodies (human judges) but rather the One who can destroy both body and soul in hell (that be God). We stood condemned, awaiting our just punishment.

But thanks be to God, that he sent his Son into the world, not to condemn us, but to save us. While we were his enemies, guilty as sin and deserving his righteous judgment and condemnation, he sent his Son to save us, that we might not perish but have everlasting life, reconciled to him. His love and mercy for us triumphed over his judgment (James 2:13). By faith in Christ our sins are forgiven, and we stand justified, righteous before God in spite of all we have done. In Christ we have an advocate  (that is, attorney) before the Father.

Why would God do such a thing? How can he let us go when we are so guilty? For only one reason – his great love for us. He takes no pleasure in the death of anyone, but desires we to turn to him and live (Ezekiel 33:11). We come before God trembling, and he lifts us up, calms our fears, forgives us, and calls us to his side.

No human court, no matter what we call it, can do the same. Thanks be to God, our true and ultimate Judge, the real Chief Justice of the ultimate Supreme Court, whose rulings we need never fear. The Judge of all the earth shall do right – and not just by a 5-4 decision!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Genesis 18, Romans 8:1-34

* Jonathan Edwards’ famous sermon from 1741 which described God dangling us over the fires of hell like a spider on its thread. Edwards was interrupted many times during the sermon by people moaning and crying out, “What shall I do to be saved?”