Thought for Today
Exodus 17:16 He said, "A hand upon the banner of the LORD The LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation."
Numbers 10:9 When you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, so that you may be remembered before the LORD your God and be saved from your enemies.
Mark 13:7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come.
Acts 2:31 Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying, 'He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh experience corruption.' 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses.
Tomorrow is the Second Sunday in Lent. From the earliest days of our Christian faith, Lent has been a special time of remembrance, repentance and closeness to our Creator God. As we approach Easter and ponder on the Empty Tomb, we reflect on the gospel message, the incredible love of God reflected in John 3:16 and God’s affirmation witnessed in that Empty Tomb.
Then, this morning, we awakened to “wars and rumors of wars.” Once again, armed conflict has arisen in part of what we call the Holy Land. The early reports I have watched are alarming; yet, I have Jesus’ assurance “the end is still to come.” So, how am I to view and understand the conflict during this holy time, violence during Lent, conflict as Christians look forward toward the message of the Empty Tomb?
Irrespective of one’s political stance, ignoring any philosophical ideas of a “just war,” what is our Christian response to this latest war to be? How are Christians called to respond to attacks on other children of God? Is this war somehow more or less problematic because we are in Lent? War may have been a seasonal event millennia ago, “2 Samuel 11:1 In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle,” but modern technology enables us to wage war year around.
Are we to view this war and all wars against, “Exodus 20:13 You shall not murder?” The Hebrew word used can be translated as ‘kill,’ or as ‘murder.’ The Greek word φονεύω has the basic meaning of ‘murder,’ but can also be translated as ‘kill.’ Can Christians differentiate between killing and murder? Is it ever acceptable for one child of God to take the life of another. child of God?
Generally, these are philosophical questions and if one enjoys such things, they can be debated almost endlessly. This morning, on the day before the Second Sunday of Lent, Christians throughout Christendom are confronted with the reality of this latest Middle East conflict. Hopefully, in most of our worship services tomorrow, Christians will offer prayers for a quick resolution of this conflict with minimal loss of life on either side. Through it all, however, how does our faith call upon us to respond?
We can at least be thankful that this is not a war being ‘justified’ in the name of our faith. Regrettably, this conflict involves countries whose citizens represent all 3 of the world’s monotheistic religions. The U.S.A. is not a “Christian” nation, however, many citizens are Christian. Israel is predominantly Jewish. Iran, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Jordan and all the other nations that have been attacked are Islamic. Believers in both Sunni and Shia Islam are involved.
This latest conflict, at this holy time, is being waged around the question of control of the basic building blocks of God’s Creation. One nation is trying to develop nuclear weaponry. At least 2 of the nations opposing Iran do have nuclear weaponry.
As Christians, are we to even consider the justification in our considerations of this conflict? “Just war theory is a framework of moral and ethical principles that determines when it is justifiable to go to war and how war should be conducted. Just war theory (Latin: bellum justum) is a doctrine of military ethics that seeks to ensure that war is morally justifiable through a set of criteria.” (Copilot Search)
I am not an ethicist. I did take 2 classes in ethics in seminary. This morning, I am mostly just confused, conflicted and sad that once again I am hearing “of wars and rumors of wars,” especially as I prepare to worship on the Second Sunday of Lent. I cannot help but recall the words of Rodney King, “I just want to say – you know – can we, can we all get along? Can we, can we get along?” (en.wikipedia.org)
Stay safe, pray for peace, trust God,
Pastor Ray