Thought for Today
Genesis 4:8 Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let us go out to the field." And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him.
Psalm 11:5 The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, and his soul hates the lover of violence.
Matthew 11:12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.
Jude 1:11 Woe to them! For they go the way of Cain, and abandon themselves to Balaam's error for the sake of gain, and perish in Korah's rebellion.
Today is 9/11. Today is the anniversary of what one news reporter referred to as the most violent attack on U.S.A. soil. I’m sure that everyone reading these Thoughts remembers where they were on that day when they first heard the news on September 11, 2001.
This morning’s front-page headline in the Boston Globe reads “GOP influencer shot dead.” I am of an age where I have to admit that I understand the word ‘influencer,’ but I do not fully understand exactly the full implications of its use in the current vernacular. I am still puzzled how one makes a living or supports themselves, much less a family, by being an influencer. I must also admit that, while I have a computer, a smart phone and a tablet, I make scant use of social media.
I have no idea whether yesterday’s killing in Utah was deliberately perpetrated on the eve of 9/11. There is a great deal of pontificating on last night’s and this morning’s newscasts and talk shows, however, about the proximity of that killing to today’s commemoration; and, the possible implications for the health of our democratic republic and political discourse.
The questions seem to be (1) is our world in the midst of the rise of a generation of brutal dictatorships; and, (2) is the U.S.A. experiencing its own decline and death of our ability to calmly and courteously discuss and disagree?
Either way, whether those pontificators are correct or not, what is our Christian responsibility in terms of the current state of our society? Certainly, Christians, like everyone else, have political ideas, ideals and preferences. We are first Christians, but also citizens living in the great nation.
Many of us came to adulthood in some of the most turbulent decades of the 20th century. The 1960s and 1970s saw great civil unrest, demonstrations and even riots. Today is not the first time we have seen the National Guard mobilized in American cities. President Eisenhower utilized the Guard during the Civil Rights movement and the integration of our schools. Many of us remember the riots during the Democratic Convention in Chicago in 1968. The U.S.A. was rocked by unrest during the Civil Rights Movement and during the somewhat concurrent Viet Nam War. As I survey the current events, I wonder whether or not we ever fully recovered or healed.
I wonder whether the college students in New England see the irony of disturbing and disrupting on-campus speakers at events where they object to the ideas being offered? It seems terribly ironic to me to read about that in an area where we pride ourselves and describe ourselves as “The Cradle of Democracy”
Through it all, I am struck by what the Bible says about resorting to violence. Sadly, we cannot interview for today’s television news either Cain or Abel. But, the Bible does tell us how that event worked out for them both. All of us, Christian and others, need to read those words from Jude, “Woe to them! For they go the way of Cain, and abandon themselves to Balaam's error for the sake of gain, and perish in Korah's rebellion.”
The answer does not lie in violence. The answer resides in Jesus’ understanding of the greatest commandments, "Luke 10:27 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."
A great man and a close friend used to often remind me and anyone who would listen, “We need to listen, listen, love, love.” He preached that in church and in the prisons where we would witness God’s love to all who would listen. It’s still good advice for us all.
Stay safe, listen, listen, love, love, trust God,
Pastor Ray