Thought for Today
Genesis 7:13 On the very same day Noah with his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons entered the ark,
Genesis 10:1 These are the descendants of Noah's sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth; children were born to them after the flood.
Luke 4:16 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read,
Matthew 27:27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole cohort around him.
I was a bit dismayed yesterday to note that the horrific, antisemitic incident in Michigan Thursday had already been relegated to the inner pages of the Boston Globe’s section A by Friday. I know that ‘there’s nothing staler than yesterday’s news,’ but have we really become so inured to such vitriolic hatred that such blatant and egregious examples no longer shock us?
Watching the news yesterday, I was equally dismayed to see a story about demonstrators in New York city marching in support of an avowed enemy of the United States. Irrespective of your opinion on the war with Iran, Iran and the terrorist organizations it supports have killed innocent Americans and continue to do so. Have we really become so inured to such vitriolic hatred that such blatant and egregious examples no longer shock us?
Even the vitriolic rhetoric of our current political arena seems to me to be an example of a frightening rise in public displays of hatred. At the very least, it is mean spirited and largely designed to denigrate and dismiss ideas and opinions differing from one’s own. Civil discourse seems to have disappeared along with our sense of shock at such uncivil behavior.
I am especially shocked at the rise of antisemitism in our nation. Hatred of the Jews has historically been justified on the basis of their involvement with the death of Jesus. That inane argument fails on 2 accounts. First, Jesus was a Jew. Jesus worshiped, “as was his custom,” in a synagogue. Although my car is not festooned with bumper stickers, I do remember a favorite I frequently used to see, “My boss is a Jewish carpenter.” My own ‘boss’ is a Jewish carpenter. Second, every whiplash inflicted on Jesus, every nail driven into Jesus came from a Roman soldier who was ‘just following orders.’
Xenophobia is defined as, “fear and hatred of strangers of foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign.” (merriam-webster.com) The same source offers this definition of racism, “a belief that race is a fundamental determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.” Somewhat akin to both is supersessionism, “The belief that on the basis of the coming of Jesus as the Messiah (Christ), the Christian church has superseded Israel as the chosen, covenant people of God.” (Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms, pg. 273).
Xenophobia, racism and supersessionism all ignore one salient aspect of the gospel message of God’s love. Irrespective of how one views the Flood narrative and the story of Noah, as historic fact or metaphorical ‘fact,’ it is clear that the writers of the Bible understood that all the children of God, all humanity constitute a single family. Noah had 3 sons. We are all descendants of Noah, literally or metaphorically.
I have read the argument that all wars are the result of economic disputes. It posits that whether over precious natural resources or valuable trade routes, economics motivate all armed disputes. This morning, I am wondering whether all xenophobia, all racism, all supersessionism aren’t the result of some common motivation. Might it be economic? Possibly greed? I’m wondering why Cain hated Abel, why Jacob hated Esau.
Is our current war with Iran economic? Is it greed? Is the desire for power driving Iran to bomb its Islamic neighbors, to finance global terrorism? Are those examples of antisemitism and hatred of America I began with motivated by economics, racism, or supersessionism?
Or, do homo sapiens inherently hate and try to destroy anything and everything, anybody and everybody who exhibit difference? Why do we hate? Why can we not “Luke 10:27 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." Do we just hate ourselves?
Stay safe, live lives of love, trust God,
Pastor Ray