I've always been a huge Elvis Costello fan. One of my favorite songs of his is "What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love and Understanding?" Well, to answer the question, nothing is funny about these things. These are deadly serious issues. As a matter of fact, whether Costello knows it our not, these are biblical mandates. We Christians are called to practice peace, love God and our neighbor, and to use discernment and understanding.
But I'm afraid many of my brethren have misinterpreted these concepts, in particular the concept of peace. Most of the Christians I talk to nowadays seem to think that peace is simply the absence of conflict. If that is the case the Bible must be mistaken in telling us that we can experience peace in this life because we are never going to be without conflict. Whether it be personal conflict or international conflict (known otherwise as War) we are always in the midst of some type of chaos. Such is the nature of life in a fallen world. The so-called Peace Churches believe that by being pacifistic they can change the world. My question is, how is that working out for them? To answer in the words of the great redneck philosopher, Larry the Cable Guy...Not too good!
The biblical concept of peace is rooted in the Hebrew word shalom. Shalom denotes well-being and, believe it or not, justice. It is a word rich in meaning. To experience shalom is to experience an inner well-being rooted in doing the right thing, or to put it in biblical terms, living a righteous life. It is wholistic and internal, not temporal or external, as the English word tends to denote.
The same people who belong to the Peace Churches also seem to misunderstand the concept of Justice. They think that making everything communal (quite literally communist) is the answer to all of our social problems. These people tend to be advocates for criminals, scoundrels, and politicians. They are usually anti-authoritarian unless the current regime happens to be socialist or communist in thinking. They believe that the biblical mandate to visit the prisoners and to care for the widowed and orphaned is a call to socialism straight from the pages of the Bible. They use this to justify government hand-outs to those who refuse to care for themselves or their families. They use this to beg for clemency for thieves and murderers. The problem is that they ignore Scripture that says that those who refuse to work should go hungry. They also ignore the comparison in the Bible of the man who refuses to provide for his family as being worse than a thief or murderer.
If the mandate to visit prisoners and to care for the widowed and orphaned is taken in context, it will be seen that the prisoners spoken of were political and religious prisoners being held on the grounds of their conscience, not thieves and murderers. The book of Acts makes clear that the widows spoken of were Christians whom the Church had an obligation to care for if they had no family. And no one will dispute the fact that the Church should care for those who are poor or orphaned through no fault of their own.
But why is it that these same Peace Churches never want to help the widows of slain police officers or the victims of crime? Why is it that they will defend a genocidal potentate but protest against a president or prime minister who tries to stop the genocide by the use of force? Selective usage of the Scriptures to justify political motives is wrong, whether you lean to the left or right.
Peace and Justice go hand in hand. But understand the concepts properly before you try to impose your version of either on someone else. Peace, love, and understanding are important. But knowing what they mean is ultimately more important if we wish to experience any of them for ourselves and others.
So I say to you, Shalom! Be whole and well in Jesus Christ. Serve Him in Peace and Justice.
Fr. Rick
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
The End of the World as We Know It!
Well, according to Pastor Harold Camping of Oakland the end of the world is this Saturday, May 21, 2011. Since "The Rapture" will occur then I thought I had better get in one final blog before doomsday.
I am constantly amazed at how many of these idiots come along and how many more follow them. And, of course, the media gleefully follows the story to lump in all Christians as buffoons such as these. Since Christ ascended into Heaven people have been predicting the end of the world and the very unbiblical "Rapture."
I am also amazed at the gall it takes to predict a date that, according to Jesus, He Himself doesn't know. He said that only the Father knows the time of the "Parousia," the Great Appearing of Christ in the skies with the host of Heaven and the angels. Pastor Camping must feel himself to be a very special person, indeed.
I don't know about you, but I plan on being here on Sunday to worship the only One who knows the times and dates of all events in human history. The only way I won't be here is in the event of my premature death, and if that occurs, I'll still be worshiping God on Sunday!
So, in the words of the great musical prophets, R.E.M., "It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine." I hope you feel fine as well. May the ingnorance of a few not taint the name of the many.
Fr. Rick
I am constantly amazed at how many of these idiots come along and how many more follow them. And, of course, the media gleefully follows the story to lump in all Christians as buffoons such as these. Since Christ ascended into Heaven people have been predicting the end of the world and the very unbiblical "Rapture."
I am also amazed at the gall it takes to predict a date that, according to Jesus, He Himself doesn't know. He said that only the Father knows the time of the "Parousia," the Great Appearing of Christ in the skies with the host of Heaven and the angels. Pastor Camping must feel himself to be a very special person, indeed.
I don't know about you, but I plan on being here on Sunday to worship the only One who knows the times and dates of all events in human history. The only way I won't be here is in the event of my premature death, and if that occurs, I'll still be worshiping God on Sunday!
So, in the words of the great musical prophets, R.E.M., "It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine." I hope you feel fine as well. May the ingnorance of a few not taint the name of the many.
Fr. Rick
Sunday, April 17, 2011
A Holy Week Meditation
What does it mean to be "innocent?" The dictionary says that to be innocent one must be "free from guilt or sin especially through lack of knowledge of evil." With that in mind who amongst us is innocent?
It's funny that when you go to a court of law everyone talks about their innocence. But no one is innocent. That is why if you win a criminal court case you're found "not guilty" rather than innocent. We are all guilty of something. To be found "not guilty" in court just means that you don't have to pay the price for the wrongs you have done.
The only person in the Bible who is said to be truly "not guilty" and innocent from birth is Jesus Christ. In Isaiah 50 the prophet prophecies about the innocent Jesus standing in front of His accusers during the Passion. Jesus asks, "...who will declare me guilty?" In St. Matthew's Gospel narrative of the Passion, Pilate's wife is said to have dreamt about Jesus and she warns her husband to "have nothing to do with that innocent man..." Even Pilate, who examined Jesus at His trial asks the crowd, "...what evil has He done?" Obviously the answer to the question is "nothing." Jesus never has nor ever will do anything wrong. He has no sin and He has no guilt. He is innocent. But we are guilty. Pilate was guilty of murdering Jesus even though he proclaimed himself innocent of His blood. The crowd was guilty. The Pharisees were guilty. We are all guilty. Think of every sin you have ever committed as a hammer blow to the nails that hung an innocent Man on the cross.
But even as human beings condemned Him to the cross He was using the cross to proclaim us "not guilty." Even as our sin murdered Him He was using His death to set us free from the punishment of sin, and as St. Paul tells us, that punishment is death. Christ chose to die in our place. He died a horrible, gruesome, physical death so that we wouldn't have to die spiritually.
Do you understand that Jesus, the One Who died for you, is also the One Who will prosecute you in the court of Heaven. God the Father will be the Judge and He will hear your case. If you have been baptized into the Faith Jesus will stand before the Great White Throne and say these words, "Your Honor, I do not wish to prosecute this person. They're Mine and I've already paid the price for their sin." Then the Great Judge will say, "Not guilty! You're free!" That is what the Passion of Christ is all about. The Prosecutor of your soul died in your place. He took your punishment so that the Great Judge would declare you "Not Guilty."
Let our tongues sing His praise for what He has done for us. How could we do anything less?
Fr. Rick
It's funny that when you go to a court of law everyone talks about their innocence. But no one is innocent. That is why if you win a criminal court case you're found "not guilty" rather than innocent. We are all guilty of something. To be found "not guilty" in court just means that you don't have to pay the price for the wrongs you have done.
The only person in the Bible who is said to be truly "not guilty" and innocent from birth is Jesus Christ. In Isaiah 50 the prophet prophecies about the innocent Jesus standing in front of His accusers during the Passion. Jesus asks, "...who will declare me guilty?" In St. Matthew's Gospel narrative of the Passion, Pilate's wife is said to have dreamt about Jesus and she warns her husband to "have nothing to do with that innocent man..." Even Pilate, who examined Jesus at His trial asks the crowd, "...what evil has He done?" Obviously the answer to the question is "nothing." Jesus never has nor ever will do anything wrong. He has no sin and He has no guilt. He is innocent. But we are guilty. Pilate was guilty of murdering Jesus even though he proclaimed himself innocent of His blood. The crowd was guilty. The Pharisees were guilty. We are all guilty. Think of every sin you have ever committed as a hammer blow to the nails that hung an innocent Man on the cross.
But even as human beings condemned Him to the cross He was using the cross to proclaim us "not guilty." Even as our sin murdered Him He was using His death to set us free from the punishment of sin, and as St. Paul tells us, that punishment is death. Christ chose to die in our place. He died a horrible, gruesome, physical death so that we wouldn't have to die spiritually.
Do you understand that Jesus, the One Who died for you, is also the One Who will prosecute you in the court of Heaven. God the Father will be the Judge and He will hear your case. If you have been baptized into the Faith Jesus will stand before the Great White Throne and say these words, "Your Honor, I do not wish to prosecute this person. They're Mine and I've already paid the price for their sin." Then the Great Judge will say, "Not guilty! You're free!" That is what the Passion of Christ is all about. The Prosecutor of your soul died in your place. He took your punishment so that the Great Judge would declare you "Not Guilty."
Let our tongues sing His praise for what He has done for us. How could we do anything less?
Fr. Rick
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Come On In, The Water's Fine
This is the second chapter of my book in progress on my pastoral ministry.
Enon Church is a historic church. Founded in 1760 as an independent congregation it eventually became a part of the fledgling Methodist movement that had migrated from Georgia. It had belonged to the Wesleyan Methodist connection, the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church (South), and eventually the Southern Methodist Church. The original building and cemetary were located on what is now the Fort Jackson Army Training Facility. The U.S. government moved the congregation before the outbreak of World War II. The log cabin church building is gone now, but the cemetary is still there and maintained by the Department of the Army.
The new building was built on Percival Road in Columbia, South Carolina in 1948. A parsonage was added in 1950. It hasn't changed much since it was built. Some new carpet, vinyl siding, and an electric sign are about the only updates to the tired old building. The parsonage remains virtually unchanged.
This was the ship that I had been called to captain. She was weather beaten and worn. Her crew was undisciplined and spiritually starved. The task ahead was truly daunting, but I was too immature to realize it at the time. If it hadn't been for the grace of God the ship would have sunk years ago with all souls aboard lost.
My first year contract with Enon was, believe it or not, an improvement on the arrangement I had with Faith Community Church. At Faith Church I literally lived in the church and paid rent on it. I was paid 20% of the weekly offering as my salary. The average offering was $25.00 a week. You can do the math. No one could accuse me of being an overpaid pastor. At Enon I was given $50.00 a week plus the use of the parsonage. All utilities were paid by the church, except for the phone bill. I thought I had died and gone to heaven!
The congregation was made up of mostly elderly couples and miltary retirees. There were a few young adults and virtually no children. A Sunday School program was in place but it was poorly attended. There were three services during the week: Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday evening prayer service. Enon's programs were all smoke and mirrors. A Sunday School existed on paper, but no one taught or attended it. The first Sunday morning service I conducted was attended by seven people although there were over a hundred people listed on the membership rolls. The Sunday evening service was little more than a song fest. The Wednesday night prayer service consisted of conversation and very little praying. Enon Church looked good on paper, but the reality was drastically different.
Enon had a lot of things going for it; history, location, facilities, etc. Unfortunately she was lacking one thing - the Spirit of the living God! A plan was needed to salvage what was left of this congregation. The problem was that I didn't have one. I had very little experience in these matters. The last church I had pastored folded like a piece of paper. What formal education I had was all theological. I had recieved no formal education in running a church. I had no one to turn to but God Himself. Thankfully God was listening and answering when I cried out to Him for guidance.
Before entering the ministry I had been the chief of a small, rural police department. God revealed to me that building a church was a lot like building a police department. First, goals must be set. People need a vision, a dream, something to strive for. So with this in mind I announced to the congregation that we were going to have at least 50 people in attendance on Sunday mornings before my first anniversary as pastor. Secondly, God showed me that the people needed to be trained in order to obtain their goals. An ongoing program of systematic training needed to be instituted in order to sustain the membership. Thirdly, the group needed to tap into their available resources in order to maximize efficiency.
With these three things in mind I formulated a plan of attack. I began by preaching expository sermons from the pulpit. On Sunday evenings I held classes on Church doctrine and history. On Wednesdays we formulated a prayer list and then we actually prayed. Sunday School classes were consolidated so that only the most experienced were teaching. On top of that each Sunday School class was given the task of contacting inactive members in hopes of bringing them back to the church.
With God's help the plan worked. By my first anniversary at Enon we had an average attendance of 55 on Sunday mornings. People were being converted and baptized. Sunday School classes began to swell. As an extra bonus the weekly collections even went up. Life was good at Enon, at least for the moment.
Enon Church is a historic church. Founded in 1760 as an independent congregation it eventually became a part of the fledgling Methodist movement that had migrated from Georgia. It had belonged to the Wesleyan Methodist connection, the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church (South), and eventually the Southern Methodist Church. The original building and cemetary were located on what is now the Fort Jackson Army Training Facility. The U.S. government moved the congregation before the outbreak of World War II. The log cabin church building is gone now, but the cemetary is still there and maintained by the Department of the Army.
The new building was built on Percival Road in Columbia, South Carolina in 1948. A parsonage was added in 1950. It hasn't changed much since it was built. Some new carpet, vinyl siding, and an electric sign are about the only updates to the tired old building. The parsonage remains virtually unchanged.
This was the ship that I had been called to captain. She was weather beaten and worn. Her crew was undisciplined and spiritually starved. The task ahead was truly daunting, but I was too immature to realize it at the time. If it hadn't been for the grace of God the ship would have sunk years ago with all souls aboard lost.
My first year contract with Enon was, believe it or not, an improvement on the arrangement I had with Faith Community Church. At Faith Church I literally lived in the church and paid rent on it. I was paid 20% of the weekly offering as my salary. The average offering was $25.00 a week. You can do the math. No one could accuse me of being an overpaid pastor. At Enon I was given $50.00 a week plus the use of the parsonage. All utilities were paid by the church, except for the phone bill. I thought I had died and gone to heaven!
The congregation was made up of mostly elderly couples and miltary retirees. There were a few young adults and virtually no children. A Sunday School program was in place but it was poorly attended. There were three services during the week: Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday evening prayer service. Enon's programs were all smoke and mirrors. A Sunday School existed on paper, but no one taught or attended it. The first Sunday morning service I conducted was attended by seven people although there were over a hundred people listed on the membership rolls. The Sunday evening service was little more than a song fest. The Wednesday night prayer service consisted of conversation and very little praying. Enon Church looked good on paper, but the reality was drastically different.
Enon had a lot of things going for it; history, location, facilities, etc. Unfortunately she was lacking one thing - the Spirit of the living God! A plan was needed to salvage what was left of this congregation. The problem was that I didn't have one. I had very little experience in these matters. The last church I had pastored folded like a piece of paper. What formal education I had was all theological. I had recieved no formal education in running a church. I had no one to turn to but God Himself. Thankfully God was listening and answering when I cried out to Him for guidance.
Before entering the ministry I had been the chief of a small, rural police department. God revealed to me that building a church was a lot like building a police department. First, goals must be set. People need a vision, a dream, something to strive for. So with this in mind I announced to the congregation that we were going to have at least 50 people in attendance on Sunday mornings before my first anniversary as pastor. Secondly, God showed me that the people needed to be trained in order to obtain their goals. An ongoing program of systematic training needed to be instituted in order to sustain the membership. Thirdly, the group needed to tap into their available resources in order to maximize efficiency.
With these three things in mind I formulated a plan of attack. I began by preaching expository sermons from the pulpit. On Sunday evenings I held classes on Church doctrine and history. On Wednesdays we formulated a prayer list and then we actually prayed. Sunday School classes were consolidated so that only the most experienced were teaching. On top of that each Sunday School class was given the task of contacting inactive members in hopes of bringing them back to the church.
With God's help the plan worked. By my first anniversary at Enon we had an average attendance of 55 on Sunday mornings. People were being converted and baptized. Sunday School classes began to swell. As an extra bonus the weekly collections even went up. Life was good at Enon, at least for the moment.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Heresy: The Problem With The Truth
Do you know what the problem with the truth is? Sometimes it hurts! We Christians sometimes skirt the truth or just flat out lie about it so as not to offend anyone. This is just wrong. The prophets, apostles, martyrs, and Our Lord died for the truth. What makes us think that we should do any less if need be.
I want to believe that everyone is inherently good. The truth is that they're not. I want to believe that the world is a safe place to live. The truth is that it is not. I want to believe that my government has my best interest at heart. The truth is that it doesn't. I also want to believe that everyone will go to Heaven when they die. The truth is that they won't.
Heresy is defined as a system of thought which contradicts true doctrine. One of the most popular heresies during the course of Church history has been Universalism. Universalism is the false doctrine that teaches that everyone on the earth has been redeemed by Christ and will go to Heaven. This doctrine has reared its ugly head once again in evangelical circles. The popular evangelical minister from Michigan, Rob Bell, has just released a book entitled Love Wins. In this book Bell expouses Universalism.
Over the years I have studied Universalism and its claims. I will be the first to profess that the claims are attractive. I have looked at all of the Scriptures related to the topic and used as a defense by adherents of this heresy and I find them wanting. Taken in context the verses claimed to substantiate Universalism actually refute it.
The key argument of evangelical universalism is that Christ's love is so great for all of mankind that He would not send anyone to Hell. I agree with this statement, but I must place it in its proper context. Jesus' love is so great that He would never send anyone to Hell. And He doesn't. He became one of us to keep us from going to Hell. He preached about Hell so that we wouldn't want to go there. He suffered an agonizing death to keep us out of Hell. He rose from the grave and conquered death so that we wouldn't have to go to Hell. Jesus doesn't want anyone to go to Hell! But He won't stop us if that's where we choose to spend eternity.
We are creatures created in the imagio Dei, the image of God. Thus we are creatures with free will. God never, ever supercedes our free will. He has done everything He can to keep us from Hell. The choice is ours. The way out is there. All we have to do is make the right choice. Hell was not created for human beings. It was created for the demonic hoard who followed Satan in the rebellion against God. But when human beings choose Satan over God they also choose to dwell where Satan will abide for eternity.
Sometimes the truth hurts, but this is the truth. Some of you will get angry with me for telling you the truth, but so be it. My job as a priest is not to make you feel good. My job is to tell you the truth.
May God enlighten those blinded by heresy and bring them back to the truth. My God open the eyes of those led astray by false prophets and may they see them for what they really are. And may God help you to see the Truth, who is Jesus Christ, and follow Him to eternal bliss, rather than following Satan to eternal perdition. Amen.
Fr. Rick
I want to believe that everyone is inherently good. The truth is that they're not. I want to believe that the world is a safe place to live. The truth is that it is not. I want to believe that my government has my best interest at heart. The truth is that it doesn't. I also want to believe that everyone will go to Heaven when they die. The truth is that they won't.
Heresy is defined as a system of thought which contradicts true doctrine. One of the most popular heresies during the course of Church history has been Universalism. Universalism is the false doctrine that teaches that everyone on the earth has been redeemed by Christ and will go to Heaven. This doctrine has reared its ugly head once again in evangelical circles. The popular evangelical minister from Michigan, Rob Bell, has just released a book entitled Love Wins. In this book Bell expouses Universalism.
Over the years I have studied Universalism and its claims. I will be the first to profess that the claims are attractive. I have looked at all of the Scriptures related to the topic and used as a defense by adherents of this heresy and I find them wanting. Taken in context the verses claimed to substantiate Universalism actually refute it.
The key argument of evangelical universalism is that Christ's love is so great for all of mankind that He would not send anyone to Hell. I agree with this statement, but I must place it in its proper context. Jesus' love is so great that He would never send anyone to Hell. And He doesn't. He became one of us to keep us from going to Hell. He preached about Hell so that we wouldn't want to go there. He suffered an agonizing death to keep us out of Hell. He rose from the grave and conquered death so that we wouldn't have to go to Hell. Jesus doesn't want anyone to go to Hell! But He won't stop us if that's where we choose to spend eternity.
We are creatures created in the imagio Dei, the image of God. Thus we are creatures with free will. God never, ever supercedes our free will. He has done everything He can to keep us from Hell. The choice is ours. The way out is there. All we have to do is make the right choice. Hell was not created for human beings. It was created for the demonic hoard who followed Satan in the rebellion against God. But when human beings choose Satan over God they also choose to dwell where Satan will abide for eternity.
Sometimes the truth hurts, but this is the truth. Some of you will get angry with me for telling you the truth, but so be it. My job as a priest is not to make you feel good. My job is to tell you the truth.
May God enlighten those blinded by heresy and bring them back to the truth. My God open the eyes of those led astray by false prophets and may they see them for what they really are. And may God help you to see the Truth, who is Jesus Christ, and follow Him to eternal bliss, rather than following Satan to eternal perdition. Amen.
Fr. Rick
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Where is the Justice?
I'm angry as hell! I'm also saddened beyond words. Last night a friend of my family, a legal Korean immigrant, was murdered during an armed robbery at his restaurant. Here was a man who came to America to make a better life for his family and worked hard to do so. He was an honest man who cared deeply for his family, friends and customers. And now he is dead because some thug thought his life was worth less than a few dollars.
Last Sunday I preached on the Gospel lesson from St. Matthew's Gospel where Jesus told the disciples to "turn the other cheek." Kind of ironic since it is hard to turn the other cheek to a bullet fired at you point blank. Did Jesus really mean what He said? Was He out of touch with reality?
In that same Gospel Jesus quoted the Old Testament law of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." Many of my brethren have construed this passage as a repudiation of that law. But I told my parishioners that this law is still in effect. Jesus told us not to take revenge for personal injuries, but that the law of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" was not meant for us to enforce. That law was given to the judges of Israel as a restraint against unjust punishment of those brought before the court. "Vengeance is Mine," says God and justice is in the hands of the goverment according to Saint Paul. If an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth are equitable, then so is a life for a life.
As I read the online newspaper article about my friend's death people were already leaving comments about the injustice of the death penalty. I must confess to you that I am sick and tired of hearing mamby-pamby wusses whining about the injustices of the death penalty. I'm almost certain that if they had a gun shoved in their faces or had a close loved one murdered they would change their opinions. It is wonderful to be so idealistic about life when you live in a bubble. But in the nitty-gritty world of real life things are a little different.
Now I realize that I'm probably not sounding very "pious" or priest-like for some of your sensibilities, but, quite frankly, I don't care! I've been a cop for twenty-five years and a minister for twenty. I think I have a perspective on life that most people will never have the opportunity to have. I haven't had the luxury of living with my head in the clouds. I've had to live my life in the muck and mire of the trenches. But I think some of my Christian friends would be shocked to hear that this is where Jesus lived His life as well. Jesus didn't hang out studying theology at the Temple, synagogue, or rabbinical school. He walked the mean streets and went to hostile cities. He was a "dead man walking." He knew He was going to be murdered and yet He kept on walking headlong into danger.
So when Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek He understood full well the realities of this world. He knew that we live in a harsh, hateful and cruel world. He also knew that if we tried to avenge all the wrongs done to us we would destroy ourselves by becoming the evil that we seek to destroy. So He tells us to forgive the wrongs that are done to us, but He never said that we should not seek and expect justice to be done. As a matter of fact the Bible commands us to do justice. So how do we reconcile the two? By turning matters of justice over to the government. By allowing the government to fulfill their biblical mandate to execute justice at the edge of a sword. That means that Jesus not only believed in the death penalty, He mandated it!
The thug that murdered my friend had better be thankful that I am a Christian. If I weren't I can assure that vengeance would be mine! But I will leave that to God and the government. I have my biblical duty and so does the government. As a proponent of justice I expect them to find the person who did this, put them in jail, prosecute them, and then place a needle in their arm, and watch them die. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life.
I pray for the soul of my friend. I pray for the soul of the person who commited this heinous act. And I pray that justice will be done according to the Word of the Lord. When the murderer is dead, then justice will have been done.
Forgive me, Lord, for the anger I feel. Only You can take away the anger and the hurt. Be with the family of the victim. Be with the police who seek to stop this person from harming anyone else. And Lord, be with the judges who will deal with this person. May they seek Your wisdom and may they do Your will. Amen.
"For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery..." (Isaiah 61:8)
Fr. Rick
Last Sunday I preached on the Gospel lesson from St. Matthew's Gospel where Jesus told the disciples to "turn the other cheek." Kind of ironic since it is hard to turn the other cheek to a bullet fired at you point blank. Did Jesus really mean what He said? Was He out of touch with reality?
In that same Gospel Jesus quoted the Old Testament law of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." Many of my brethren have construed this passage as a repudiation of that law. But I told my parishioners that this law is still in effect. Jesus told us not to take revenge for personal injuries, but that the law of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" was not meant for us to enforce. That law was given to the judges of Israel as a restraint against unjust punishment of those brought before the court. "Vengeance is Mine," says God and justice is in the hands of the goverment according to Saint Paul. If an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth are equitable, then so is a life for a life.
As I read the online newspaper article about my friend's death people were already leaving comments about the injustice of the death penalty. I must confess to you that I am sick and tired of hearing mamby-pamby wusses whining about the injustices of the death penalty. I'm almost certain that if they had a gun shoved in their faces or had a close loved one murdered they would change their opinions. It is wonderful to be so idealistic about life when you live in a bubble. But in the nitty-gritty world of real life things are a little different.
Now I realize that I'm probably not sounding very "pious" or priest-like for some of your sensibilities, but, quite frankly, I don't care! I've been a cop for twenty-five years and a minister for twenty. I think I have a perspective on life that most people will never have the opportunity to have. I haven't had the luxury of living with my head in the clouds. I've had to live my life in the muck and mire of the trenches. But I think some of my Christian friends would be shocked to hear that this is where Jesus lived His life as well. Jesus didn't hang out studying theology at the Temple, synagogue, or rabbinical school. He walked the mean streets and went to hostile cities. He was a "dead man walking." He knew He was going to be murdered and yet He kept on walking headlong into danger.
So when Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek He understood full well the realities of this world. He knew that we live in a harsh, hateful and cruel world. He also knew that if we tried to avenge all the wrongs done to us we would destroy ourselves by becoming the evil that we seek to destroy. So He tells us to forgive the wrongs that are done to us, but He never said that we should not seek and expect justice to be done. As a matter of fact the Bible commands us to do justice. So how do we reconcile the two? By turning matters of justice over to the government. By allowing the government to fulfill their biblical mandate to execute justice at the edge of a sword. That means that Jesus not only believed in the death penalty, He mandated it!
The thug that murdered my friend had better be thankful that I am a Christian. If I weren't I can assure that vengeance would be mine! But I will leave that to God and the government. I have my biblical duty and so does the government. As a proponent of justice I expect them to find the person who did this, put them in jail, prosecute them, and then place a needle in their arm, and watch them die. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life.
I pray for the soul of my friend. I pray for the soul of the person who commited this heinous act. And I pray that justice will be done according to the Word of the Lord. When the murderer is dead, then justice will have been done.
Forgive me, Lord, for the anger I feel. Only You can take away the anger and the hurt. Be with the family of the victim. Be with the police who seek to stop this person from harming anyone else. And Lord, be with the judges who will deal with this person. May they seek Your wisdom and may they do Your will. Amen.
"For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery..." (Isaiah 61:8)
Fr. Rick
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Synergy
The dictionary says that synergy is "two or more agents working together to produce a result not obtainable by any of the agents independently." The word synergy comes from the Greek word synergoi which is found in 1 Corinthians 3:9, "For we are God's fellow workers..."
Acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine are all used to eliminate headaches. But if you put the three of them together in the right combination they can wipe out a headache faster and more efficiently than any of them can do individually. That is synergy. In the business world we know that teamwork will provide an overall better result than if each person was working toward the same goal individually. That is synergy.
In the Church Jesus himself told us that where two or three are gathered together in His Name, He will be there with us. That is synergy. We also know that when the priest consecrates the elements of bread and wine they become for us the Body and Blood of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. That is synergy.
When we come together with the common purpose of loving God and glorifying Him we have become his fellow workers (synergoi) in the redemption of the world. Christ made the sacrifice, but we bear witness to that sacrifice. We can bear witness alone, but there is more power when do it corporately. We can pray alone, but there is more power when we do it corporately.
We need to set aside our individual agendas and seek out this synergy that comes through a whole-hearted devotion to Jesus Christ. God wants us to be His fellow workers. Are we willing to accept His offer?
Fr. Rick
Acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine are all used to eliminate headaches. But if you put the three of them together in the right combination they can wipe out a headache faster and more efficiently than any of them can do individually. That is synergy. In the business world we know that teamwork will provide an overall better result than if each person was working toward the same goal individually. That is synergy.
In the Church Jesus himself told us that where two or three are gathered together in His Name, He will be there with us. That is synergy. We also know that when the priest consecrates the elements of bread and wine they become for us the Body and Blood of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. That is synergy.
When we come together with the common purpose of loving God and glorifying Him we have become his fellow workers (synergoi) in the redemption of the world. Christ made the sacrifice, but we bear witness to that sacrifice. We can bear witness alone, but there is more power when do it corporately. We can pray alone, but there is more power when we do it corporately.
We need to set aside our individual agendas and seek out this synergy that comes through a whole-hearted devotion to Jesus Christ. God wants us to be His fellow workers. Are we willing to accept His offer?
Fr. Rick
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