Confessing Our Racism - The March Continues...

This is a photo of this past Sunday's "Selma 50 March" that was in the Selma Times Journal. I didn't realize that the bridge was named after a Grand Dragon of the KKK. Unfortunately, racism surrounds us whether we are aware of it or not. 

The season of Lent is a time of confession, repentance, and forgiveness. Like the Selma march, it's a journey that reminds us that we live in a very broken and hurting world, but the good news is that we are also marching into God's new creation made possible through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Lord, forgive us for our individual acts of racism whether they be overt or subtle. May all people be treated with dignity and respect. Remind us that every single person has been created by you. Be with us as we continue the march toward freedom and equality for all your people. In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen.

An E-mail Response to Questions about Connecticut Tragedy & Our Faith

Here is my e-mail response to someone who has questions about dealing with fear in light of the Connecticut shootings.  In hindsight, I could have included more about the role of many of the Psalms in helping us to express our fears and longings which are important Season of Advent themes.  My response below wasn't meant to be "thee answer" but to emphasize how our Christian faith relates to the presence of evil and suffering in our world.

Thank you for reaching out for spiritual support. Like you, I have been deeply saddened over the terrible tragedy in Connecticut. We have been reminded of our vulnerability and our need to trust in God daily even in the midst of chaos and violence.

 

The overall theme/story of the bible is that even though evil is real, God will one day restore creation and make it new like it was always meant to be. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus give us a glimpse of the resurrection that one day awaits all of God's people and even creation itself. The ending chapter of the Book of Revelation speaks of heaven descending upon earth when there will be new heavens and a new earth. We at least know how the story ends.

 

In the meantime, we long for this to be fulfilled in the here and now. Through the Holy Spirit, we are called to offer God's healing love to all people and in all places. And when we have unanswered questions or become afraid, we encourage each other with the good news of our faith. Even with all of the evil that is in the world, there is still much that is good and so much beauty and love.

 

I hope this is helpful and invite you to join us for worship as this helps us to be open to God's presence in our midst.

 

May God bless you and your family during this difficult time and may the hope of Christmas bring you great joy.

Our Advent Cry - In Response to the Elementary School Shooting

As we listen to the news regarding the tragic killing of children and adults at an elementary school in Connecticut, we are painfully reminded that we live in a broken and hurting world.  The Christmas specials on TV, the gift wrapping of presents, the staff Christmas parties, the caroling, and the preparing of Christmas cards are now seen in a much larger perspective, the perspective of a world in need of redemption.

The recent shooting in a Portland, Oregon shopping mall during the middle of the Christmas shopping season is still fresh in our minds.  What causes people to do such wickedness?

During the four weeks leading up to Christmas Eve, many churches observe what is known as the Advent Season.  Advent is a time to help us prepare for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. It is equally a time to help us prepare for his second coming when the world  will be completely renewed and made whole as God had always intended. Many churches and Christians bypass Advent and go straight to Christmas.  A friend of mine said that he was visiting in a church the Sunday before Thanksgiving and they were already singing Christmas carols!

Advent is a time of longing for a better world, a world that is filled with God's justice, love, and peace. On Christmas Eve, we will sing "Joy to the World," but not now.  During this season each year, we hear scriptures which speak of that time when God's people were sent into exile. We also hear prophets like Isaiah who offer words of hope that God has not forsaken them and will fulfill his promises for a better world.

The people of Israel who were living in exile waited in hope for God to bring them home.  The Season of Advent helps us to wait in hope especially as our hearts our broken over the senseless killings of innocent people in an elementary school. Like the people of Israel, we wait knowing that one day, God will make all things new.  One day, this world will be a place where there will be no more shootings, no more pain, no more suffering, no more sin, and no more death.

A manger holding a crying baby in Bethlehem will be a sign that the Savior has come into our broken and hurting world.  We will celebrate that wondrous event just days from now.

But for now, it's Advent. We cry, we pray, and we wait with hope.

Super Tuesday Prayer

Almighty God, to whom we must account for all our powers and privileges: Guide the people of Ohio in voting on officials and local and state issues that by faithful administration and wise laws, the rights of all may be protected and our nation be enabled to fulfill your purposes; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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The Cases of Amanda Knox, Casey Anthony, & Troy Davis

In his book, "Simply Christian," NT Wright makes the point that there are basically four human yearnings that are often a puzzle for us in life.  These include our search for justice, spirituality, relationships, and beauty.

The appeal of the book is not that the author is trying to "prove" that Christianity is true but that it does offer a very compelling worldview that addresses these four key human quests.  Wright invites us to read the bible in this context to see if it makes sense.  The subtitle of the book is "Why Christianity Makes Sense."

The recent legal cases involving Amanda Knox, Casey Anthony, and Troy Davis highlight the puzzle of justice in very dramatic ways.  As I write this blog entry, a large crowd of Italians are shouting, "shame, shame, shame!" in protest of the release of Amanda Knox.

The air time we give to cases such as these speak to our basic human longing for justice.  The heart of the Christian faith addresses this need again and again.  Very briefly, here are some points of connection with the biblical witness on this topic of justice:

• The creation story/human sin of Adam & Eve - This tells the story of a good creator God who created the world and called it good.  Because of sin, this good creator God longs to rescue the world from sin and death.  What is compelling about this is that this is a worldview that embraces our time and space world.  There are many other worldviews that long to escape this present world.  Christianity is not one of them (even though there are Christian theologies that get this wrong.)
• The prophets of the Old Testament constantly hammer away at the need for justice, specifically in a how they are to care for the poor and the alien.   By the way, we often screen this part of the bible out since these scriptures step on our toes but we do so at our own peril.
• Jesus announced the good news which is the coming of God's kingdom on earth.  This involves establishing God's justice on earth leading to a time when the whole world will be made new again.
• Jesus died on a cross by the Roman Empire even though he did not deserve death.  In the cross of Jesus, the injustice of the Roman judicial system is contrasted with the justice of God in which the death of Jesus will lead to a just world.
• The purpose of the church (see the Book of Acts) is to live in such a way that anticipates that future time when Jesus will return and will establish God's kingdom on earth for eternity.

The recent legal cases that have been in the news and continue to be debated and discussed, point to our longing for justice.  The Christian faith speaks an important word regarding this basic human quest for justice.  It provides an opportunity for the church to say, "We don't have all the answers but the good news of a loving creator God who sent Jesus to make the world new again speaks a vital word to those who are seeking justice in a broken world."
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Casey Anthony & Our Universal Search for Justice

Regardless of your opinion regarding the verdict in the Casey Anthony trial, the massive popularity of this case shows how we are interested and passionate about justice being served.  While no judicial system is perfect, it's important to at least have a system in place where arguments can be made on both sides of case and a verdict and an appropriate sentencing can be determined.  Most people, religious and non-religious alike would agree with this need for justice.

Justice is one of the key components that we find throughout scripture and is the bedrock of the Judeo/Christian faith.  From the Book of Genesis to the Book of Revelation, the bible tells the story of a God who created the world and called it good and is actively working to restore creation from sin and death. The story of the Bible is a story of restorative justice.

When Paul wrote his magnificent letter to the Christians in Rome, he was writing to a small number of people who were living just underneath the shadow of the mighty Roman empire which prided itself in being an empire of justice and righteousness.  While the empire did execute justice to some degree, there was still a lot to be desired (understatement of the year!)  Remember, this was an empire of tremendous brutality and tyranny.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul proclaims a different kind of judicial system, one that is rooted in Jesus Christ.  It's this sense of justice and the Christian hope for the world to be set right again that Paul is speaking about when he writes, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, 'The one who is righteous will live by faith.'" - Romans 1:16-17

The reason the letter of Romans is considered one of the masterpieces of Christian writing is because Paul brilliantly lays out the Judeo/Christian framework for true justice for the world by placing it in the context of the life, death, resurrection, ascension, and eventual second coming of Jesus Christ.  This was a very brave thing for Paul to undertake especially since authorities within the Roman Empire wouldn't have been very tolerant of competing judicial systems.

This biblical view of God's justice and righteousness can serve as a bridge between our universal search for justice and the biblical understanding of justice.  The problem is that the bible is often perceived by people inside and outside the church as primarily a book about how can I get into heaven.  When the bible is seen in this narrow of a way, we end up screening out the most foundational and key component that it offers us - that God cares about injustice and is in the business of restoring creation as a place of beauty, peace, joy, and true justice. When we read the bible with this perspective in mind, we can still celebrate the gift of personal salvation through Jesus Christ but within this larger context of God's justice for the world.

High profile court cases like the one involving Casey Anthony provide an opportunity for the church to say to the world, "If you're looking for true justice, read Paul's letter to the Romans."
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Osama Bin Laden & Justice

The news of Osama Bin Laden's death is an opportunity to view justice from a biblical perspective.  Most of the headlines of Osama's death include the word, "justice."  Certainly, justice is served whenever a mass killer on the run or in hiding has been apprehended. 

Biblical words like "justice" and "righteousness" are used frequently throughout the scriptures.  These words are to always be seen in the larger context of a good creator God who created the world and called it good.  God created humankind to be good stewards of creation but because of human rebellion, sin and death entered the world. 

When the bible refers to Adam and Eve disobeying God in the creation story, it also has a more generalized meaning of all humanity.  In Romans 3:23, the Apostle Paul writes, "Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  This includes us!  We are part of the problem to varying degrees.

The good news of the Christian faith is that God cares about rescuing the world from sin, death, and injustice.  Ever since the book of Genesis when we first sinned, God has been on a rescue mission to ultimately restore God's good creation the way it was always meant to be.  Through the life, death, resurrection, ascension, and future second coming of Jesus Christ, this time of reckoning will be accomplished.

The bible is also clear that even though we know the end of the story (that a day is coming when God will make all things new), we are called to participate in the renewing of God's creation through the strength of the Holy Spirit in the here and now.  We are to live in such a way that anticipates that future time of justice and peace.  This includes systems of justice and holding people accountable for their actions.

While we may cheer at the news of the capture of Osama Bin Laden, Christians need to remember that the presence of evil in the world still exists.  Yes, justice has been served, but if we use this news story to fill some type of appetite for revenge, we will miss the whole point of those biblical words, justice and righteousness.

In my previous church, a member of the congregation lost her brother in the 9/11 attacks.  This member loves the Lord, her church, her country, is very patriotic, and believes in justice.  But, she also is a woman of tremendous faith.

She did not allow this terrible terrorist act to turn her into bitter person.  Instead, a year after her brother died, she and her family traveled to a poor community in Mexico to build a home for a needy family in loving memory of her brother.  This is how she responded to 9/11.

Knowing this church member, instead of putting her energy into cheering the news of Osama Bin Laden, she is probably thanking God that justice has been served and quietly making plans for her next mission project.

She understands the true meaning of the biblical words, justice and righteousness.
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