The Jesus Gospel
Sharing the teachings of Jesus that the world would like to ignore.
Peace...not as the world gives
These words of Jesus have been echoing in my heart of late: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. (John 14:27)
So I’ve been asking myself, how does the world give peace?
· By shock and awe, raining down devastation from the sky upon unseen people below. This is how the world gives peace.
· By sending our troops well armed and well armored into foreign lands to root out guerrilla-type fighters. We are witnessing the fruits of this method of peacemaking even now. The insurgents grow in number with each passing day, and the violence they perpetrate destroys the lives of the very people we claim to be protecting. Over two million Iraqis have fled their country, while another 1.9 million are displaced within its borders. This is how the world gives peace.
· By torturing suspects captured in the course of our war on terror. In our fascination with the anti-hero of a popular weekly television drama, we’ve forgotten that our country is bound by international and divine standards of humane treatment. As Cesare Beccaria said back in the eighteenth century, truth cannot be extracted from the tortured sinews of a prisoner. This is how the world gives peace.
· By televising only carefully chosen, negative images and sound bites of the enemy, such as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chavez. By systematically stripping them of their humanity, our leaders seek to convince us that we cannot dialog with such bepeople and that our only option is to subdue them by force. This is how the world gives peace.
· By marching and shouting slogans in the streets. Yes, sometimes even we peace and justice activists fall in step with the world’s way of giving peace. Certainly we must speak out against torture, imperialistic wars, and corporate profiteering. We must lobby our elected officials and write letters to the editor. We must organize and do what we can to educate our fellow citizens. However, we cannot let ourselves forget that the how we go about our struggle is every bit as important as the why. In the words of William Penn: "We are too ready to retaliate, rather than forgive or gain by love and information." When we out-shout our opponents instead of out-shining them with compassionate listening and engagement, we too are modeling peace as the world gives it.
The leaders of our administration and their supporters –-and even, to a certain extent, some of us zealous but short-sighted activists—mistakenly believe that the above methods will bring peace and will bring it now, or at the at least in the next election. Jesustaught us to pray, "Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven," but when did he ever tell us to demand that the kingdom come and that it come immediately? Furthermore, while we humans are busy presenting our non-negotiable demands to the Father, we forget that Jesus has already given us explicit instructions for making the kingdom of God's peace a reality here on earth: "Heal the sick ...and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.' "
When we heal, forgive, take the last place, practice patience, listen to our opponent, and return a soft response (and I'm not suggesting that any of these things are easy to do!), we model the kingdom of God's peace, the world as it will be when the Spirit of God reigns. The world's way of giving peace only reinforces the eternal cycles of revenge and violence. The vanquished parties seethe and plot to overthrow their conquerors, becoming even more hardened and uncompassionate conquerors themselves. We who are called to oppose the world’s tactic of peace through violence must also take care not to use our own brand of strong-arm tactics.
Jesus and Tom Fox did not live to see the day when nation shall no longer take up sword against nation. We may not be required, like them, to pay with our lives, but we will be asked repeatedly to put aside our stubborn pride. This is the hardest lesson for us to learn, for we too have internalized the world’s message that taking some of the enemy down with us constitutes a measure of success. But then, Jesus did not promise us success in our lifetime either. He promised us shalom in our hearts and the joy that comes from doing the Father's will. John 14:27 ends with his reassurance: "Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
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Nothing I Can Say Will Make Sense
I realize there is nothing I can say that will make sense.
“Under no circumstances should a true Christian draw the sword.” – Tertullian, 155-230 A.D.
At Jesus birth there was the slaughter of innocents and I am sure God was cursed for allowing it to happen.
“We, who were formerly slayers of one another, not only do not make war upon our enemies, but, for the sake of neither lying nor deceiving those who examine us, gladly die confessing Christ.” - Justin Martyr, 100 - 165 A.D.
War and senseless slaughter will not go away. Each side with the sword will say they have a legitimate reason for striking and a just reason for going to war. But with each blow they strike they begin to mirror those who they say they oppose until the line is so blurred it is difficult to tell who is who.
“We who had been filled with mutual slaughter and every wickedness, have each one - all the world over - changed the instruments of war, the swords into ploughs and the spears into farming instruments, and we cultivate piety righteousness, love for men, faith and hope which is from the Father Himself through the Crucified One.” - Justin Martyr, 100 - 165 A.D.
We will dress the villains in terms that will make them seem inhuman to help justify the violence. They will be called barbarians or savages or devils on horses. They will be less than human and clearly evil.
“And so, in this commandment of God, no exception at all ought to be made to the rule that it is always wrong to kill a man, whom God has wished to be regarded as a sacrosanct creature…Thou shalt not kill… It is always unlawful to put a man to death.” - Lactantius of Bithynia, aprox 240-317 A.D.
But in the end it is not the barbarian or the savage or the devil on the horseback we really need to fear.
“Christians have been taught not to defend themselves against their enemies; and because they have kept the laws that command gentleness and love of man, they have received from God that which they would not have achieved if they were permitted to make war, though they might have been quite able to do so.” Origen
Rather it will be us the Christian. You know the one. The one who fought in the crusades. The same one who bought and sold slaves. Yes the same one who murdered and raped the people they called Indians. The very one who tried to exterminate the Jews. The one who dropped the atomic bombs on civilian centers in the name of justice. And the one today that searches hard to find the reason to draw the sword. Onward Christian solider…
“The greatest warfare, in other words, is not with human enemies but with those spiritual forces which make men into enemies.” Origen
And with each blow we strike we nail Jesus back on the cross, again and again and again.
“Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow in His steps: “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;” Apostle Peter
So now here we are, needing to ask the question: Who really is the barbarian and the savage and the devil on the horseback? And is there anyone willing to try a different way?
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Jesus)
Jesus gave us all an invitation to follow. Will you?
10 People to Pray for to Start Changing the World.
(Or how to start unclogging a hardened heart.)
Special thanks to 11 year old Anna for the inspiration
A faith healer asked a large group if they had ever prayed for world peace. Many hands went up. How many had prayed for the healing of a common cold and expected immediate results, was the next question. No hands were lifted. She then asked: “If you don’t have the faith to cure the common cold what makes you believe your prayers can cure the world?” She then encouraged the group to start small on their prayers and use those prayers as stepping stones to larger requests.
Jesus told us to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us. Remembering His words and the faith healer’s message here are ten people to pray for, each day, for a week.
A couple tips as you pray. Spend some time in silence before you pray asking God to make your heart and prayers acceptable to Him. Try to visualize the person and imagine them doing something kind that you might not expect. Pray not that they will become like you want them. Ask God to guide them to be the person He wants them to be.
1. Pray for the family person who bugs you the most. It might be a member of the household or an out of area cousin. Do something unexpectedly nice that they will not expect.
2. Pray for the neighbor who you have a hard time smiling at. Pray for special blessings from God for that neighbor. If you have time do something really kind for them.
3. Pray for the most obnoxious co-worker or classmate you know. Give them a warm smile at least a couple times during the week.
4. Pray for the most abrasive person in your congregation or worship meeting. (Praying for yourself does not count!) Invite them out for a cup of coffee or a soda and let them talk.
5. Pray for a random stranger you might have concerns about. Perhaps the guy you saw in the store with the most tattoos or the woman smoking the cigarette who looks like she is an alcoholic. Ask God to send a special blessing to them.
6. Pray for your pastor, elder or group leader you have the toughest time with. If you can pray for a special blessing for the guy with the tattoos you can do the same for this person. Send them an uplifting card.
7. Pray for the last person you heard use the Lord’s name in vain. Ask God to create a heart of worship.
8. Pray for a political leader you have the hardest time saying anything nice about. Envision them doing unbelievable acts of kindness. (Okay this might be really hard for some! But it can be done! Send them a political contribution. Just kidding!!!)
9. Pray for a local soldier. Ask that God will become a force in their life. Find their address and send a small care package or a card.
10. Pray for the most evil person in the world that first comes to mind. As Paul was transformed from a terrorist of Christians into an unbelievable saint ask for the same transformation for this person.
Give this a chance: One week of prayers for the 10 people above. You will be surprised by the results. Feel free to share your experience.
We have been given divine weapons. How often do we use them? In times of trouble do we put them aside and rush to use the weapons of this world?
