Too dangerous to let them live?

Nicole and I went to the Tuesday evening cheap movies, as is our habit when there is something worth seeing, to see Insurgent, the second in the Divergent series.  I'll say this generically so as to not create a spoiler, in the movie, two primary characters who are identified with the "good guys" shoot two "bad guy" prisoners, one in handcuffs, the other in a prison cell.  The scenes themselves aren't graphic, the movie is PG-13, but still rather disturbing, and certainly a harsh topic for inclusion in a movie geared for teens.  This reminds me of the discussion about the end of the last Superman movie, Man of Steel, where Superman kills General Zod by snapping his neck to prevent him from killing some innocent bystanders.  My friend and neighbor, Pastor Jeff Little from First UMC, objected strongly to that decision because as life-long Superman fan, he was adamant that Superman always has to find a way to win without killing anyone.  With the finale of the Hunger Games due out this fall, and a sequel to The Maze Runner on the way, it seems clear that the topic of killing to protect the innocent, or to advance a worthwhile cause, will continue to be present in the movies.  This is starkly contrasted with the epiphany of Harry Potter at the end of that franchise when he finds pity for Voldemort instead of hatred, and the ending of the latest version of Cinderella, which happily ends with a moment of Christ-like forgiveness for one who doesn't deserve it.

We live in a world with dangerous terrorists, with those willing to blow up churches, mosques, pizza shops, planes, anything and everything in order to kill as many men, women, and children as possible.  Our government routinely orders remote drone strikes in foreign nations as a response to this threat, along with whatever other clandestine means are used to eliminate those who pose a threat, often before they can act.  I'm not offering up a solution to the moral dilemma of having government officials acts as judge, jury, and executioner over the lives of foreign citizens; the quagmire we find ourselves in does not allow for easy answers.  This is simply an observation that art is imitating life, our comic book and dystopian movies that we view as entertainment have come face to face with one of the moral questions that our society has yet to come to grips with.  To save the innocent is indeed noble, but what is it when that saving involves killing others without trial, and what is it when they're killed preemptively?  These are questions worth asking, questions our films are confronting more directly than our government.

Sermon Video: The Sign of Jonah - Luke 11:29-36

How does God respond to unbelief and doubt?  While it is true that God often shows exceeding amounts of patience, especially to the Lost who do not know him, God also responds with disappointment, even anger, when those who should already know him persist in not hearing his word and obeying it.  Jesus was asked by a crowd of his fellow Jews, people of the Covenant who have the Law and the Prophets to guide them, who have the Temple and the priests, and who were raised to know the name of the LORD, for a sign from heaven.  This request for a sign came on the heels of yet another miraculous healing by Jesus.  The response to the request by Jesus was to tell the crowd that no new sign would be given to them except “the sign of Jonah”.  Jesus then explains that the people of Nineveh, a wicked people with no advantages of Law and no prophets before Jonah, had repented when he warned them of God’s impending judgment, and because they repented, despite their lack of advantages, that the people of Nineveh would condemn the generation who listened to Jesus and rejected him.  When you consider all the advantages those listening to Jesus had in comparison to the people of Nineveh, it is little wonder that God would be exasperated with them.

                Jesus then offers a second analogy, comparing the curiosity of the Queen of Sheba, who came to hear of Solomon’s wisdom after hearing a rumor of it, to the stubbornness of those listening to Jesus who though they already know of God, are not interested in listening to his emissary.  After having told the crowd that no new sign would be forthcoming, Jesus concludes by comparing the doubt and unbelief of those who know God, or know of God, but won’t listen to him, to someone who lights a lamp and then places it under a bowl.  The purpose of a light is to shine forth, if the Covenant people are too darkened by sin and unbelief to accept the light, then that light will go elsewhere. 

                The warning to the Covenant people that the Gentiles, who found God’s grace despite not being a part of the Covenant, will stand in judgment against them, is a warning that applies equally to the Church.  There will be no excuse for those raised in the church, or those living in lands where the Church of Christ is active, who fail to respond to the message of the Gospel.  What excuse do a people have who live in freedom, who have an abundance of Bibles, and a Christian neighbors demonstrating the love of Christ, if those people fail to accept God’s offer of forgiveness?  None.  The warning is dire, but so is the need for humanity to accept the grace of God through Christ.  As Christians, such a warning ought to spur us on to vigilance in our own house (both family and church) knowing that each must choose Christ, and it ought to give us further incentive to continue our efforts of personal evangelism to those in our lives who have not yet found the light of Christ.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video

Sermon Video: A House Divided - Luke 11:14-26

As Jesus resume his journey toward Jerusalem for the final confrontation, he heals a man tormented by an evil spirit which had made him mute.  The miracle itself was no different than dozens of other miracles that Jesus had performed, and the healing no different than many, many others that Jesus had healed, but some in the crowd saw this not as the act of grace that it was, but as an insidious attempt by the devil to deceive the people of God.  The doubters in the audience accused Jesus of casting out demons under the authority of Beelzebub the prince of demons, in other words, they were calling Jesus a double-agent, saying that his acts of righteousness were in reality acts of deception.  That such an accusation, against Jesus of all people, is ludicrous doesn’t stop it from happening, just as the lack of evidence doesn’t stop some people from withholding vaccines from their kids.  This crazy situation is troubling, but it does provide Jesus with a chance to illustrate a principle that is applicable in nearly every human interaction and even within the life of every person: A house divided against itself will fall.

The universal principle given by Jesus has wide application, it applies to nations, too many of which are torn by civil strife, it applies to businesses, institutions, churches, families, and marriages.  We cannot long endure when were are fundamentally divided as a group of people.  This is a danger in secular situations just as it can be deadly to a church.  Because division is so dangerous, we ought always to be supporting reconciliation and healing, trying to hold together those who are in danger, and helping to pick up the pieces when splits do occur.  That this is a fundamental problem in the church and society as a whole is beyond doubt.  The divorce rate in America confirms our weakness on the issue of unity, as does the poor record of church splits.

Beyond the groupings of people in danger because of division, we must also be aware that individual people can be torn internally by conflicting goals, an unclear sense of purpose, or even simply a lack of commitment.  We cannot serve two masters, both will be disappointed in us, and we cannot avoid choosing which side we are on because we have already begun by being on the side at war with God, our only chance is to make peace with God through Jesus Christ.

Jesus ends his comments with two important additions to this principle: Those who aren’t with me are against me, and it will be worse for those who see the light but don’t change.  These two thoughts remind us that this is no game, God takes very seriously our choice to either continue as we are or repent and follow him, the good news is that when we do choose to join his side and help out in the work of the kingdom, we’ve chosen the side that has already been victorious in the battle, a battle won by Jesus on Easter morning.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video

A message of salvation by grace through faith.

Nicole and I were in church today listening to a preacher utilize Ephesians 2:8-9 and John 3:16 to talk about how salvation cannot be merited, earned, or purchased in any way, but is entirely an act of grace by God.  He used the analogy of a lifeline thrown to a drowning victim whose only part in the process is holding on for dear life.  It was a message straight out of Martin Luther's sola fide, sola gratia, with the entire emphasis on what God has done through Christ to save a helpless humanity.
For those who don't believe in ecumenism, who disdain efforts among the splintered portion of the Church to work together, the source of this message won't make you happy, for those of us who work every day with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ from different faith backgrounds to help those in need, it is further confirmation that we're on the right course.  The message was the homily of Msgr. Herbein, the priest of St. Patrick's Church down at the end of our block.  Msgr. Herbein is by no means a "radical" priest out of touch with the Catholic Church, rather he is simply one parish priest among many, reading the scriptures and speaking the truth they contain.  There's hope for healing within the body of Christ, we may be one Church in polity, that ship has likely sailed for good, but we can be one Church in spirit when the grace of God is preached and faith the people gathered in the house of God are pleaded with to accept it by faith.

A marriage built on ecumenical goodwill - Our marriage highlighted in local newspaper article.

I was asked by our local religion reporter for the combined newspaper, The Derrick & The News Herald, Curtis Hanna, if he could write a story about my marriage as a Baptist pastor to my wife Nicole, a devout Roman Catholic.  Because ecumenism is such a big part of my ministry here, I was happy to have this part of our life known.  The resulting story is linked in pdf form to this posting, thanks to all the people who have supported us over the years, and glory to God for his goodness to us.

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I've written about my marriage to Nicole in lots of other posts, simply click on the tag "my wife Nicole" in the tag list at the right of the homepage of my blog to view them all.  I've also written often about the experience of this ministry, under the tag "being a pastor".