When the Executive Looks the Other Way ...

We rely on our President to take action, set policy, and improve the state of our country.  But what happens when things go from bad to worse to even worse still?  Most folks in our country think of themselves as either Republicans or Democrats.  Even those who consider themselves Independents usually have a leaning one way or the other with the major two parties (on policy if nothing else).  So it is not surprising that when a Republican President is in office, whatever policies are being followed are considered the “correct” ones by Republican voters.  The same is true of Democrats when a Democratic President is in office.  You could call that bias one way or the other.  The more interesting phenomenon is when one policy is followed and advocated by one side – then carried on or adopted by the other side during a different administration – that both sides switch their perspectives on the same policy.  The former advocates now become the nay-sayers.  And the former nay-sayers now see the light and become advocates.  The policy is the same.  But whether or not you support it, may have more to do with who is in the White House, and what team you align with, than with the policy itself.

Case in point; George W. Bush (Republican) started a policy of using drone strikes internationally to take out “terrorist” targets.  It was a response to 9/11 in our nation.  Americans embraced this policy because it looked like the only way we could reach people that were “guilty” with minimal risk to our own troops.  But therein lies the problem, how do we truly “know” who is “guilty” with so little human intelligence on the ground.  In truth it has to be our best guess, with a best guess level of certainty.  The actions of the drone however are unmistakable.  People die.  Not just the target but anyone in the near vicinity, drones use bombs not bullets.  So then that begs the question, is it “worth” killing the target, even if you have to kill other presumably innocent people to get him?  The decision was yes.  Even at a wedding? Yes.  Anywhere?  Yes.  So while the policy was clearly not a good thing, Americans accepted it as the price of war.  Hoping that one day it would end.

President Obama (Democrat) is elected 8 years later.  Democrats who generally did not favor blatant use (or indiscriminate use) of the drones breathed a sigh of relief, expecting this practice to be reduced or disappear.  It did not.  It got worse.  Much worse.  But Republicans did not champion Obama because of it.  Nor did Democrats criticize Obama because of it.  Both just stayed quiet, and looked the other way.  Enter President Trump (Republican) 8 years later.  Nobody even knows the state of this policy today; but given everything we have seen and heard about Trump’s feelings, you can bet this policy is still alive and well and probably even worse that it has been up to now.  The morality of it is just not examined.  The Christianity of it, by supposedly three Christian President’s on both sides of the aisle is just not examined.  It is just American vengeance we visit on those we presume guilty whether they are or not, and whether we knowingly kill innocents with the “guilty” or not.  A terrible price of war that gets worse no matter who is in charge.

You could argue this is a military decision and bad things happen in war.  Ok, then take a look at deportations of illegals across our southern borders.  George W. Bush did plenty.  Obama did more, way more.  Trump does many, does them with cages and family separations, and reduces the incoming out of fear (which worked, but at a horrible moral cost to families).  Deportations increasing from Bush to Obama did nothing to garner praise from Republicans or criticism from Democrats.  Both just stayed silent and looked the other way.  Because Trump still does them, and added new levels of pain in the mix, it has only been seeing the children in cages that finally stoked criticism; nothing about our broken legal immigration system, insecure borders, and the fact the by far, most illegals come thru visa overstays at US airports and are not Mexicans or South Americans that focuses our attention.  Just two examples of steady policies that survive and thrive across three different administrations (18+ years now) where allegiance to them, is determined at the moment and based on who is President at the time.  Better to have an Executive that “does the right thing” no matter how it has been done in the past.  But what Executive has the courage to do this, and face the criticism of the crowd?

A problem that has existed since the formation of governments themselves, and has a particular example on display in the life of Christ, or rather, the death of Christ.  George W. Bush, Barrack Obama, and Donald Trump could take a lesson from Pontius Pilate.  And the American People (us voters) could take a lesson from the crowd and the religious leadership at the time.  Matthew relays the account of what happens when religious fervor is brought to gain an alliance with the power of the State in chapter 27 of his gospel.  Religion, the common man, governmental leaders, even the military all have different primary motives and desired outcomes. 

If left to the Religious leadership of the day, everyone would have submitted to their authority.  Control was of paramount importance.  But it was under the masquerade of serving the one true God.  The common man had little time for religion (of any kind), they were more interested in eating, living, loving, and repeating these things until a ripe old age.  No gods ever did much to help them with that before.  The leader of the Government wanted peace above all.  Not for the sake of peace, but for the sake of a continual consistent flow of taxes back to Rome.  In this, promotion was to be had, and a much more pleasant venue would be sought.  And the military, they just would have preferred slaughtering everyone of Jewish descent and be done with it.  This way, they could go home, and pursue the life of common men.  While stuck putting down constant insurrections, they would never reach home, and could die in the process.  Stir this mix with demons bent on finally killing Christ, and you get a perfect storm.

Matthew begins the account picking up in verse 11 saying … “And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest.”  Pilate gets right the heart of the matter as far as Rome is concerned.  Is this person, going to be another threat, like all the other would-be Messiahs had been, and would be going forward.  Pilate could care less about the question of Jesus being divine, Pilate did not believe that divinity was contained in a single one true God.  It was spread out across the entire pantheon of Greek gods, adopted and renamed into Roman ones.  The concept of a demi-god (half god, half man) was a common idea in Roman culture and so Pilate could have accepted this about Christ without even a second thought.  But man, God, or demi-God, the question Pilate cared about was … are you a threat to the peace, or a threat to Rome.  So he poses the question to Jesus about being a “new” King of the Jews.  The response and manner of Jesus quickly answer this question for him.  He isn’t.

Matthew continues in verse 12 saying … “And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. [verse 13] Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? [verse 14] And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.”  Next, Pilate would care about whether Jesus was actually guilty of some crime that would spark the need to kill Him, and have one less Jew to contend with.  So the Religious leadership present a myriad of accusations and false witnesses and Pilate sees right through their fiasco, identifying it for what it is.  But what is new, is the idea that a man on trial for His own life, would say nothing throughout all the horrible accusations they made about Him.  Most men, would be crying out to be heard, denying everything that was said, whether it was true, and especially if it was false.  But not Jesus.  He stood there already beaten and bound.  But was as quiet as a lamb.  Offering no defense.  Saying nothing.  And Pilate quickly surmised this farse for what it was – this was the problem of Pharisees wanting a popularity that Jesus had, and they did not.  Jesus was only a threat to their control over religion and worship, nothing else.  At this Pilate was stunned and amazed.

So Pilate determined to let Jesus go.  To that end, he needed a mechanism that would justify it to the people so that no one could question it.  Instead of taking the power of the Executive to do it, worry has already caused him to compromise what he knows the right thing to do is.  Matthew continues in verse 15 saying … “Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. [verse 16] And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. [verse 17] Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? [verse 18] For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.”  Pilate stacks the deck.  Barabbas was a scumbag, and his victims were not just Roman, he killed, stole, raped, murdered – because he liked it, because it pleased him.  No one was safe with Barabbas out of prison.  Little children would live in fear.  Women would live in fear.  Unarmed men would live in fear.  It was the equivalent of letting Joseph Manson out of jail, loose in a city full of potential victims and no one able to stop him.  This was a choice Pilate gave the crowd of common men, between the worst criminal they would ever fear, and Jesus who presented no threat at all, loving everyone including the Romans who He considered no enemy at all.

Pilate thought for sure this would solve the problem.  This was a clever trick, and surely advanced intellect can solve any problem right?  But things were worse than he had imagined.  Matthew continues in verse 19 saying … “When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.”  The Holy Spirt sent to Pilate, the only real person that could ever influence him, his wife.  If Romans understood superstition, then a message they would understand would be sent.  Dreams, or rather night terrors or nightmares, were the tool of choice to brand it across the mind of Pilate’s wife that Jesus was innocent.  Pilate creating clever situations was not enough.  Looking the other way would NOT be accepted.  For Pilate to keep his hands free from the death of Jesus, he must be proactive.  The wife of Pilate understood this.  She delivered her message to protect her husband and herself.  History would have been different if this Executive had listened.  Jesus would still have died, the Jews would have seen to that.  But Pilate would have remained actually innocent of His blood.   Unfortunately that would not be how it worked out.

Enter the influencers of our lives.  Matthew continues in verse 20 saying … “But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.”  The common man would have normally made a normal choice.  Keep the threat in prison (Barabbas), and let the guy who feeds me out (Jesus).  That is the sensible thing to do.  That is the thing in the interest of the common man.  So Pilate’s idea should have worked.  But the Religious leaders had other ideas.  They were bent on the destruction of Jesus, so they set about to influence the crowd (us) to do the non-sensible claiming it was actually in our better interests.  We are to defy common sense (not for God) but actually against God, as prophecy outlined so long ago.  How often is the common man convinced to do the horrific because we ignore our conscience and listen to our leaders?  God says “thou shalt not kill”.  It is so important it is listed as one of the Ten Commandments.  It is a basic tenant of how to love.  Yet Christians have found a way to create a list of exemptions to that fundamental rule to justify an extraordinary level of killing without the slightest conscience prick at all.

We ignore our common sense about the simplicity of “not killing”, and complicate it with scenarios where killing seems like the best choice to do (usually for the greater good).  But what if we extended love into those very same scenarios?  Instead of killing Hitler when he was a baby, what if we surrounded Hitler with loving parents, loving friends, true Christians, and an environment that would bring out the best in any of us.  Doesn’t that solution stop the holocaust just as effectively as murder, perhaps more so.  And if we injected more love into our world today, would it not improve as well?  Preventing the next Hitler, or Isis, or whatever evil we contend with today because we meet hate with greater hate.  Our Religious leaders do not always advocate love (as they should).  They sometimes advocate expedience, or limited death, to solve bigger death problems.  The chief priests in the time of Christ made just such an argument.  To be fair, they had the assistance of Satan, and his demonic hoard as well.  We fight supernatural influence in these matters today too.  It just seems sad that Satan is found to keep lining up with Religious leadership when hate is advocated, and love ignored.

Matthew continues in verse 21 saying … “The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. [verse 22] Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. [verse 23] And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.”  Pilate does not just accept their answer.  He makes a last stand for common sense and decency.  Imagine that, it is the Roman fighting for decency.  It is the pagan believer fighting to the life of the only Son of the One True God.  The state wants no part in this murder.  But religion is not leaving it a choice.  In a last gasp of frustration, Pilate asks the cutting question “Why? – what evil has He done?”.    There is no answer given.  Only more screaming for the blood of Jesus.  Again to be fair, it is the sound of demons Pilate hears mixed with those of men in this answer.  But the voices of men are there as well.  

It is now, that Pilate will join the ranks of George W. Bush, Barrack Obama, and Donald Trump – he must make a decision that is right but will be hugely unpopular with his constituents.  If Pilate arbitrarily releases Jesus (no matter what he does with Barabbas), the people may riot, perhaps even revolt – all of it on the watch of Pilate.  All Pilate has to do to appease this crowd is look the other way on what is right, and let the crowd do what they intend to do with or without his blessing.  All leaders face this decision every day on a host of issues you and I may never fully understand.  But to be fair, this quandary is not reserved for Pilate and Presidents alone; it is something you and I face all the time.  You can choose to ignore someone in need.  You can choose to judge someone in need (deciding they earned their misfortune and justifiably walking away).  We have all earned our misfortune.  But love overlooks what we deserve, and grants grace in spite of what we earned.  Or if you lack love – it doesn’t.  It is easy to “keep going” and pass by distress and need.  It is much harder to stop, scrap what you in mind to do today, and do something that is needed instead.  A quandary for us all.  Do we look the other way, or do we look to meet the need?  The measure of love in our hearts will answer that question one way or the other.

Matthew continues in verse 24 saying … “When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.”  Notice Pilate calls Jesus just, or in other words innocent.  Pilate makes a public symbolic gesture to note this is NOT what he wants to do.  But the executive who has the power to do something else, will not do it, will not do what is right.  He plans to look the other way and allow these murderers to have their vengeance.  Whether Jesus deserves this or not, and plainly He does not.  Matthew records the chilling response in verse 25 saying … “Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.”  His blood be on us.  As American Christians we like to read this text and attribute it to someone else, frankly anyone else.  Some have speculated this is the reason why people of the Jewish faith have been persecuted world wide for only being a member of a faith and a blood line.  But they are WRONG.

To believe persecution is an act of a vengeful God, is to ignore the entire life and example of Jesus Christ.  Jesus did not come to punish anyone, but to save everyone.  “Sin” is the punishment.  Salvation is the only relief from the punishment.  Jesus came to offer us all that.  The blood line of Abraham was offered it first, but that offer has not expired, nor will it ever.  It was sin that caused the holocaust.  The sin of hate of Hitler, that dragged an entire nation down with it.  Only few survived the disease of hate Hitler caused.  And the world suffered from it.  That was not the will of God, nor was it the punishment of God.  Hate itself was the punishment, and Jesus offers the only escape from hate.  More to the point, His blood be on us, is what we say silently, every time we fail and go back to the cross for forgiveness.  For to save us from the death we have earned, Jesus offered His own blood in our place, and we must take Him up on that offer.  We do not escape our sins, until we embrace His sacrifice in our place.  That is not a Jewish thing, that is a believer thing.  That is a love thing.  He loves us that much.

Pilate has one last trick up his sleeve.  Pilate is a former soldier and has seen blood and suffering up close.  Nobody (outside of sociopaths), enjoys watching humanity suffer.  This is the reasons Romans use crosses in the first place.  Death is prolonged.  Families are tormented by the inevitable, while victims are tormented by pain until it finally overwhelms them (much like what sin does to us).  People are repulsed by this, as they should be.  So Pilate decides to whip Jesus one lash short of death.  The agony, the blood, the horror of this will be done to drive this crowd away, satisfying their blood lust, while perhaps not quite killing an innocent man.  It does not work.  It only adds torment to the process.  The common man watches with demonic glee.  Matthew concludes this section of the story in verse 26 saying … “Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.”  Having already compromised doing what is right, Pilate now tries a last desperate attempt to save an innocent man through horror.  But one is not saved by hate or horror, one is only made worse by them.

We cannot change history.  We must instead confront history.  Whether Republican or Democrat or Independent; we must embrace His forgiveness, though it comes at the cost of His blood.  We must humble ourselves and realize that our lives, and our salvation, come because our God decided to take on our punishment, what we had earned, for us, instead of us.  The distinctions of party or alignment with policy tend to dwarf next to that common bond.  If we are Christian (believers/followers of Jesus) then we are bonded together by the blood of our God.  That is humbling.  That humility may allow us to love each other in spite of our politics, or any other supposed difference man can invent to divide us.  His blood covers us all, and it is upon us, and our children.  His blood is also highly infectious.  Turn to Jesus, humble who you are in front of Him, allow Him to remake you, re-create you – and that same blood will produce in you a torrent of love for others you cannot fully imagine.  It will change who you are.  And before you know it, the quandary of passing by need or not, will no longer be any kind of quandary at all – it will become a no-brainer even a 2yr-old could easily understand.  We don’t need to look to our Religious leaders, or to our Executives to see change appear – we need to look into our mirrors and see Jesus shining back.  Then the change that happens will be unstoppable starting here and now, and without end.

 

Secret Missions [part one] ...

Imagine having a true political mandate from the people.  In our day, politicians on both sides of the aisle, always like to claim to have had a political mandate that got them elected.  “The people have spoken” is an oft cited phrase, even though our country is split nearly equally down the middle with nearly as many people voting against something, as voting for it.  A true consensus that crosses ideological, religious, ethnic, and cultural boundaries is something as rare as seeing a falling star.  It is possible, but rare indeed.  But can you imagine the absolute boundless joy that would occur in the heart of Donald Trump, or Hilary Clinton, if the next polls showed literally 100% of the people favoring one of them for president?  They (like us) would be almost certain to question the validity of the poll.  It has never happened in American politics.  We have never reached a unanimous consensus on who should be our next president.  It would be unprecedented (and given current polls, impossible in this election once again).  Imagine the heart failure in the losing party headquarters if 100% of the people voted for only one candidate.  Imagine the vanity in the headquarters of the winning party.  They would eat it up.  They would long for their coronation, or rather inauguration.

Do you think the winner, in a landslide like this, might be tempted to propose amendments to our constitution in order to end term-limits?  After all, wouldn’t something like a 100% victory be the political mandate someone needs to go from a limit of 8 years, to a limit of a lifetime?  How tempting would it be, with 100% support of the common people, to become king?  What if they wanted you to be king?  What if they demanded that you become king, even if you did not really want the position?  This … was the “problem” Jesus faced.  Despite how Trump, or Clinton might react, our God, our Lord, our Savior has a different mission.  Jesus could have easily become an earthly king in Israel, in point of fact, the people were constantly trying to force Him into it.  Jesus had the biggest political mandate since creation, by the nation He had come to bear witness to of the Father’s love, to become its next king.  Everyone would have followed Him.  In the minds of the people, this was supposed to be the ultimate goal of the Messiah in the first place.  They were less interested in the Father’s love, and more interested in political dominance, and breaking the yoke of pagan Roman oppression.  It made sense religiously, to replace paganism with Judaism.  It made sense to stop human sacrifice for sport in the arenas, or on crosses along the highways to inspire fear, and only sacrifice sheep instead.

There was nothing Godly about the Roman empire, how it ruled, or how it oppressed the world.  It was a pagan empire, who worshipped sex, greed, and control.  It was the most powerful kingdom to ever rule the world, albeit not the most wealthy.  It ruled with an iron fist.  To have another David, another Joshua, another Solomon, all wrapped into a package with superhuman powers lead Israel to conquer and rule the earth, with a religious system that valued all life, made sense to everyone.  It was the dream of every Israelite.  It was the hope of a nation.  Jesus was supposed to be this hope.  Jesus was supposed to do all of this.  Or Jesus would become “just another wanna-be”.  When the people saw what Jesus could do in healing people, they did not think of the Father’s love that directed His works.  They thought only of dead Romans along the same roads they erected crosses on now.  They thought only of taking Roman gold, and melting Roman idols to make their own homes better instead.  They thought of what the power of Jesus could mean to them.  No more work.  No more sickness.  No more torture.  Only ease, comfort, and happiness forever more.

That my friends is a political mandate like we have never seen before.  Trump or Clinton would never be able to deliver it, and thus the reason why neither would ever garner 100% of anything.  Jesus however was capable of delivering it, but He chose not to.  In fact, He came to a point in His ministry, where trying to reveal the Father’s love, was getting harder because of the fame of what He was doing, and the deep desires of the people to make Him King, whether He wanted it or not.  So in order, to do the will of the Father, Jesus did what no politician has ever done in the history of campaigning in this country … He attempted to stop getting press coverage.  He attempted to continue revealing the Father’s love quietly and without any fanfare.

It is no small irony that Jesus could have been king any time He wanted, He could have done what every Israelite believed the Messiah would do.  But He did not.  He chose not to.  He chose to avoid politics and power entirely.  He did nothing to break the pagan Roman rule, instead He submitted to it, even when it killed Him without cause.  What Trump or Clinton would likely kill for, our Lord discarded with deep disdain.  Jesus had other priorities, other interests, another mission He was here to perform.  If Christians are to follow His example, perhaps they should abandon a quest for political power, and the ability to dominate the actions and conscience of others, and instead pursue the course of their Lord, revealing only the love of the Father to others.  But alas, this is something no Christian seems willing to emulate in either political party.  Instead candidates tout their faith, and demand more power for themselves.  And believers claim it is their duty to elect someone who will “protect” Christianity and legislate its values “for the benefit of others”.  It is the revelation of the Father’s love to someone in need, that would truly benefit others.  That action is devoid of politics, and mirrors the true mission of Christ.  To do this without credit or fame, is even closer to the actions of Christ.

Peter recalled what was fast degenerating into secret missions of the Father’s love to John Mark in his gospel in chapter seven, and beginning in verse 24 saying … “And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid.”  Jesus was traveling far and wide in the land of Palestine.  He had gone to the very borders of the nation near Tyre and Sidon and planned to conduct some revelations of the Father’s love quietly and in secret.  But there would be no opportunity to quietly reach those in need.  The devil would see to that.  Jesus did not seek publicity at this point.  In fact He was always asking those He healed not to reveal what had been done for them now.  The crowds that would gather were no longer as needy as they were determined to make Him King whether He wanted it or not.  John’s gospel includes many references to times when Jesus had to “disappear” in a crowd in order to avoid it making Him king.  In this instance, despite the distance from Galilee and Jerusalem, there was a reason why His fame had reached this region.  It stemmed from an incident where Christ tested the faith of a supplicant.

John Mark continues recording it in verse 25 saying … “For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet: [verse 26] The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.”  This incident has many interesting truths buried subtly within it.  First, the person coming to Jesus was not actually the one possessed.  So the victim appears to be unable or unwilling to seek help directly.  If ANY healing is going to come, it will be because a mother is praying for mercy for her daughter, no matter what the daughter wants.  Anyone fall into this category now?  Second, the woman was NOT a Jew, she was a Greek.  Even after Jesus ascends into heaven it takes years before the disciples of Christ are “willing” to take the gospel to people other than Jews.  Oh sure, they would travel to the far ends of the earth to find Jews to teach His message to, but spend no time attempting to share it with pagans of any kind along the way.  But this woman is a Greek.  In the Jewish mind, she is a pagan, and rightfully has earned the demon that inhabits her for worshipping demons in the first place.  It is no accident her daughter is possessed, it is simple cause and effect.

Jesus is aware of the mindset of those who follow Him, and those who are witnessing this encounter.  So He does something unusual.  He does something along the lines of how God tested Abraham of old (the first hero and father of the Jewish nation).  Mark records the response of Christ in verse 27 saying … “But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.”  This was to be a test of faith for the mother.  But it was also a test of faith for His disciples and for us.  The disciples should have had empathy for this mother.  They should have had their hearts broken for her, and joined with her in wanting her daughter’s pain removed.  But they did not.  Nor do we.  We see those who have sinned, and not only do we blame them for their sins, we judge that the punishments they are receiving are the ones they have earned.  Our hearts are unmoved.  Pagans of old earned their pain as do sinners who refuse Christianity today.  We look upon Islamic refugees of war, rape, and starvation, and judge that they worship our God yet deny His Son, therefore are worthy of the pain they endure.  If they were Christian, perhaps, they deserve aid.  But as Muslims, or atheists, or Hindu, or pagan, they deserve nothing but their pain.  They too are “dogs” in our minds.  They are not human, not worthy of our empathy, not worthy of our love.  This was the mindset of the Jews in His day, it had even infected the minds of His disciples.  It is the mindset of Christianity today, in far too wide a circle.

But the faith of a mother, can withstand the insult of being called a bitch, or a dog.  The faith of a mother who knows the love of God cannot be hardened against her, and will persevere no matter what.  The faith of a mother availeth much.  She responds in verse 28 saying … “And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs.”  This woman lacks no humility, she is composed of it.  She is not looking to be made equal in the “status” of the Jews, she will satisfy herself with being a “dog” if she can but lick crumbs of love from the floor.  Her faith is unparalleled.  She does not retreat after insult.  She does not abandon her cause.  She humbles herself even more, and will beg for the mercy of a love she knows cannot resist this plea.  The heart of Christ is broken for her.  He can no longer maintain the charade of pretending to think like His companions think, or talk and treat her as they would have done.  He must reveal the truth of love to her.  So in tender love He now tells her what she had come to hear saying in verse 29 … “And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. [verse 30] And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.”

Jesus calls attention to her saying, her response.  He does this for the benefit of His disciples and for us.  Not all Greeks, pagans, and those steeped in sin, really want to remain in that condition.  Some of who we judge as unworthy are actually trying to find Jesus, but it is our judgment that gets in their way.  Despite His harsh words to her, to reveal the thinking of His companions, she does not flinch or desert her cause.  Her faith is so great she is willing to eat crumbs of love from off the floor.  His disciples are yet completely unwilling to humble themselves in this way.  They lack even the empathy for her that should have touched their hearts.  Jesus is making a comparison of the great faith of this woman who is NOT a Jew, with those who “should” have had greater faith from the scriptures they studied.  A seemingly completely uneducated woman (in Jewish scripture at least), only knows one thing, that Jesus Christ is God on earth, and can heal her daughter.  And a mother’s faith is rewarded with what she asked, no matter how her daughter felt about it.  The faith of a mother, interceding for her child, was rewarded.  Are there any mothers today, who doubt their prayers will be heard?  Look to the faith of this woman, and find hope.  What is asked in secret can be rewarded openly.

The disciples should have learned right here that pagans were worthy of the gospel.  They should have learned right here that the love of God is poured out on ALL people.  They should have been humbled by what Christ said, to echo the feelings in their own hearts.  But people see what they want to see, and their blindness was a choice.  The lesson is more than just for them.  Jesus travels with an attempt at secrecy to avoid being forced to take power.  We seek power every chance we find.  Jesus’ mission is instead to reveal the love of His Father to those in need, despite the fact that they do not worship in the right religion, understand the Bible, or continue to make decisions that lead to the conditions they are in today.  In spite of all of that, Jesus reveals the Father’s love to them.  We judge those not like us, and condemn them for the sins they commit.  We should be humbled.  We should be touched in our hearts for the pain they endure, even though they bring it upon themselves.  We should ache to see their sins removed, and pain healed.  We should long to show them how love saved us, and why we are able to love them in spite of who they are, or what they do, or what they believe.  It is love that provides the motivation to change.

We do not need to look for publicity for how we minister or love.  We do not need to seek to change the laws of our nation to reach someone in need today.  We need only to reach out, and find that His love is sufficient for their needs, even if only reflected poorly through us.  The secrecy Christ sought, and the missions of revealing His Father’s love had only just begun …

 

A New Hope ...

In just days the new President Elect will become the next President of the United States.  Barack Obama takes over at probably one the worst times in our country’s history.  Economic recession unrivaled since the last great depression, 2 land wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (not to mention the one on “terror”), Violence in Israel (again), and probably the worst casualty of all in the last 8 years – the compromise of our values and freedoms with unjust laws like the so-called “Patriot Act”, policies on torture, and the Guantanamo prison system to name a few.

But despite times being at one of their worst, this is still a time for optimism.  There is still a way to imagine hope.  With a new President, comes a new way of looking at things, a new way of handling things, and hopefully … new = better.  The best rational for hope is the current state of how horrible things have become.  While they could and perhaps will get a bit worse, it is harder and harder to imagine how, and easier and easier to imagine them improving.  Imagination then is the launching point, the beginning of hope.

And if hope can take hold despite the obvious, what else is possible?  There are those who believe that power of your imagination is more real than you give it credit.  Imagining your own success, becomes the first step in achieving your own success.  Science and the Bible seem united on this point, for the scripture says … “as a man thinks so is he”.  How you think of yourself, what you believe about yourself, becomes who you are. 

The reason why Hope is so important, is that constant dwelling on negativity can lead you only downwards, not upwards.  Depression feeds on itself.  The more down-hearted and sad you become by focusing on the negative facts of life, the more the cycle repeats and intensifies.  There is no question about the preponderance of negative facts we are surrounded by, the question is only what we choose to focus upon.  The first bit of the good news of the gospel is HOPE!  The first thing the gospel message brings to the human heart, is relief, is joy, is hope.  It is the beginning of the end of negative spirals that grow out of control.

Even the most devout Christian with an unshakeable faith, can find themselves wallowing in negativity.  Their prayers become ones of constant appeals for forgiveness and deliverance; with joy and appreciation wholly absent from their minds.  The small victories that come from God are overlooked in lieu of the large looming negative facts of life that call our attention in bold letters and loud tones.  Evil demands attention.  Think about that.  Why?  Why is attention so important to the success of the evil agenda in our lives?  Is it because as we believe about ourselves so are we?  Is it because even Science and the Bible are in sync on this topic? 

“As a man thinks.”  What do you spend your day thinking about?  There is no need to read scripture 24 hours a day, or spend 24 hours in fervent prayer, or deep in nature to answer this question appropriately.  The folks who would tell you to read your Bible more, or to pray more, are never happy with how often you do read your Bible or how much time you do spend in prayer.  They have the “never enough” disease.  “Never enough’s” cannot be happy with how much effort you put forth on anything because … it is never enough.  Nothing you do ever matters, because again … it is never enough.  This disease is an insidious type of negativity that belittles important things and leaves you completely without any satisfaction (a hallmark of evil plans and designs).

But back to my question, what do you think about?  My guess would be, put simply whatever it is you see.  Your work, your family, the TV, the Internet, whatever it is you watch or spend a good deal of time seeing, is what you think about.  Sometimes the imagery even slips into your subconscious and comes out in your dreams.  And if you think about it long enough, it becomes a part of who you are.  Therefore, evil demands constant attention in order to put within you seeds of negativity that can grow and grow until they reach maturity in your actions.

Bad news usually dominates the news shows … but why?  It gets the ratings.  Ratings rule what you see.  Evil demands attention.  People are not as riveted by good news as they are by catastrophe, so the cameras are always looking for what is next.  It is endemic in every society, in every culture on earth … again why?  If an evil consciousness did not exist it would not be so universally found in our world.  But all mankind suffers from this phenomenon.  And God knew what we needed above all things … Hope.

What if you spent some time actively putting all the negative facts of life on a shelf for a while, and allowed yourself to think on other things.  What if you focused on hope for a few minutes, and began to imagine what hope could do to change your life, your surroundings, your family, you.  If things could be better for you, what would they look like?  What would just a small step towards making your life better look like?  How could it come about?  Could you influence it coming about?  Can you imagine it, clearly?

“As a man thinks.”  The transforming power of the mind’s eye is not to be underestimated.  Some of the greatest athletes of our time could visualize themselves making the plays.  Some of the greatest mathematicians can simply see the solutions in their minds.  It is possible.  If you can begin to see yourself succeed in your mind perhaps you will begin to see yourself succeed in real life.  But no need to stop there …

What if you began to imagine what you are capable of where it comes to serving God?  What if you started imagining what Heaven might be like?  What if you started imagining what a perfect relationship with someone you love might look like?  What about perfect service.  If you began to imagine how good, good can truly be, might you start becoming what you see?  It is all about focus.  When we place it on good, on Christ, we are changed in a profound way.  When we abandon the cycle of negativity we become new creatures.

Some of the most negative people I know are the blindest to their own condition.  I know, I know, if you read my last 3 blogs you might be quick to point out I should be looking in the mirror (well at least if you only read them casually J).  When I have confronted them with the negativity they exude, they are usually surprised.  They don’t think of themselves in that way.  The truth is, negativity has so become a part of who they are they are completely immune to detecting it within themselves.  So how do you know if negativity has gotten a hold on you?

Start by taking a minute and examining what a perfect moment might look like?  Where would you like to be, what would you like to be doing, who would benefit from it?  If you have no clue – you might be infected with negativity.  Some who have little imagination or are not terribly creative use the lack of these 2 traits as reasons why they cannot imagine “good things”.  This excuse is merely a cover for negativity.  The disease has them.  Ask yourself, how many people like talking with you?  If they initiative contact often, and tend to stay for a while, they must like what they hear.  Negative people tend to repel others, not draw them closer.  But no matter what your state of infection, we all suffer from it from time-to-time, and we are all able to put it out of our lives if we choose to.

Start by refocusing on good, on Christ, and on Hope that He has brought you.  You have hope, because no matter how bad it is now, it will not always be that way.  A time is coming when peace will reign.  A time is coming when pain has no more a part in your life in any way shape or form.  A time is coming when you ask your God a question, you will be looking Him in the eyes.  A time is coming when the fulfillment you experience so overwhelms you that you have no words to describe it, bliss is inadequate, and service is treasured above all else.  A time is coming that even Obama cannot envision, past the kingdoms and administrations of this world, is a government based on love of others.  A place where self does not exist, and life is everlasting.  A time is coming, whether we have hope in it or not, it is coming.  Better for us to hold our hope and cherish it …

Scream Bloody Murder ...

Just when you thought the reputation of a Christian could not sink any lower in the media, it finds a way to disappoint you further.  And per usual, the problem comes from within once again – this time, a Baptist minister was featured on CNN literally preaching for the death of our President O’Bama.  He said and I quote … “People say I am just not in favor with his policies.  That is not true.  I hate the man himself.  I want God to kill him and send him to hell right now rather than later.”  One of his black parishioners was then interviewed, whereupon he completely AGREED with his pastor.  This was the same parishioner who carried an AR-15 rifle to a town hall where the President spoke.

Christ said “love your enemies”, the minister and at least a few of his congregation called for our President’s death.  How anyone can call themselves a follower of Christ and then ignore His central teaching is the height of hypocrisy.  But to use scripture to justify these calls for death seems to define blasphemy for me.  Why is it that those who think themselves moral and supporters of “life” are so quick to call for murder, whether by the state or by God, they seem to have no problem demanding death for those they disagree with.

Christ gave Himself for those who did not love Him.  He works on the hearts of those who curse His name.  He offers love and unconditional acceptance to people who label themselves his enemies.  Christ, and therefore Christians, should be in the business of redemption, of reclamation, of renewal.  Condemnation has no part in this work.  Calls for death are the exact opposite of the ministry of Christ.  Satan takes great pleasure in seeing his words be attributed to God.  He takes great delight in people believing God said what in point of fact, the master of evil was behind.

It is no secret that last president George W. Bush was my political nemesis.  I disagreed with every policy he enacted, almost every statement he made, and I firmly believe he did more to destroy our values and our constitution than any predecessor in our history.  There were times when I wondered if he was competing for the role of antichrist.  But on his worst day, I never even imagined anyone would call for his death.  Agree or not, he was our president.  His office should be revered even if the man is not.  And in truth, his act of sending medicine to Africa was charity that affects and saves lives.  Even he is worthy of praise for this act.  Everyone has some redeeming value.  And in any case who am I to judge another, more to point who are these people to do the same?

There are Bible thumpers who try to use the words of David where he calls for the demise of his enemies as justification for their own calls for death and justice.  But when you read the scripture more closely you find that David was always concerned with how others would see God if he were to perish.  David wanted the world to see God as a strong God through the destruction of his enemies.  David called to God when his own life was threatened.  He cried in mortal fear to his strong God.  But when dangers had passed, David spoke endlessly of God’s mercy and love to him.  To turn words spoken in fear, into cold blooded intentional calls for murder because of a political dispute, is to mimic the behavior of Satan himself.

Then there is the subtle discrimination our country seems to show to Christians who utter hate speech, over say Muslim Clerics for example.  If a Muslim Cleric were speaking in such terms I dare say the Christians would be gathering the pitchforks and torches to take of the problem personally.  But where is the outrage for what this Baptist minister has said.  Christians should disavow this minister as quickly as we would any other religion where this kind of hate speech was uttered, say in Saudi Arabia or Pakistan for example.  Hate is hate, no matter who says the words.  They all come from the same source – the master of evil, Satan.  God has nothing to do with hate.

It is ironic that most calls for justice are a mask for a call for vengeance.  The same Bible thumpers who quote David asking God to destroy his enemies, also quote scripture where justice is defined such as the famous “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, life for a life” series of texts.  This standard of what justice requires is quoted out of an entire volume of text devoted to the definition of love, of grace, and of mercy.  True justice demands our death.  But the entire plan of Salvation declares that mercy and forgiveness are GREATER than justice.  The gift we have been given is beyond what justice demands.  Justice was satisfied in the torture and death of He who was innocent, yet took our punishment.  In Christ the demand for justice was answered, and in the same Christ is mercy and forgiveness defined.  Those who claim His name and who have been forgiven should not dare to turn around and begin accusing others.

Christians should be known for the love they exude.  Christ himself said to “love your enemies” to do good to those who mean you harm, to give to those who would steal from you.  Nowhere do you see Christ demanding justice, seeking punishment and death for those who disagreed with Him, or condemning those who we all knew deserved it.  Christ was and remains the pictures of mercy, love, and forgiveness.  It is easy to love those who love you.  But to show love to those who hate you, or who ridicule and persecute you is more akin to loving like God loves.

The entirety of the Bible refutes the claim that Sinners are the enemy.  Sin or evil is the enemy, not the poor unfortunate, addicted, stupid, diseased beings … us … who engage in it.  We are the targets of redemption.  We are the erring children of God who He wishes to bring out of our self-inflicted pain and in to the life He has prepared for us.  He hates the sin within us, but not us.  He hates the pain we bring on ourselves and on others when we embrace evil and sin, but He does not hate us.  It is more pity than anger.  It is more tender than harsh.  We are the object of His affection, not the target of His retribution.  To call for the death of sinners is to call for suicide.  To call for the death of sin, is to submit the will to Christ and allow the process He wishes to impart to begin in us.

It is easy for the Christian to equate the sin with the sinner, while not looking in the mirror.  We turn our righteous hatred for the evil acts into a blind and unrighteous desire to judge and inflict pain on the perpetrator of the evil, rather than try to redeem him from it.  While Christ stands always at the doors of our hearts knocking to be let in, His servants stand always in the streets with torches lit and pitchforks at the ready to seek out who may have been caught in public sin.  We hide our own atrocities and wish to publicly punish those who have been revealed in their own.  In this we serve not Christ but his adversary, Satan.

I do not blame the world for running in terror from a group so disposed to call for murder and then claim their God justifies their actions.  I do not blame the world for getting a horrifically incorrect picture of the character of our God.  I blame myself for it.  I blame my fellow brothers who claim His name and then have acted this way.  It is the Christians fault that God is so maligned.  It is the Christians fault for not living by the precepts that Christ outlined.  It is the worst of ironies that we are known more for our hatred and fear than our love and acceptance.  If we could only learn to hate and fear evil, while loving and accepting people, we would create an entirely different picture of our God than what we have offered the world so far.

Are there any left who will defend the honor of our God by simply loving as He loved?  Are there any left who will sacrifice their pride, humble their hearts, and learn to love unconditionally and without reservation?  Are there any Christians left in the world or have we all simply been lost to apathy …

God's President ...

George W. Bush believes he has been ‘called’ to be President of this country by God.  He rightly points out that God is ultimately in charge of the world, and that since he won the contest, God allowed it.  But does God’s allowance mean God’s endorsement?  Does it matter ‘how’ he won our Presidency?  And at the end of the day, doesn’t the result work backwards into saying … “it must have been God’s will”?  What does it say about us as believers with G.W.’s approval ratings so terribly low, are we again rebelling against the will of God?

So what happens in November of this year?  Assuming McCain wins, will Democratic Christians fall into line and recognize the finger of God in the win.  Republican believers are quick to denounce Bill Clinton as somewhere near the anti-christ and the logic that applies to Bush or McCain is somehow lost on Bill.  Will Republicans fall into line behind an O’bama Presidency?  It makes for an interesting conversation.  But the real question quickly becomes – how “in charge” is God of this world?

When looking around it is easy to spot the evil, and rare to spot the good.  Evil seems to outweigh good by hefty margins; most non-believers take this as evidence that no God exists at all.  Christians are willing to accept that God allows the choice of man to largely affect his own world, but not with absolute consequences lest we all kill ourselves.  But it does beg the question … is there a King, Dictator, or President in charge of a country without the tacit permission of God?  What do you do with Hitler, Saddam, or G.W. at that point?  Maybe we only apply this rule to Christian nations?  But Italy is devoutly Catholic Christian and has suffered fascist dictators like Mussolini.  It is hard to accept any evil leader is tolerated by God.  How could God tolerate Hitler, or Saddam?

Bring it down a notch or two into a situation that affects you even more directly.  Have you ever worked for what appears to be an ‘evil’ boss?  Ever had someone who had control over your career or future who did not appreciate your contributions and actively worked to make your life more miserable?  I think we all have.  So was that person also ‘blessed’ to be in charge by God?  Careful kiddies, that mean-old-boss may well be you, from the perspective of those who have worked for you.

A long while ago there was a young man, handsome, good looking, charismatic.  He had good ideas, liberal philosophies, and was quite interested in gaining knowledge.  But like most of us, he was not perfect.  He was ambitious, ruthless, and the best military commander to have ever lived.  How do I make that claim?  Scripture calls him out.  He was the first King to ever rule the entire ‘known’ world.  His name was Nebuchadnezzar.  He was NOT a Jew.  He was NOT a believer in the one true God.  He was NOT a Muslim.  He was a Chaldean, a Babylonian.  His armies swept west to the Mediterranean, south to Egypt and Ethiopia, north to Turkey, and east to India.  He built a golden city that could not be conquered.  He had no respect for any single God until a simple man named Daniel came along.

Then something really weird by today’s Christian standards occurred.  This pagan, heathen, arrogant, proud dictator king, was given a vision of the upcoming history of the world.  Think about it folks, the Jewish people were his captives.  He killed them by the barrel load while invading their “blessed” country.  He killed God’s chosen people, sparing only the young healthy wise-men types (who he largely turned into eunuchs).  This was the Hitler of his day.  Many of God’s servants died on the end of Babylonian spears and swords.  This was the guy who God chose to reveal the next 4000 years of political forecast to.  NOT to the Jewish prophet who served God daily and prayed to Him 3 times a day out of an open window; no to the pagan King, responsible for the downfall of His nation.

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream showed his own empire as the golden head of a statue, followed by the Medo Persian silver arms, the Greek Brass thighs, the Roman iron legs, and the current state of affairs with mixed iron and clay – some countries weak, some very strong – until Christ Himself returns from heaven as a stone that crumbles the entire statue and replaces it with His own kingdom. 

So how does this pagan king react to learning the meaning of his dream?  Like any good dictator he sends the messenger Daniel away on ‘important’ business and summons every other kingdom leader to Babylon to worship an 80 foot high SOLID gold statue of himself.  Essentially Nebuchadnezzar was sending God a message that he alone would be king forever.  He figured with Daniel away, he could easily get the buy-in from the other leaders of his kingdom, but 3 Jewish servants stood alone on the plain and refused to bow despite the ever present furnace.  On bursting the pride of this king, and reclaiming them from the fire, Nebuchadnezzar recognizes “the likeness of the Son of God” walking in the flames with the 3 other Hebrews.  He saw Christ.  And he knew who He was.

Did God put Nebuchadnezzar in charge?  Or perhaps like your boss, our President, and Hitler – God allowed the affairs of men to work themselves out without much interference and then He approached each of these men to work His will through them, IF they would allow it.  Some would not.  Some there may yet be hope for.  Nebuchadnezzar did.  But this experience did not make him perfect.  His world wide decree to serve the God of the Hebrews was accompanied not with a loving reason to do so, but with a threat to kill any dissenters.  Despite all he had been through he was still a dictator king.  But again, even though the edict he sent out was not the ideals God would have wanted, it did cause the entire ‘known’ world to pay attention to the religion of the one true God.

The book of Daniel in the Old Testament is a love story of how God reclaims the loyalty of a completely pagan king.  It is a love story of a God who wished to open the doors of prophesies to his people both then and now as to what the world would experience before redemption was permanent here.  The people described in the book of Daniel are NOT perfect.  They screw up, just like us.  They react badly.  They misuse power.  They commit grievous sin.  And yet they run the world, interpret the prophesy, and bring the attention of all mankind to a true God.

The question of whether G.W. Bush was called by God to be President, is not nearly as important as the question of how he reacts when God tries to work through him.  I am a devout democrat who believes we have lost more of our freedoms, values, and wealth during this presidency than in the entire history of our country.  And I blame this administration for all of it.  But who am I to judge?  Despite it all, I also know that this same man sent huge amounts of Aids medicine to Africa.  Even if he did nothing else right, millions will live because of this fact.  Is any one of their lives something to begrudge?  Saving one would make G.W. a hero to me, saving millions defines him like everyone else in humanity a mix of excellence and decadence, a mix of infinite potential and unlimited destruction.  He is neither our Messiah nor our Satan. 

G.W. is merely a man, a leader.  And someone who is personally responsible for saving the lives of millions in Africa no matter what else he may be responsible for.  Those lives are important.  He is therefore a hero of the highest regard.  Just like me, he is flawed, but unlike me, he has saved countless lives – on that alone he deserves the designation of hero.  Like his father before him and my favorite President Bill Clinton who worked tirelessly to relieve suffering from the tsunami – those who serve others are heroes to me.  I aspire to do the same.

It is not the power that defines the man, but how he uses it.  It is not the office that man attains that is the mark of his character, it is how his character is reflected in the decisions and actions of his office that matter.  Every man is a child of our God, a brother to each of us.  When we realize this, it makes it hard to fight wars, or torture others.  But it also should impact us more in our day-to-day conversations about others, our interactions with others.  Perhaps we should judge less, ridicule less, and criticize less.  Perhaps despite everything I believe we have suffered as a nation, we should choose to focus on supporting those ideas that save lives, heal wounds, and bring us ALL collectively closer to our Creator God.  After all we are family.  All of us.  By choice if not by blood.

I hope that in my career, in my position of responsibility, great or small, whatever it happens to be – that I allow God to work through me His will.  I hope I allow Him to create in me a servant’s heart, and remove my heart of stone.  I hope when my colleagues and my subordinates look at me they see Bill Clinton or George Bush – not Hitler or Saddam.  This is my hope, and I put my trust in my God to make it so within me …