Month: December 2012 (Page 2 of 3)

As some of you know, I have been a Lutheran Pastor for over forty years.  As Lutherans, we pay attention to the liturgical year.  The 28th of December is designated as “The Holy Innocents, Martyrs” day.  On this day we remember how wicked King Herod went on a rampage and killed innocent baby boys after the birth of Jesus, due to his fear of a king being born.  We read in Matt 2: 16 that Herod “gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under.”  As Max Lucado prayed, “Joseph took you (Jesus) into Egypt.  You were an immigrant before you were a Nazarene”.  Imagine the fear, confusion and uncertainty for young Joseph and Mary as they hastily flee to Egypt.  They escaped the slaughter of the innocent because God came to Joseph in a dream, saying, “get up take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.  Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” 

Men, we have just experienced the slaughtering of the innocent in Newtown, Conn.  The words from a sermon by the prophet Jeremiah, quoted in Matthew to describe the emotional response of  the slaughter of little boys under the age of two in Bethlehem become a cry of our hearts today. “A sound was heard in Ramah, weeping and much lament.  Rachel weeping for her children, Rachel refusing all solace, Her children gone, dead and buried.” (Matt 2:18 – The Message).  (Ramah was a village near Bethlehem, the place of Rachel’s birth).  We can join in the lament of the good folks in Ramah.  Why this slaughter?  Imagine the questions that Joseph had when he came back with Mary and Jesus.  Why this slaughter?  How does this relate to the coming of the “Savior.”  Would Joseph feel some responsibility for this slaughter?  Scripture never answers our questions.  We are left with the slaughter of the innocence by a wicked King.

So today, we have no good answers for the slaughter of the innocence in Newtown, except to say that we know that there is evil in our world.  There are times when we are confronted with its stark reality.  Make no mistake, men, our post-modern culture can gloss over the idea that wickedness is not caught in the  human heart.  But Newtown proves otherwise.  I like very much what Mark Galli from Christianity Today had to say about the innocence of Jesus. It helps me live with the reality of the loss of so many innocent lives

“Like the one whose innocence was like no other’s.  One innocent and holy and precious to the Father, so special it is said that they were one, like no other Father and Son are one.  One in essence….You would have thought that the Power and the Glory would have stepped in with thunderbolts when the world conspired to kill his Innocent One.  But this God did not do anything then either.  And the Son did not rage at the cruel injustice and the waste of a good life at the hands of evil men.  All he could seem to say was a prayer that his murderers, who he said did not know what they were doing, be forgiven….Such an odd and strange pair, this Father and Son.  The one giving up innocence into the hands of evil.  The other forgiving evil as if – well, as if love really is the ultimate reality in the universe.”

Men, as always we need to turn our hearts and minds unto the Lord Jesus.  Remember, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).  Cry out to God in lament.  Shout if you have to do so; pound the walls.  But get it out – the anger, the fear, the sorrow, the pain and the confusion.  Jesus bore it all as the innocent one for you.  With him you can move on in new hope and strength, with so many unanswered questions 

I close with another part of Max Lucado’s prayer. “Oh, Lord Jesus, you entered the dark world of your day.  Won’t you enter ours?  We are weary of bloodshed.  We, like the wise men, are looking for a star.  We, like the shepherds, are kneeling at a manger.  This Christmas, we ask you, heal us, help us, be born anew in us.”

Thomas Merton was one the great spiritual voices of the 20th century.  He died in 1968 by accidently electrocuted himself in Bangkok, Thailand.  He rarely traveled.  But he had received permission to speak at a religious conference in Bangkok.  He gave this parting advice to those in attendance. “If you forget everything else that has been said, I would suggest you remember for the future: ‘From now on, everybody stands on his own feet.'”  Many, including myself, consider Merton a prophetic voice, who saw through spiritual eyes much of what needed improvement in America.  It is interesting that this was his last spiritual advice.  It seemed to be said with some urgency and seriousness. 

So let me take a shot at saying something about his advice.  I am reminded of Paul’s exhortation to us in Ephesians, as he describes the spiritual battle in which we are engaged.  “Be prepared.  You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own.  Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet” (Eph 6:13 – The Message).  Let me share three short take-aways from the advice of Merton and Paul.

First the sense that there is an intensification in the spiritual battle we are facing.  Merton says “From now on.”  In other words, be alert and aware of the days to come.  Paul says “Be prepared.”   Jesus said, “All these are the beginning of birth pains” (Mat 24:8).  The prophetic voices in our culture and scripture seem to be clear regarding the future.  The battle will intensify.  So men, don’t be surprise .  The apostle John warned us, “Children, time is just about up.  You heard that Antichrist is coming.  Well, they’re all over the place, antichrists everywhere you look.  That’s how we know that we’re close to the end” (I John 2:18).  So don’t be surprised and caught off guard regarding the decline of morality, the loss of a Christian consensus and spiritual vitality in our culture.  It has happened all through church history.  Why should the good, old USA be exempted if we leave God out of the public square.

Secondly, we are exhorted to “stand.”  Men, that means not to sit (give up), run (being fearful) or cower (surrender).  NO.  We are to stand. Merton said “stand on your own feet.”  You are going to need other brothers to protect your back, encourage you and motivate you.  But we each have to ask for grace and strength from  the Lord to stand.  This means at least three things. First, be clear about your convictions, secondly,take responsibility for your actions, and thirdly, make a clear identification with Jesus and his kingdom.  Many men will have to reexamine their priorities and commitments. We can’t sit on the sidelines.

Thirdly, you are not going to be able to stand alone.  I am convinced that in the days to come, groups of men will be forming for the purpose of being ” faithful, loving warriors” in their communities, at work and in the Church. These men will be a challenge to other men by their combination of love , humilityand conviction.  They will gather because they know they will not be able to stand alone.  In their own sphere of influence they are going to gather so as a group they will be able “to take back the land.”  What is the land?  Their spiritual heritage and influence.  Men, our christian heritage is being taken from us.  We need to reclaim it one by one as we fight with the weapons of “love and humility.”  We can be an influence starting in our families and then move out into church, community and work.  Remember what will win the day is a Christlike character.  This will be vital in a “Post-Christian” America, where the majority are suspicious of “church people.”  We are not church people, but rather humble, loving followers of Jesus who are on a “subversive” mission to take back the land. Never forget we know we have won the battle as we follow the “alpha and Omega.”  In the meantime, there are skirmishes to be fought not just for our sake, but for our families and community.