I woke up this morning to read of another series of bomb blasts in the London subway.
Soon after 911 occurred, a friend of mine asked poignantly how soon it would be before Americans got back to their lives as usual without asking itself the hard questions that would need to asked about our relations with Muslims, with Muslim fanatics, with third world countries in general, with people of minority viewpoints even in our own communities.
Some would say that the church should stick to spiritual “issues” and leave politics alone. Believe me, that’s certainly a much more preferable option for those whose training is in Bible, prayer, and theology and not in “American National Security.” But here’s the question I have to ask myself as a pastor. What do we do when politics and international affairs result in fear and anxiety which indeed are pastoral issues to be treated by the church. Do we simply deal with the symptoms or does the church ever really get to the root causes?
In my opinion, the root causes are too vast and complex and historical to be treated in a weekly column. I would recommend for background’s sake an older book by NYT columnist Thomas Friedman that is even handed, well-researched, and readable – From Beirut to Jerusalem. It was written pre-Gulf War (the first one) but nevertheless provides a basic understanding of Middle Eastern dynamics. If you read his columns in the New York Times (online) as well, you’ll get a fantastic education about Middle East affairs and how they relate to our national life as Americans. Friedman is read by both Republicans and Democrats alike and his writing lacks any demagogic tone. Sometimes a little good knowledge goes a long way to helping us cope with our fear about the unknown (it ceases to be unknown, after all!).
What Jesus said was that his followers would hear of “wars and rumors of wars” and that this would be the sign of the “beginning of the birth-pains.”
Mt 24:4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.
Just the beginning of birth pains? That’s not very encouraging. But I suspect that this is Jesus’s way of saying to his disciples “don’t spend too much time looking for the end-time” but get about the work of the kingdom. We all know what that work is too. It’s loving the unlovable, it’s taking a risk for loving and trusting and relating even when all we hear about is doom and gloom. Kingdom work is drawing believers in (Mt 28:16-20) one hurting person at a time and simply loving each other, caring for each other, meeting each other’s physical and spiritual needs, and serving at the “table” of our community.
In the midst of uncertainty, scripture teaches us that Christians don’t cower or throw up their hands in bewilderment. Read the book of Acts and you discover that in the face of war, terrorism (yes! Christians faced terrorists in the first century), death, destruction, and disease – followers of Jesus band together and they go out and they minister to others.
One of the critiques of the Muslim fanatical community is that America is a country on a military crusade against a Muslim holy land. I’d like to turn that description upside down and when their Muslim brothers and sisters who live in the United States (and in Jackson/Madison County) write home to their brothers and sisters in Muslim countries, I’d like for them to write… “No, no, no, you’ve got it wrong. These Christians here are on a mission all right. But what we’ve seen in how they treat each other and how they treat us is that they are on a mission of LOVE.”
A mission of love. Now that’s a bold response to fear.
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