Sunday began simply enough: it was a crisp, cool morning, and worship was fresh and sweet. As worshippers left the sanctuary, they were greeted with an array of tasty desserts and sweet, innocent faces selling them...
{And people said we'd lose money on the cute factor...}
From simple brownies and goofball entertainment, we were able to raise $1300 for the Angel Tree. It was a truly beautiful morning, and we were very proud of ourselves.
Not all that glitters is gold, not all that is chocolate is sweet...
As we gathered back together in the evening, I had the unhappy challenge of shaking that so deserved and earned pride of our youth group students. Their accomplishments were excellent but God's message for us was one of humility.
You have heard it said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy." But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes the sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love only those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same. Be perfect, therefore, as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Matthew 5.43-48
Together, we competed in some games that pit one against another, including a variation on dodge-ball and a ninja warrior game...
...an easy reminder that our enemies need not be our personal rivals but could easily be our friends, our competition, even for just a moment.
We then transitioned to an eating challenge. Who will eat a brownie or Kit Kat with crushed red pepper flakes or oregano sprinkled on?
Because loving our enemies really is like this ridiculous behavior. Sometimes we have to swallow our pride and take a big old bite of humble pie (or Cayenne Kit Kats). Cayenne Kit Kats are gross and they burn your tongue and you get no joy out of eating them, and the same is true of loving our enemies. We love them even though we know they won't love us in return; we love them even though it hurts our pride and requires a sacrifice from us.
This is a difficult task, not one that we can easily accomplish.
The non-goofy, perfectly timed truth of this lesson...
Fact is, I picked this scripture and this lesson for this date in August. I had no idea that on November 15, we would be reeling from terrorist attacks in France or arguing about refugee rights. As we picked up this lesson for November 15, I had no idea that our enemies would have a face and that face would instill fear and anxiety deep within our hearts. The topic of Paris only briefly came up among high school students; for the most part our youth group was blissfully concerned with frenemies at school, bullies, and discrimination against those of other races.
But I could not help be shaken by God's purposeful selection of this text for this week. As I enjoy my first cup of coffee in the morning, I cannot blissfully watch the Today Show tell me how to refinance my student loans or debate about the health benefits of coffee. Instead, I am barraged with images of suffering children, flaming buildings, and fearful politics. On September 11, 2001, I was reminded that life is fragile and the world is not always safe; we became vigilant and worried. We looked for our enemies in the eyes of all of our neighbors.
I wish I could say that that feeling has faded, but something worse has happened. Our safety has been questioned time and time again in school shootings, racially fueled violent disputes, and further terrorist attacks. This has become such daily news that we have become used to the feeling of vigilance, of protectiveness, of mistrust. We no longer trust our neighbors; we emphasize our differences rather than our similarities; we build walls to protect ourselves from violence. Maybe in some twisted way we've been successful, but my heart breaks for the world we now live in. What kind of society are we if we cannot trust anyone, if we only protect our own? Who are we if we can have no compassion on people?
On a somewhat unrelated note, Charlie Sheen took center stage on the Today Show this morning to announce that he is HIV positive. Matt Lauer asked pointed questions about his behaviors and continued to paint Charlie in a bad light. Many Twitter accounts blew up to express that the known drug addict and party-boy was getting what he deserved. As I watched this man talk with Matt on the screen, I was moved with pity. This is a man with some real demons: he clearly has a chemical dependency on drugs and alcohol, he's been estranged from all of his relationships, and now he faces a disease which will likely cause his death. Would we really wish that fate on our greatest enemy?
It is not the natural response to terror, societal anxiety, and fear, but I believe Jesus has a hard truth for us: love your enemies. Love requires more than immediately jumping to conclusions about refugees or tweeting supposedly funny quips about HIV. Love demands that we wish hope and wholeness on our brother and sister, whether they wish us the same or not. Love means that we abandon our self-righteousness and political agendas for the good of others. Ugh, this is a very difficult task.
But I want to challenge us to follow the lead of our youth. Because they are not worried about ISIS or Charlie Sheen or refugees, they are looking at the heart of the issue. One student said, "Maybe my enemy will never change his behavior, but I can change mine and I can change my heart." It takes that simple sentence, that simple application to begin the change on a global level.
No comments:
Post a Comment