Ayden United Methodist Church

Loving God - Serving Others - Building Christian Community

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By the Sword

When they came by night to arrest our Lord, Peter drew his sword and struck. Fortunately he wasn’t lethal. If he had been, the entire future of Christianity would have changed forever. Instead of one captive, the whole leadership would have been hanging on crosses the next day. Good advice to leave it alone and scoot. It was not the time, place or cause for a violent response.

It is curious, however, that Peter had a sword in the first place. Apparently he had carried it for some time, obviously with Jesus’ knowledge. Was it a defense against thieves? Was it because the pervasive oppression of the Romans and local corruption left the population with a realization the they had to defend themselves? Was it because the Zealots among the disciples were prepared to strike when the time was right? No matter what the reason, Jesus could not have been ignorant of the fact that some of his closest associates were armed, and it wasn’t because they were hunters.

When questioned about this possible insurgency, Jesus responded that his kingdom was not of this world. He said, if it were, his followers would fight for him. So, what about what goes on in this world? Is there ever an occasion that requires a violent response.? Jesus must have thought so or he would have required his followers to disarm. Maybe Peter had a sword because Jesus told him to go get one. When he stayed Peter’s attack, he told him to put up his sword, not to throw it away.

I am dismayed by the peace at any price crowd that claim they know the mind of Christ. This is the same bunch that thought Hitler’s reoccupation of the Rhineland in 1936 was an internal matter, even though it was a clear violation of international treaty. His brutal repression of the church and the Jewish community was not an act of aggression against us. Nor was Italy’s gassing of Ethiopians, Japan’s rape of Nanking, the acquisition of the Sudetenland, the invasion of Poland anything that required a violent response. Holocausts happen when the saints below beat their breasts in “courageous” advocacy of appeasement. But the saints above cry out from under the altar, “How long?”

So our church leaders are once again defending the right of terrorists to terrorize and dictators to oppress their people with impunity. How is it Christian to stand by as the innocent are killed in our presence? How is it Christian to demonstrate impotence as dictators arm themselves out of all proportion to their nation’s needs or resources. It used to be that nations had to bring vast armies to the field before they represented a viable threat to the world. No more. But our church leaders think that only a conventional attack by a national entity could justify an armed response. Even then, I wouldn’t count on them for anything approaching a Christian justification to defend the innocent.

Peace has a price. We cannot claim to follow the God of Justice without a sense of outrage at blatant evil. But the only outrage we hear from our leadership is that we as a nation might respond in a measured way to murder and preparations for mass murder. To do nothing when we have the resources to intervene is to be complicit in the evil. Christians should never advocate wanton destruction, nor should the sword be drawn mindlessly. But if those who live by the sword are to die by the sword, who will wield that other sword? True followers of Christ putting their lives on the line to defend the innocent, God knows, is nothing new.

Rev. Dennis P. Levin

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Memorial Day Sale

Memorial Day Sale 3/24/2008

The big weekend is upon us. Three days of special events and sales that get us to the backyard, beach or boutique. It’s Memorial Day! The day we are supposed to remember those who gave their lives for our freedoms, and those who continue to do so.

There are some solemn occasions, memorial services, flags in the cemeteries, moments of silence. But all of these are interludes to the primary tasks of enjoying a brief respite from work and saving money at the mall. It is often said that we have too much fun at the expense of those who paid so high a price for our freedoms.

Yet the ability to go out and pursue happiness is precisely why so many of us were willing to go in harm’s way. The pursuit of happiness was specifically written into our Declaration of Independence as an inalienable right, alongside life and liberty. To be sure, every nation or movement that we have ever fought has desired to restrict our happiness to further their own. Yet none of them seemed to know what true happiness was.

Our primary enemies today don’t want us to play music, go to plays, dress or groom so that we can talk face-to-face, allow girls to go to school, worship freely or even fly kites. Since they are perfectly content to live in perpetual anger, they can go fly a kite! We still have people that will risk all and give all, so that you can enjoy a weekend like this. You owe it to them to pursue happiness and to enjoy life. Just don’t take it for granted.

People who do, have their own Memorial Day Sale. They sell short the actual price for their weekend away. They measure it at the pump instead of in the cemeteries and veterans’hospitals. They complain of traffic jams without a thought for those who put their entire lives on hold so that we can drive where we want without permission from the government. Those who made this and every day of freedom, would gladly have shared your happiness today. But there was no discount on the cost of it and they paid full price.

Not all of them knew Christ, but Christ knew all of them. Christ would find in them a kindred spirit of sacrifice for others; a willingness to do whatever it took to redeem someone else; a desire to set at liberty those who were oppressed. They were not all angels, but they were on the same side. Whether or not one accepts the technique, the ability to openly accept it or not came from those who “…laid down their life for a another.”

Rev. Dennis P. Levin

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The Moral Dimension of Pandemics

I read with great interest Bishop Mvume Dandala’s statements on HIV/AIDS in Africa. In it he proposes that the pandemic be viewed as a moral issue. I don’t think that will work. This is not to suggest that there is no moral component to the war on AIDS. There is. But in our society we are doing all we can to “de-moralize” diseases. Alcoholism is treated as a disease, not as a moral issue. The same is true of drug abuse. And now, according to the American Psychiatric Association, homosexuality is not a dysfunction and should not be treated.

With all due compassion for those afflicted, there are moral components to each of these problems, as anyone who shares a household with someone afflicted knows. The diversion of resources and emotions from healthy relationships are devastating to those close to and dependent on the person with a dysfunctional lifestyle. These are moral issues, and they are so whether or not one lives in poverty.

We had a college student come to our youth group one evening as part of her research into HIV/AIDS awareness. She agreed not only to ask the youth what they knew about HIV/AIDS, but to share useful information about the disease with them. Just like the bishop, all she would say was that the disease is passed on through dirty needles. Since none of our youth are IV drug abusers, they might think they are safe.

I anticipated that the information might be limited, so I downloaded the standards for blood donation from the American Red Cross website. True enough! They don’t want IV drug abusers donating blood. But they also don’t want people who engage in homosexual acts, prostitution, or those who even travel to places where such activity is common. Africa is on the list. (Tattoos are also on the list, Mom & Dad, in case you’re having that discussion with your kids.) Wherever these activities occur, HIV/AIDS flourishes.

If the bishop wants this to be a moral issue, I propose that it already is. But it will take more courage than to simply condemn poverty, dirty needles or a pandemic. This disease is personal, and is passed on primarily by people who are careless of fidelity and personal responsibility. Those are moral issues. The church should be bold enough to say so. There are innocent victims, but they are the victims of people who are careless. They are not the victims of neglect by other countries. The vast majority of HIV infection is passed on through sexual contact outside the context of a monogamous relationship. When did the church stop advocating monogamous relationships?

I fully agree that poverty is a complication. So is the high cost of drugs. I agree that Western nations must not overlook the pandemic in Africa. I am totally in favor of providing all possible assistance to those orphaned by the disease and to work with those already afflicted. I am in favor of education for and the empowerment of women. I support the promotion of economic development and democracy in Africa. I also agree that the nations of Africa have shown far less interest in their people’s health, well being and rights than have foreign nations. That too is a moral issue.

This disease will have a greater affect on Africa than the plague did in Medieval Europe. But “all the king’s horses and all the king’s men” can’t put Africa together again until hearts and behaviors are changed. And for that, we have the Gospel and the love of God. Africa’s salvation is most closely tied to her people’s salvation. This is as true for Africa as it is anywhere else in the world.

Rev. Dennis P. Levin

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Flash and Bang

It all happened so fast. One day, they seemed perfectly happy, obviously in love. The next . . . one was gone! And then, mysteriously, the other was gone as well. Flash and Bang, the two snails I had recently purchased for my pond, were nowhere to be found. I was frantic.
These two snails were just right for the task of keeping the pond clean, and I shelled out $5.00 each for them. They took to the pond right away, moving about to eat whatever the fish left them. I should have known when I found them locked in a snail embrace that they could never be content with my mere fishpond. Perhaps they resented being moved from the pet store like so much freight. In any event, they were soon ex-cargo.
I called the pet store owner to see if snails were prone to leave the pond. He assured me that these were not land snails and that they would soon die in the heat if they left the water. Gently, he speculated that some bird may have committed fowl play and made off with them. Or perhaps a neighborhood cat (of which there are several suspects) may have made a grab for them. He inquired whether my pond was sufficiently unkempt for them to have enough to eat. (Of course it was! Why else would I need snails?)
Finally, he really didn’t have an explanation for the missing snails. I told him I was considering putting posters around the neighborhood, but could I get them up fast enough? For days my whole family was looking through the yard for a shell or a slime trail, anything that would explain what had happened to Flash and Bang. But the search dragged to a crawl. How could they know how much I missed them? I could send a snail mail, but where?
Then suddenly, a shell! Just inches from the pond, there it was! I knew in a flash it was Flash! And then, bang! Just inches away, it was Bang! Like Adam & Eve in the garden, they hid under a plant. Apparently, Bang had made his/her escape on a dark and stormy night. Flash set off to find his/her true loves. (Snails have both genders, so this is not some PC speculation.) But were they alive? Back to the pond they went. They were gone in a flash, and bang! They were still in loves!
For now, they seem content to go about sucking up slime and, not infrequently, playing “Footsie” with each other. I have noticed some baby snails creeping about. Could it be? Perhaps a snail’’s pace isn’t so slow after all.
Now if I, in my limited way, could be so concerned for a couple of snails, how much more is God concerned about us when we go astray? Jesus’ story of the Good Shepherd, who goes in search of the lost sheep, shows intent. But for Jesus to die so that we might live goes way beyond shepherding. How amazing that each one of us is so valued that God would make that sacrifice. Yet we want to crawl off in our own little shell and hide under the bushes. We think that their shade will protect us forever.
In our quest to be ourselves, we blunder into danger. God sees where our paths lead before we do. By grace, God looks for us before we look for God. Some of us would rather die than be found. Some of us do. But for those who reach out for help, God is there in a flash. And bang! Life is worth living again.

Rev. Dennis P. Levin

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