Ayden United Methodist Church

Loving God - Serving Others - Building Christian Community

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Peace, Peace!

But there is no peace. For all the candle burning, marches, prayer vigils, etc. war happened. The rhetoric of the church seems to have had little effect on either the nation politic or the national polls. A war machine unlike any seen before rolled outnumbered and unchecked to the heart of a country the size of California, full of weaponry both conventional and otherwise. Many people died, some of them innocent, not to mention the destruction of property.Was prayer in vain? Were all those candles so much wax? Why didn’t a march from here to there convince the nation that war was wrong? Where was the miracle of peace? Was God deaf or impotent? Should the church just take solace in knowing that standing up for peace was heroic, even if God didn’t act?

Or, can the church consider the unacceptable and ominous alternative that God did act? Could it be that the primitive and politically incorrect notion of the “God mighty in battle” more accurately describes the most recent events? Could it be that the unequivocal requirement that God intervene against war be a form of idolatry; an attempt to create a God who must agree with us in order to remain God? Prayer is a tricky business if one’s expectations define the limits of faith. Can those who shout peace at any price be still long enough to hear a voice that says “No!”?

Christians who take exception to the forceful imprecations of church leaders hear the clear message that their own faith is flawed. Hence, few articles have been written or published from the loyal opposition to the peace movement. After all, if God is unequivocally for peace, how can a Christian countenance war? It’s that idolatry thing again on a lesser scale: if we can define God, we can also define the godly.

It may be, however, that ours are not the only prayers heard. Could the God who heard the cries of the Hebrews in Egypt have turned a deaf ear to the people of Iraq? Wasn’t the book of Jonah written to demonstrate that God cared for the ancestors of these people… and their cattle? Could it be that a conflict so brief and overwhelming by a force outnumbered has been seen before in the story of Gideon? Just how long must the God of justice wait before acting? Must God also wait for a U.N. resolution?

I believe God heard all our prayers, and acted divinely. There is much to be said for a people whose national character was formed in a Judeo-Christian heritage. We don’t like war but are realistic enough to know that it may be forced upon us. Therefore, our goal is to end the threat quickly and make peace with our enemies. We do not like wanton destruction, so we devise our weapons to be accurate enough to destroy the target and as little else as possible. We value the lives of our soldiers and train them to work skillfully, not suicidally. We protect our captives and provide them far more consideration than we expect from our enemies. We try to bring order to conquered territories as soon as possible and help the local population to take control of their lives. We have not plundered the land, nor will we. We also insist that our allies behave the same way. Apparently the means to an end are at least as important as the end we seek. Can anyone see an answer to prayer in this?

For the pacifists, this war has been shorter than the best military planners could have dreamed. That doesn’t mean that it has not been horrible, nor that innocent people haven’t been killed. But it does mean that the Coalition has not committed wanton destruction, nor will it continue the conflict needlessly. Consider that God heard your prayer and may have acted.

For Christians who in good conscience support this war, the church needs to recognize that your motives were not for destruction, but for a just and lasting peace. In a perfect world, love would prevail. However, as long as there is sin, peace also relies on the threat of war and the relentless pursuit of justice. History has shown that war and justice are not mutually exclusive. Were it not so, God would have no need of Hell.

For the people of Iraq, Christians of both convictions wish you well and mourn your loss. God has heard your prayers. Soon you will see an outpouring of love and resources, especially from people with a Christian heritage. Our prayers are that it shall be delivered in a way that respects your faith and heritage while enabling you to see and understand our faith and heritage. After all, when we fervently prayed for one of our soldiers held captive, God sent an Iraqi to set her free. Perhaps there is more room in God’s house than Christians or Muslims are willing to admit. If we can find the doors instead of the walls, there will be peace.

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The Donor

For years I have made it a habit to donate blood. The process doesn’t take long and, who knows, maybe it helped save a life. I was trying to explain all this to my Granddaughter, Rachel, who is three. (You know it was inevitable that I would write something about my grandchildren.) I explained that sometimes when people are very sick, they need blood to get better. Some people share some of theirs to help them.

“Oh,” she said, “It is like when Grandpa Ed gave us the juice of Jesus’ blood.” I had to stop and think about that one. Then I remembered. My Dad assisted me with Holy Communion on Christmas Eve, and Rachel received Communion with her parents. Rachel taught me something.

We are now in Eastertide, the season when we celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord. It’s hard for some people to grasp how it was necessary for Jesus to die in order to save us. Some cannot explain how his blood cleanses us from our sins. Perhaps the similarities with donating blood can help explain it.

Without a blood transfusion, some people will die. Their condition may be the result of sickness or injury. It doesn’t matter, the need is the same. But it can’t be just anyone’s blood, it has to be a match. So the donor has to have the same type, and the quality of the blood supply has to be pure. Before I can donate blood, I have to fill out a questionnaire that few people would dare give a preacher. It’s not just about my health history, it’s about where I’ve been and with whom I have been. There are places in this world that are so contaminated with HIV and other diseases that just having been there will disqualify you from donating.

The questions about lifestyle are so explicit that when our youth group met to discus the topic of AIDS, I downloaded the blood donation standards from the Red Cross website. They read for themselves what the church has been saying all along. It matters a lot who you hang out with and what you do. People who live an impure lifestyle are prohibited from donating blood. And by the way, the purity of your blood is your donation to yourself.

Now consider another disease that requires blood for healing: sin. Your sin and mine is lethal for our souls. It is part of the human condition. We should be able to avoid it, but nobody does. There is no known cure in medical science, but there is hope. God has the cure and he’s already made it available. He became one of us so that his blood type would match ours. Not only that, the source is certified pure. The healing power of Christ’s blood reverses our sinful condition and makes it possible for us to live forever.

When we receive the “Juice of Jesus’ blood,” as my granddaughter would say, we accept the gift of life that Christ freely offers. We are healed, not through some kind of magic, but by the gift of God’s love freely offered and humbly accepted.

On the walls of the Red Cross Blood Donation Center are posters of people whose lives have been saved through transfusion. They thank those who donated blood for them. To me, it is a small thing. I barely feel it and it doesn’t take long. But there is a donor who gave in a way that was most painful and whose blood was purer than mine. The walls of all the buildings on earth could not hold the faces of the lives he saved, but if they could, would yours be one of them?

Rev. dennis P. Levin

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What Would Jesus Drive?

I had the misfortune of watching a morning “news” program the other day. On it was the talking head of a pundit decrying the use of sports utility vehicles (SUV). Her premise was that driving such vehicles supported terrorism by increasing our dependence on Arab oil. As a further means of proving her point, she asked the parody question,”What would Jesus drive?”

I’ve noticed an increase in this kind of rhetoric by the environmental doom crowd. All very convenient, since Jesus is not specifically quoted on the issues SUV’s or the environment. Well, actually he is on the environment, what with the stars falling from the heavens and the elements melting away, etc. Talk about global warming! But that was not to be from people driving SUV’s. God would be mad about other things, like the great tribulation, and will mess up the environment without any help from gas guzzlers or air pollution. All we know about Jesus and transportation is that he mostly walked, took a boat, or rode a donkey. But what would Jesus drive?

Well, he drove demons out of people and money changers out of the Temple. Some might say he rode them hard, but that really isn’t the same thing. Neither activity was politically correct at the time, so its plausible that such behavior might continue to this day.

What would Jesus drive? Let’s see, he had twelve disciples that had to keep up, so that would be a twelve passenger van, no, thirteen, including Jesus, so make it a small bus. He also had a bunch of other followers that aren’t numbered. If they were part of the crew, you know, stage hands, promoters, then they would need a bus or two. After all, if Jesus were alive today, the question wouldn’t just be what would he drive, but how would he communicate? Would he use a contemporary worship service or stay with the tired old synagogue order? But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

So the Jesus motorcade rolls into Jerusalem and the talking heads say, “Just look at him wasting all that gas! Doesn’t he know he’s increasing our dependence on Gentile oil? How can he be the Messiah if he doesn’t care about Israel’s vulnerabilities, not to mention the environment?” To which a second talking head replies, “You’re missing the point. How else would he get here? A fleet of Yugo’s? No, the real issue is whether or not he wants to become Messiah without going through the electoral process. Are we going to throw out our traditions just because he throws out demons? He claims his power is from God, and that may be, but we still have to vote.” Yet a third talking head says, “I don’t buy his power from God claim, but he certainly is persuasive. Besides, has anyone actually heard him say that he wants to be Messiah? I think he’s not political. He’s more of an entertainer and commentator. Its his power to control the minds of his followers that frightens me.”

We may think we are superior to our ancestors, but some things don’t change. If you are in God’s service, someone is always out to crucify you. Jesus told his detractors that “The son of man comes eating and drinking, and you call him a glutton and a drunk.” I suspect those same people today would call him a gas guzzler and environmentally insensitive. After all, if the cattle on the thousand hills are his, what is that doing to the ozone hole?

What would Jesus drive? Hopefully our hearts, thoughts and motives. There are those, however, he only drives to distraction.

Rev. Dennis P. Levin

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To the Martyr

Who raises their sword
to slay the infidel;
To kill the heretic
and revel in blood?

Is God weak
begging you to defend;
Fearful of the minor slight,
sending you for his honor?

Is God a child,
unaware of danger?
Is God frail
with no defense?

Your sword testifies
to God’s impotence.
Your acts insult
God’s wisdom.

Does the Almighty send his minions
to plot in secret?
Must they plan in darkness
the acts of God’s light?

Is God ashamed of your work
so that having done it,
You must flee
and hide like vermin?

You think you do well;
as if God needed assassins.
You think yourself worthy;
for death and reward.

Where are you now
O defender of the Deity?
Can you show your face
in the market of mankind?

Is the world closer to God
now that you have killed?
Is God pleased
in the death of the innocents?

Who told you it was God’s will?
Were they with you when you died?
Did they tell you to be brave,
as they sent you before them?

There is a fate that awaits your mentors,
but what comfort is that to you?
That you believed is no defense.
Will it undo the evil you brought?

Do you rest in Paradise
as they said you would?
Or have you found
a different reward;

What has God to do with you,
the double fool?
Fool to have listened;
fool to have killed and died.

Martyrs may be right
from time to time.
But martyrs
are always dead.

Where are you now,
O killer of innocents?
Does God look on you with pride;
or are his eyes forever averted?

Can the blood of many victims
water the flowers of paradise?
Can the man of hate
be blessed by the God of love?

For that God’s sake
we do not celebrate your death.
For that God’s sake
we mourn the innocent.

That you were once beloved,
makes your end the more tragic.
Though justice is divine,
sorrow precedes and follows.

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