Giving It All Up For God

Let's take a walk down memory lane for a moment. Some of you may remember a famous comedian named Flip Wilson. He had a weekly TV comedy show back in the 70s, and one of his favorite characters to portray was a preacher named Brother Leroy.

In one skit, Brother Leroy was leading services one Sunday morning. It wasn't going very well. People weren't very responsive. It came time to receive the offering and so Brother Leroy passed the collection plates. They came back empty. So he passed them again. Same thing. Empty. Brother Leroy then went before the people and said, "Now, I know that you all want this church to progress.This church must progress." No response from the congregation. Brother Leroy shouted a bit louder: "Now, before this church can progress it has to crawl, this church has got to crawl." And the congregation started getting excited and they yelled back, "Make it crawl, Reverend. Make it crawl!" Brother Leroy continued, "After this church has crawled, it's got to pick itself up and start to walk, this church has got to walk!" And the people yelled back at him, "Make it walk, Reverend. Make it walk!" "And after this church has walked, this church has got to get up and run, this church has got to run." And the people were worked up into a terrible frenzy, and they hollered back: "Make it run, Reverend. Make it run!" And then Brother Leroy said, "Now, brothers and sisters, in order for this church to run, its gonna need money, its gonna take money for this church to run!" And the people yelled back, "Let it crawl, Reverend. Let it crawl!"

The congregation in this story has something in common with the rich young ruler in the parable of the rich young ruler. Both of them were asked to give up something that meant a lot to them in order to gain something more important, and both of them were reluctant to give up that one thing that was important to them. A similar situation exists with many people today. Those who have abundance in this world sometimes find that their abundance is a roadblock on the road to salvation. They are not always prepared to suffer for Christ when and if it is necessary. The rich young man was not prepared to do that. He was like many of us in that he wanted the benefits, but he didn't want to pay the costs. In other words, he wanted something for nothing.

The rich young man wasn't prepared to give up what he had for the sake of Christ. How many of us are in the same situation today? How many of us are willing to give up what we have in order to follow Christ? When we give our offerings, are we giving because we want to, or because we feel that we HAVE to? Do we give willingly, or do we give grudgingly? Do we tithe regularly? Failure to tithe is the same as robbing God. Spiritual life is not a matter of bookkeeping.

Christ calls us to give up more than just things. We are also called to give up habits or traditions that keep us from following Christ. He calls us to give up traditions, habits or ways of thinking that keep us from fulfilling His will or following Him in faith. For example, is it REALLY necessary to have Eucharist on special occasions like Christmas or Thanksgiving? Does that "tradition" bring us closer to God, or is it just a "thing' that we don't want to give up? By giving up things in this life, and following Christ in faith, we will gain MUCH more in heaven. Sure, by following Christ we will have to pay a price. We may lose our friends, our families or our jobs. In some parts of the world, Christians can lose their lives for their faith. These are just "things" that we give up when we suffer short-term pain by following Christ, but this short-term pain leads to long-term gain-namely, eternal life in heaven. We might lose our earthly family and friends, but we will gain a NEW family of fellow believers. This ultimate reward is much, much greater than the pain we have to suffer in this life.

In church, we hear every week that we must give our lives over to God. Holding on to our lives eventually leads to losing our lives. God offers us unconditional love, REGARDLESS of what we have. What we want to shed means nothing to God. Christ doesn't care about our earthly possessions UNLESS you use them in faith to do His will by spreading the Good News and bring other people to Him. He doesn't care if you drive a luxury car, or live in a mansion, or send your children to the most prestigious schools in the world. He doesn't care if you're one of the richest people in the world like Bill Gates, Ted Turner or Warren Buffett. You can try to hide behind your earthly possessions, but it won't work. God has X-ray vision. He sees all and knows all. Self-reliance does not lead to self-salvation. We need God just as much as He needs us.

There is an old adage that "money isn't everything", and that's true. The LOVE of getting things often drives people closer to despair. The affluence of most people in the Western world gives them the ability to ask questions other than those relating to basic subsistence, namely:

1. Am I happy?

2. Am I filled and fulfilled? If not, what will it take to make me so tomorrow?

Doing right doesn't give hope. The ONLY way to liberation from despair is through God. Only faith in God can give us the answers to these questions.

Sometimes we accumulate stuff in life because we don't know what we want. There are several examples of people who have become very successful in life and have all the possessions to show for it, but who also have a deep sense of loneliness and emptiness on the inside. They wanted the happiness that they thought they could get from material things. Instead, they ended up with emptiness-an emptiness that some have tried to fill with drugs, alcohol or sex, but that others have filled by coming to Christ in faith. The rich young man lacked saving faith. He was like an ungainly camel-he was too "big-feeling" and too self-sufficient to enter the eternal kingdom. Jesus said that unless we come to Him like a child-naïve with next to nothing, but full of wonder-we can't get into heaven. Coveting material possessions is to invest them with great importance to allow them to fill God's place in our lives.

Missionary work is a way of liberating the human heart from bondage to allegiances other than Christ. Missionaries are often deprived of their earthly families when they answer God's call, but this loss is more than made up for by their new spiritual family. They are administering to the extraordinary world, but at the same time they are heeding Christ's call to take up their crosses and follow Him. When people take up their crosses and follow Christ, this decision entails suffering and service. The commandments regarding our relationship with God require a higher level of discipleship.

The rich young man was following the letter of Jewish law of that time, but Jesus wanted him to follow the spirit of God's law-namely, following and trusting Christ. Jesus calls us to follow the same law. Following this law is the single key for entering the Kingdom of God. By following God's law, Christians get so much in this life that they can't out-give what Jesus gives us. We can't EARN eternal life UNLESS we try to earn it by giving up that which is important to us in this world. Giving form the heart is a significant and vital way in which we commit our lives to Christ. It leads us to a life in which with heart and mind we know Christ and His will. Even if we were perfect people, we still could not earn eternal life. The only way to eternal life is through faith. Jesus loves us in spite of our faith-or more appropriately, our lack of faith.

When our dreams are about to come true, we often ask ourselves, "Is this what I really wanted"? This might be due to the fear of losing the illusion of freedom. The real test of faith, dreams and character is in the DOING, and not in the wanting or imagining. It is harder for the wealthy to enter God's kingdom than it is for children because the wealthy have been successful in running their lives by themselves. They don't need to be dependent on anyone. On the other hand, children know about being dependent on other people. Unless we become like children and depend on God, we can't enter His Kingdom.

Sooner or later, something happens to us that makes us aware of Christ's spiritual dimensions. In my case, it was my father's terminal illness and death. Sure, I was raised in the church, baptized, confirmed and attended church regularly, but I didn't really appreciate Christ's love until it was expressed to my family and me through the love shown by church members and the minister when my father was dying at home and in the hospital. That appreciation led to the point where I am here in front of you today. Don't get me wrong-I'm not a saint. What I am, though, is someone who listened when Christ tapped me on the shoulder and said the same thing He said to the apostles when he chose them-namely, "Follow me" .

Christians are asked to be followers of Jesus. Only a few people could follow Him during his earthly ministry; however, because of his death and resurrection, EVERYONE can follow Him. When we follow Him, we must keep within earshot of Jesus. We have to hear him speak to us through worship and Bible study. This is the only way we can understand the relationship between his gift and the obedience it requires. One barrier to hearing His voice is the demands on our time today, especially on weekends. Now that Sunday shopping is legal in Nova Scotia, this will only increase the demands on our time.

Even though we follow Jesus with others in local congregations, He calls each of us to different tasks. Some are called to ordained ministry, others to lay ministry, and still others are called to music ministry or youth ministry, but we can all regard what we do each and every day as being called to divine ministry-even if we are doing something as ordinary as maintaining a home and family. Whatever we do in His name requires us to give up everything that might hinder us.

The things of this earth are not meant to be held on to, but to be given away. We might like to think of ourselves as virtuous, law-abiding Christians, keepers of the law and observers of the rites of the liturgy, but how attached are we to our present way of life? It is not just the amount of worldly goods we possess that becomes the problem, but the difficulty we have of rising above and looking beyond what we DO have enough to be free from them.

Eternal life is NOT a reward for good deeds. It IS a reward for a relationship with God. Life is for loving, not hoarding. The real meaning of life is to be found in giving things away-hence the saying, "It is better to give than to receive". Faith is the direction of life. Jesus calls us to do three things:

1. Give up everything that will hinder us from serving Him.

2. "Come"

3. "Follow Me"

There is a line in one of the hymns in the Anglican Church of Canada's  Common Praise Hymn Book that goes like this: "Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?" Will we heed that call? If so, will we pay the price willingly in order to receive the gift God offers? God will give us the strength and desire to let go of the things that hinder us from serving Him. If we follow Him, He will bless us spiritually. In order to be first with God, we have to be last in the eyes of the world. The task of giving things up is not easy, but the gift of God's grace makes it possible. Jesus said that the good shepherd lays down his life-namely, all that he is, his personal self, his wants and desires-for his sheep. When Jesus asks us to do what is seemingly impossible, He is willing to take the impossible part on himself, and He is asking of us only what is possible.

Love and Compassion-the Key to Our Future

She wore her characteristic Indian sari with the blue border that represented the Missionaries of Charity, the order she founded in 1949. Her years on earth had bent her already small frame, but there was nothing small about Mother Teresa’s presence.

Who would have ever thought that this small Albanian woman would be an agent for change? She was shy and introverted as a child, and she was in fragile health. She was one of three children of a generous but unremarkable businessman. Yet somewhere along her life’s journey, she became convinced that Jesus walked in the “distressing disguise of the poor,” and she set out to love him by loving them. In 1989, she told a reporter that her Missionaries had picked up around 54,000 people from the streets of Calcutta, India and that 24,000 or so had died in her care.

None of us can help everyone, but all of us can help someone, and when we help them, we serve Jesus. When we do, we will hear the words of Matthew 25:40, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me”. (Pause)

Today marks the end of the church year. Next week, we will celebrate the beginning of the Advent season. It is a season of preparation for the coming of Christ, and not just his first coming as an infant in that stable in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago. We will also remember that he will come again at the end of the age to set up his kingdom here on earth. No one knows when it will happen, and Jesus warned us not to try to predict when it will happen, but we must always be ready because it can happen at any time.

When he comes to earth to judge the people, he will judge them by what they have done for others and by what they have shared with others and not by what they know or who they know or by their church membership. We see Jesus through the eyes of compassion, and we can see that compassion in the work done by health care workers or emergency personnel such as police officers, paramedics or fire fighters. (Pause)

The story of the last judgment in Matthew 25:31-46 is the minimum standard of behaviour that applies to all of us. Christ sees what we do because he is the recipient of our acts of kindness and mercy, no matter how big or small they are. It is about the acts of compassion, justice and gentleness which we do without having to think about them. What we do for others, we do for Jesus. Then we will receive God’s mercy and love.

The acts of compassion we do for others are within the reach of all of us. When we do these things, we tell others about Christ through our actions. The judgment identifies Christ with the underprivileged, so that anything we do for them is a deed of love for Christ.  We must live like we take Jesus’ statement in Matthew 25:31-46 seriously. What we do with the Good News of Jesus has enormous consequences because the punishment of those who reject Jesus is just as eternal as the reward of those who serve him. Failing to show compassion for others condemns us to eternal damnation. Every person who receives Jesus Christ as their Saviour and shows compassion will receive rewards individually. Our service to others reflects the condition of our hearts. When we respond to God’s call to serve, we know that we are ministering to Jesus himself. (Pause)

Do we sometimes look at those who are in need and refuse to help them because we think they deserved what happened to them? While it is true that some are in their particular situation because of their own actions, we are not to judge them or condemn them. Only God can do that, because his standards are perfect and higher than ours. Our job is to show Christ’s love by showing compassion for them, because when we do, we become Christ-like.

The story does simplify the basis on which God’s judgment is made. It has to do with how each person responds to everyday opportunities to help others in need. Jesus judges injustice instead of perpetuating it. Life in God’s kingdom is not about what we have or who we are, it’s about what we do. Random acts of kindness and serving the less fortunate in the community are powerful ways of authenticating the gospel. Jesus calls us to witness through our generosity. In the words of the Golden Rule, we are to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”

We must be prepared to minister to the poor wherever God calls us to minister to them, whether it is in a nursing home or the local food bank, around the corner or around the world. Parceling out this kind of compassion will not result in loud whistles or applause. In fact, the best acts of compassion will never be known to most people, nor will large sums of money be dumped into our laps because we are committed to being helpful. Normally, acts of mercy are done in obscurity on behalf of unknown people. Those who would be greatest in God’s Kingdom are those who make themselves the least.

The good deeds commended in verses 25 and 26 are the result of our salvation. They are the criteria that God will use for judgment, because they are the evidence of our saving faith. We are to use our uniqueness and our unique gifts to do God’s work in the world. The good news is that Christians throughout the centuries, in response to the challenge of this passage from Matthew’s Gospel, have tried to help people in need, and in the process have made a better world. We, and they, will reap the reward of our earthly actions on the Day of Judgment, when Christ will look at us and say, “Well done, my good and faithful servants”.

Acts 1:6-14, John 17:1-11 Unity

Several years ago, when I was working for a local lumber mill, the company had a contest where the employees were encouraged to come up with a slogan that portrayed the company’s mission. The slogan was to be used on all of the company’s promotional material. The winning entry was “Together We’re Better”, and it reflected the employees’ desire to work together to produce top-quality products.

Christianity can use the same motto, because together as Christians we can go a long way to fulfilling God’s call in our world. In order to do this, we need the power of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 1:8, Jesus told the disciples that they would receive God’s power through the Holy Spirit, and in John 17:1-11, Jesus prays to the Father to send his power to all of Christianity through the Holy Spirit. Our definition of power is different from God’s definition of power. God’s definition of power is the ability to carry out a purpose-in this case, his work in the world. By coming together, we have even greater power.

The prayer that Jesus prayed in John 17:1-11 is known as the High Priestly prayer because Jesus offers prayers for himself, his apostles and followers-just like the High Priest offered prayers for people in the temple, and just like I do when I deliver the Prayers of the People during worship services. Something else that Jesus prayed was for unity. After his Ascension, the disciples were united in prayer. Unity exists through prayer. Jesus prayed for unity, and the disciples prayed together to draw upon the only source of power that they had before they received the Holy Spirit-prayer. Christ’s unity still exists today, as can be seen through the local ministerial association and the local food bank. In both cases, men and women from different denominations have come together to do God’s work in our community. Just think of how powerful our churches would be today if each and every one of us would pray constantly, devotedly, and with one mind!

We are also united through our common belief in eternal life. Eternal life is not reserved until we die; rather, it is something we can share now through Jesus. We receive eternal life the moment we have faith in Jesus and begin to have a relationship with him. We don’t just receive the gift of eternal life. We also have the privilege of having a vibrant, growing relationship with the Creator of all that exists. We receive this gift every week when we gather together to hear Jesus give glory to God by revealing God’s compassion, forgiveness, love and healing to us.

Jesus also prays for everyone who does his work in the world. He prays for us because he knows that the world will reject our message. The unity Jesus prays for will protect us from the grand predator-Satan. Our unity protects us-not some doctrinal purity or statements, not theology or worship. When Jesus prays for glory, he is asking for God’s presence to be felt throughout the world through our words, thoughts and deeds. Our purpose on earth is to glorify God. We must never give up in the face of persecution, because Jesus never gave up, even when he was on the cross. When he said “It is finished!” he was giving a strong affirmation that the work God gave him to do during his time on earth was now finished.

True life is all about knowing God and knowing Jesus. It is centered on our relationship with God, and that relationship comes through knowing Jesus. When Jesus prays for us, he is after something deep in us and in the heart of God.

Jesus did not pray that all believers would agree. The source of our unity is not in human structures or denominations such as Anglican, United, Baptist, Roman Catholic, etc. It is in Jesus Christ. Our unity gives us strength in difficult times, for there really is strength in numbers. It reminds me of some of the words in the song “United We Stand”. It was recorded in the late 1960s by a group called the Brotherhood of Man. The words I am thinking of are:

For united we stand

Divided we fall

And if our backs should ever be against the wall

We’ll be together, together, you and I

In order for our unity to be successful, we have to learn to work together in the things we are to do. People in this parish had to learn to work together when our two former parishes became one a few years ago. When we pray together and work together, it increases our capacity to do God’s work in

our world.

Jesus’ High Priestly prayer proclaims our hope and certainty. Jesus and God have glorified each other. Jesus has come from the Father. We are embedded in Christ as Christ is embedded in the Father. We belong to God and are on our way to unity with him and with each other. Unfortunately in our world, divisions can and do happen, often with negative consequences. God gives himself to the godless so that he can receive them into divine communion through atonement, and we should do the same. We are to be one with each other just like Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit are one with each other.

When we divide people into categories of race, religion, sexual orientation or where they live, problems can occur. One only has to think of the Holocaust or genocides like those that took place in Bosnia, Rwanda, Darfur and other places to see that this is true. It is also true in our own back yard. For example, years ago in the South Queens area, people were often shunned by others on the basis of the clubs they belonged to, the church they attended, or for other petty reasons. One personal story comes to mind. One day, in the village where my family lived before they moved to Liverpool, my father was in the post office picking up the mail when a lady came in and started talking to him. At one point she asked him which church he attended (which was not one of the two churches in this particular village). After he answered her question, she said, “Well!! That’s what I was afraid of!” She turned around and stormed out of the post office!

When we come together as one body, our prayers and deeds are a very potent force to be reckoned with. We speak to God when we pray, and in return he touches, embraces, shapes and changes us through the gifts he gives us. We are to use these gifts wisely and for the benefit of the world. Sometimes we have to ask for help, but when we work together, we glorify God with integrity, with devotion, and through service and the words we speak.

As children of God, we are united in one faith in a living God who has revealed himself to us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. We are united in faith in Christ whose word fills us with faith. We are also united in faith in the Holy Spirit whose presence guides us through life. Although we are one in faith, we have to put that faith into action, especially by being one in service. It is in serving that our faith becomes real. When we serve one another, we serve Christ. He is the inspiration in our lives. He is the living example of faith in action. He is the Lord, the Master of our lives and the heartbeat of our faith-and that faith becomes real when we go forth as one in service.

For most people, life is about getting the most stuff, and that expresses the consumer mentality that our society has today. Unfortunately, this emphasis is empty, because no matter how much we have or what we buy, there’s someone out there with more stuff and better stuff. If we live for stuff and prestige, our life is hollow, empty and meaningless. It is like the story of the burglar who was arrested and brought before a judge for trial. He was found guilty, and before he was to be sentenced, the judge asked him if he had anything to say in his defence. The burglar said, “Well, Your Honour, it’s like this. The more a man has, the more a man wants”. The judge replied, “Is that so? Well, I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. I’m going to sentence you to 15 years in prison. How many more would you like?”

A couple of weeks ago, our rector delivered a speech at our Diocesan Synod after delegates debated and voted on a resolution asking the bishop of the Diocese to grant permission for a blessing of same-sex couples who have had civil marriages. While it is not my intention to enter the issue of same-sex marriages or blessings, some of his remarks are appropriate in light of my sermon today, and so I would like to close with some of the words from his speech. He said:

 "We are a church in which divergent/opposing theologies are able to exist and stimulate each other when we focus on our relationship with Jesus Christ. Changes in the practices and theologies of our church do not necessarily mean that what has been important to us must be abandoned. We have a place for ideas and concerns that are different and we are able to hold the biblical and Christian ideal and the reality of a broken and damaged world in a dynamic tension from which all sides should be able to witness to the love and saving power of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is at the core of our Christian Faith and our Anglican tradition."

 We can’t convert the world from its emphasis on self to a life in Christ unless we are united in purpose-unless we love one another. When we ignore the will of God in order to have our own way, the result is discord and disunity. Unity begins with us. We have to be proactive. We have to pull together. We have to keep going. We may never achieve 100 % unity, but if we work toward it, we will be going in the right direction. If we stand together, we can withstand the fiercest elements the world throws at us.

Bibliography

1.      Exegesis for Acts 1:6-14. Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.org

2.      Jude Siciliano, OP, “First Impressions: 7^th Sunday of Easter (A)” Retrieved from www.preacherexchange.org

3.      Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible, NASV

4.      Wycliffe Bible Commentary. Part of Wordsearch Bible software package

5.      ESV Study Bible. Part of Wordsearch Bible software package

6.      Notes from Peter Anthony’s Bible Study on the Gospel of John, Fall 2010-Winter 2011

7.      Jim Collins, “Success Scripture of the Wee”. Retrieved from www.beyondpositivethinking.org

8.      Rebecca Barlow Jordan, “Perseverance”. Retrieved from www.crosswalkmail.com

9.      Lead Like Jesus Online Devotional. Retrieved from www.messagingstudio.com

10.  T.M. Moore, “Work Matters”. Retrieved from www.breakpoint.com

11.  Dr. Reginald Smith, “Jesus Prays for You!” Retrieved from www.thisistoday.net

12.  The Rev. Dr. Barbara K. Lundblad, “Still Praying After All These Years”. Retrieved from www.day1.org

13.  The Rev. Larry Hill, “We Are One”. Retrieved from www.day1.org

14.  Billy Graham, “Did Jesus Give Up Hope on the Cross?” Retrieved from www.arcamax.com

15.  Dan Clendenin, “Everyone Has a Name”. Retrieved from www.journeywithjesus.net

16.  Scott Boder-Saye, “Long Division”. Retrieved from www.religiononline.org

17.  Lee Griess, “One in Faith and One in Service”. Retrieved from www.esermons.com

18.  Richard E. Gribble, CSC, “Reevaluating Our Mission for Christ”. Retrieved from www.esermons.com

19.  Dr. J. Howard Olds, “Resurrected Glory”. Retrieved from www.esermons.com

20.  Mark Ellingsen, “The Majesty of God’s Love”. Retrieved from www.esermons.com

21.  Kendall McCabe and Michael L. Sherer, “The Seventh Sunday of Easter”. Retrieved from www.esermons.com

22.  The Rev. Billy D. Strayhorn, “Blast From the Past”. Retrieved from www.esermons.com

23.  Exegesis for John 17:1-11. Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.org

24.  The Rev. Billy D. Strayhorn, “So That We May Be One in Christ”. Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.org

25.  Dr. Keith Wagner, “In a Different World”. Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.org

26.  Rev. Donald Lawton, “A Call to Move On”. Speech delivered at the 143^rd Synod of the Anglican Diocese of NS and PEI on Friday, May 27, 2011

27.  Roland McGregor, “Easter 7, 6/5/11”. Retrieved from mcgregorpage@intenex.net

John 15:12-17 We Will Remember

In 1930, a movie was made about World War I called “All Quiet on the Western Front”. In one scene, some American soldiers were talking. One soldier asked, “Where do wars come from anyway?” Another replied, “Well, one country gets mad at another country, and they start fighting.” The first soldier asked, “Do you mean that one piece of land gets mad at another piece of land?” “No,” the other replied, “the PEOPLE of one country get mad at the PEOPLE of the other” The first soldier picked up his rifle and started walking away. When asked where he was going, he said, “I’m going home. I’m not mad at anybody”.

Don’t you wish it was that easy? Don’t you wish we could just walk away from war? Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. The Christian is the pacifist way. Pacifists claim to be peace-makers, but sometimes being a peace-maker means going to war. The great Roman Emperor Julius Caesar once said, “If you want peace, prepare for war”. 

How should we treat our enemies?

One day long ago, when things were looking darkest for the free world, Adolph Hitler was addressing a large audience in Germany. In the front row sat a man of pronounced Semitic appearance. Following his address, Hitler came down from the platform, walked up to this man and said, “While I was speaking, you were laughing. What were you laughing about?” The man replied, “I wasn’t laughing. I was thinking”. “What were you thinking about?” asked Hitler.

“I was thinking about my people, the Jews, and that you are not the first man who didn’t like us. A long time ago, there was another man who didn’t like us. His name was Pharaoh, and he put heavy burdens on us down there in Egypt. But for years we Jews have had a feast called Passover, and at that feast we have a little three-cornered cake and we eat that cake in memory of Pharaoh”.

“Years later there was another man who didn’t like us.  His name was Haman and he did his best to get rid of all the Jews throughout the realm of King Ahasuerus. But for years we Jews have had another feast called the feast of Purim and at that feast we have a little four-cornered cake and we eat that cake in memory of Haman”.

“And while you were up there speaking, sir, I was sitting here thinking and wondering what kind of a cake we were going to eat to remember you by”.

The Jewish man had a point. We must love our enemies if at all possible, but sometimes we need to heed the words of an old Irish blessing that goes like this. “May God bless those who love us, and those who do not love us, may He turn their hearts. If he does not turn their hearts, May he turn their ankles so we may know them by their limping.”

No one wants war. Pacifists believe that if we prepare for war, we will get war. In their view, the only way to achieve peace is to eliminate the causes of war, but sometimes this means going to war.  Sometimes war is the only way to get rid of dictators and terrorists like Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Hussein and bin Laden. The goal of pacifists is admirable and in fact we must try to avoid war is possible, but sometimes war is necessary and inevitable. Sooner or later war destroys those who resort to it, especially with nuclear weapons.

True pacifists believe in fighting with the weapons of the Holy Spirit. The pacifist position has always been a respected minority position among Christians. Jesus was not a pacifist. Just look at what he did to the moneychangers in the temple! He even told his disciples to be armed with swords-not for fighting snakes, but for self-defense. That’s why Peter was able to cut off the soldier’s ear in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before Christ was crucified.

What does God have to say about Iraq, Saddam Hussein, the Taliban and el-Qaida? The Old Testament gives several examples of situations where war is necessary-even desirable. War is something that can be learned, just as peace can be learned. Peace comes when all sides experience the freedom to be whole, creative and participating in decisions that affect their destiny. Peacemaking does NOT mean obtaining security at someone else’s expense. One of the recent popes said it well. “If you want peace, work for justice”. On some occasions working for justice means literally fighting for justice.

The New Testament ethic for individuals differs from the mandate for national leaders. Individuals are called to “turn the other cheek”, but Romans 13:4 calls a national leader “God’s servant, an angel of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer”. If there were no enforcers of justice, chaos would prevail. War is always a tragedy, but occasionally the alternatives are worse than war .

A just was must follow St. Augustine’s guidelines:

1.      It must be declared by a legitimate authority

       2.    It must be carried out with the right intention

3.      It must be approved as a last resort

4.      It must be waged on the basis of proportionality. That is, the good to be accomplished must be greater than the suffering and killing that will be unleashed

5.      There must be a reasonable chance of success.

6.      It must be waged with all the moderation possible. In other words, it must follow the rules of The Hague and Geneva Conventions. Civilians and POWs are to be protected as much as possible.

War is hell. It might be necessary at times, but it is not “good”. It is evil. We find strength not in our weapons, but in our faith in God. War is a tragic fact of life in our world. God prefers peace, but he often sends his people into war. He does so under three conditions:

1.      To liberate oppressed people.

2.      To punish evildoers

3.      To defend themselves

 Is God against war and military people? No. Is pacifism the right way for Christians? Not necessarily. Is the violence of war ever acceptable? Yes. Is there a time to go to war that is right? Yes. As I mentioned earlier, on rare occasions the alternatives to war are worse than war. Surely no reasonable person believes the world would have been better if Hitler had not been defeated. In fact, many historians believe that if the British and French had intervened in 1936 when Hitler illegally occupied the Rhineland, World War II could have been prevented. The League of Nations was unwilling to enforce its own mandate, and the League died.

A more modern example occurred in 1991 when Europeans tried to solve the problems in Yugoslavia without American help. But when the situation in Kosovo degenerated into genocide, no other nation was willing to act without American help. The U.S.-led coalition stopped the genocide and brought war criminals to justice.

The great German Lutheran theologian Dietrich Bonheoffer was a pacifist at the beginning of World War II, but before the war ended, he was part of a failed plot to assassinate Hitler. The Gestapo imprisoned him. He died at age 39 on a Nazi gallows at the Flossenberg concentration camp, stripped of clothes and dignity. His close friend and biographer, Eberhard Bethge, said this about Bonheoffer’s decision to try to kill Hitler: “A Christian should not kill…but there are times when you are responsible for human beings around you, and you have to think about all means to stop that man who is killing.”

Today, we live in a society which teaches us in so many ways to love ourselves and to “look out for number one”. Well, that’s not what Jesus taught, and that’s not what people learn in the military either. Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he should lay down his life for his friends”. Countless soldiers have done that over the years, and we remember their sacrifices every Remembrance Day. They threw themselves on top of grenades or covered the flank on a dangerous mission, or in some other way paid the highest price. They died young, on fields of battle all over the world. Their example of courage and self-sacrifice could be well learned by many Christians today who live their faith somewhere between comfort and commitment.

For those who say they are human shields, if you want to see the real human shields, look up the names of the emergency workers and public servants who died on 9/11; look at the soldiers, sailors and emergency workers who put their lives on the line every day for our safety and security; look at the names on the cenotaphs in communities throughout this country; walk the rows of crosses and see the Stars of David at Normandy, Pusan and thousands of other cemeteries in this nation and around the world and see the people who hated war but made the Supreme Sacrifice.

War is simply enforcing a law by protecting yourself, your fellow citizens and all freedom-loving people with great numbers from those who would destroy you and them. An enemy will destroy us unless we defend ourselves. War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest thing. We must pray that God will use war to bring salvation and freedom to many. We have been at war against tyranny and evil for a long time, but in our complacency, we have bought into the notion that if we ignore the problem long enough, it will go away. Osama bin Laden declared war on the free world on 9/11, but he merely put into practice what he had been preaching since 1983-we simply failed to get the message before 9/11. Problems do NOT go away if they are ignored. In fact, they only get worse unless they are dealt with.

War is righteous when we preserve freedom. When we fight to free innocent people, we are fighting a righteous war and for a righteous cause. We can’t lose if we pray and ask God for a revival. We need to lift up those whose families are touched by war. We are to resist evil in ALL of its forms. We are to go on the attack. That’s why we fight people like Hitler and bin Laden. Behind every evil dictator who would destroy freedom, behind every evil force that would bring fear into the hearts of people is the evil one- SATAN. Peace at any price is not peace-it is appeasement.

Those whom God loves as a father may despise all the hatred of the entire world. As we abide in Christ-finding strength through his enabling grace to be conformed to his image, we find the ability to do as he commands, including fighting in wars for our country. If we love one another as Christ loves us, we will willingly give up our lives for our friends. Martyrdom is a daily part of the Christian life, just like many of our veterans were prepared to die for their country.

We all need friends and they need us. Friends are necessary, not just for emotional support, but also because there are some responsibilities we simply cannot handle alone-like fighting alongside your buddies in a war for a just cause. Sometimes you just get so desperate that all you want is to have a flesh and blood just like you next to you. He doesn’t have to understand everything that’s going on in you. You just want him there, next to you, because he cares, listening, feeling, his hands clasping yours, his eyebrows rising and falling with your stories, his sighs answering your sobbing, and who is willing to go down with you, a friend ready to take the last plunge with you.

There can be no greater love for one’s friends than to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, even to the point of death. Every human institution works best when relationships are firmly based on mutual respect and human values, at the root of which is love. As we move toward a global civilization no other value system will prove worthwhile. Laying down one’s life for his friends, like Christ laid down his life, is no accident or suddenly-pressed decision with no time to think. It is a committed, deliberate, calculated action of friendship for all.

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but it takes an entire lifetime to forget them. At every Remembrance Day service we hear the line, “At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them”. We must remember them, and the supreme sacrifice they made, so we can enjoy the freedoms we have today. True love is costly. A true lover gives the best he can offer and is willing to sacrifice everything he has for the beloved. True friends-like veterans, armed forces personnel and emergency services personnel- will lay down their lives for each other and those they are trying to rescue and protect.

The friendship of Jesus had no motive other than sheer goodness and love. He asked nothing of his friends except to stand by him in his final hours of anguish and decision in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus defined the crucial test when he said on the night before he was crucified, “Greater love has no man than this, but that he lay down his life for his friends”.