Why Bad Things Happen

Luke 13:1-9

We read in the newspaper that people have been murdered and maimed in Boston or that an accident has taken the lives of several in West, Texas.  As people we are inclined to search for causes, explanations, and assign blame. People did the same thing back in Jesus’ day. Of course, they had no nightly news or daily newspapers, but news, being news, has a way of spreading and spreading fast. It seems to have been true then as it is true now that when the number of people killed, killed either by intent or accident, is large the shock of the injustice increases proportionately. The more people involved, the greater is the shock.

The first thing that usually happened after the first shockwave is that people turn rather philosophical and ask rather profound questions regarding the event. We ask why or why God permits or causes such evil. We wonder what is happening to the world and say things like, “When I was younger these things were unheard of,” or “What is the world coming to?” We discuss these happenings with whomever will listen- while waiting for transportation, at work, on breaks, with friends and even strangers “Did you hear about…?” “What do you think about…?” “Isn’t it a shame about…?”We play temporary philosopher and offer our observations about the state of the world, human nature, the evil in people and the uncertainty of the time or manner of death.

The next thing that usually happens is that something else happens to take our mind off the latest news, the latest plane crash, the latest terrorist strike, the latest whatever. We forget about it and move on to something else. Deep down we know such tragedies, be they intentional or accidental, will occur again and again. We deal with these very “un-routine” events rather routinely and they indeed become routine, despite the element of surprise they contain and evoke.

Jesus teaches us to handle such events differently. He knows that all experiences of wonder, including religious experiences that evoke conversion, begin with surprise. However, the surprise need not be pleasant. It can even be ugly and horrible, like a great massacre or accident. Jesus teaches us that even the horrible experiences that happen to others can be opportunities for us to think twice, to think in the light of eternity, and to change our ways and our lives. No matter the circumstances of our deaths, our deaths are inevitable. Then, the question, the only question, is, “What happens next?” 

The more philosophical questions of why or even how we died become irrelevant. No matter the answer, we are still dead. The answers to those and similar questions do not change our status. The Lord is saying that the pertinent question is not how we died or why we died, but how we lived and why we lived. The deaths of others have meaning in and of themselves, meaning for the person who died and for his or her loved ones. But, the deaths of others have meaning for all of us, for they are prophecies of our own deaths and therefore messages from God. The deaths of others, daily occurrences, let us know that we also will die and that the circumstances of our deaths, be they by disease, by the aging process, by some accident, by the evil intent of others, by whatever means, pale in importance when compared to our lives. It is how we lived, not how we died, that will be the deciding factor in where and how we live for all eternity.

Jesus tells us to view the deaths of others and the tragedies that befall us all as prophecies, as messages from God, regarding our own deaths. If we interpret these experiences in the light of eternity they will motivate us to reform our lives rather than fear our deaths or the manner of our deaths. To simply turn philosophical and wax eloquent on the brevity of life and the uncertainty of the future is to attempt to escape the real message and meaning that God constantly is teaching us through the signs he gives us. Every event is potentially a sign from God, containing both his presence and his message that we can and should change. There is always something within our lives that needs changing. Even the deaths of those not close to us should be interpreted by us not only as proofs of the evil in the world but also as signs of the necessity to reform and reform now.

Everything that happens is not God’s will. God tolerates evil, for a greater long-term good, but he does not will evil or send evil upon humans.

Sin happens all the time and sin, by definition, is not God’s will.

Murders, massacres, and accidents are not God’s will.

Even bad things can be interpreted in the light of eternity and good results can follow.

No one is exempt, no matter what his or her disabilities, from living a life of fruitful love.

God and Evil: We do not have to live for very long to realize that many bad things happen to, what we would consider, good people. We become rather philosophical and ask why. We wonder why God would allow such injustice. We can even wonder if injustice in the world proves that God does not really exist, but has been made up by clever human beings to explain the unknown and to justify injustice. Why did God let those fellows who were worshipping him in the Temple be massacred unjustly? Why did God let those beams fall on those men who were working on construction, men with families to support? The answer to these and similar questions can be found in the very word we use to ask them, that is, “let.” God does let these things happen, but that does not mean that he wills them to happen. “Let” means “allows” or “tolerates,” much as a parent “lets” a teenager do things, the parent does not fully approve of, like staying out late or spending a weekend away from home. The parent hopes the child is mature enough to apply all he or she has learned at home in situations where the parent is not there to support the child’s personal decision. God tolerates evil because he wills that his children freely will or choose to live with him and according to his ways. He will not force anyone to “stay at home,” so to speak, if that person chooses to go off on his or her own. Those who do so cause a lot of trouble in the world, even long after they have died. However, God is willing to pay that price, even to let his good children suffer innocently, rather than have an eternal household of captured children, too scared to disobey him. So, yes, there is evil in this world, a lot of it, not because God wills it, but because he lets it be so for a greater and eternal good. 

Procrastination: One day it will be too late to reform our lives and freely decide to live according to God’s ways. That’s the message of the murdered worshipers and the killed construction workers, as well as the message of the parable of the fig tree. If we look at our lives by the light of eternity we do not have much time and so we are motivated to use well every moment and to live every day as fully as we can. If we lose sight of eternity we can be lulled into thinking that we have plenty of time, that we can reform later, and that for now we can do as we please. We certainly are prone to procrastinate and to justify it by saying to ourselves that we can do later what we could just as well do now.

Parasites: The fig tree that year after year produces nothing good, but only takes up space, time, and natural resources is a symbol for unproductive human beings. These are the takers, the consumers, the parasites. They take out of the environment, but put nothing back in. The world and people exist simply to meet their needs. The Galileans and the Siloam construction workers may have died by malice or chance, but the fig tree will die expressly because of inactivity and counterproductive  This is the “greater sin.” We will be judged according to the opportunities we have had and taken. The parable teaches that nothing will survive that merely takes out and gives nothing in return. That is the definition of a parasite. 

True, we all draw strength and sustenance from a soil not our own God’s grace, but we are to bear fruit so that others may draw from us. The parable teaches that we may get a second chance, or a third, or more, but eventually comes the final chance. And we will not know which chance is the final one, so we had better shape up before then, long before then, now. The time to get serious about the future is not in the future, not tomorrow, but today. Amen.

Easter Blessings

A very blessed Easter.  May the risen Lord bless you today and always.

Passion Week

Just after Jesus raises Lazrus the mood and scene in the Gospel of John shifts dramatically.  The joy of Lazrus becomes Jesus losing his patience with Judas over ointment, riding a donkey into Jerusalem, berating Greeks, and advising people to walk while they have light.  The image of Jesus smiling and rejoicing with the family of Lazrus becomes a Jesus being very intolerant to others.  Intolerant I think is the perfect word that fits the gospel reading today.

Jesus was a tolerant person there is no doubt.  Jesus chose for his Apostles the worst society could offer.   Jesus chose a fisherman, they were seen as drunken, surly, disrespectful, and cheating the weights of their catches.  Jesus chose a tax collector, they were in conspiracy with the Romans to cheat Jews out of their hard earned wages, they consorted with the Pharisee to extract the Temple Taxes, and they sided with the Herodians to keep Israel's king on good standing with Rome, Pharisee, and Jews.  Tax collectors were seen as those who would sell their mothers if the price was right.  The other apostles were simple shepherds, farmers, laborers, and tradesmen.

Jesus suddenly shows an intolerant side.  Jesus admonishes Greeks for their wanting Jesus to speak to them. "What do wish me to say?  Father take this form me.  This is why I was born, to fulfill my Father's will and glorify His name."  Jesus begins to berate the Pharisee for being hypocrites.  He accuses the scribes of being dishonest and translating to show favor to Rome and Herod at the expense of Jews.  He tells the Sadducee that they are liars, thieves, and conspirators to keep Israel under Roman control.  Jesus even lashes out at the people of Jerusalem for tolerating all the cheating, lying, and corruption.  Jesus becomes very intolerant, and it is sin that He is intolerant at.

For too long Israel had tolerated sin to take hold.  For too long people had become tolerant of sin but intolerant of the Word of God.  For too long sin was seen as business as usual and living in covenant with God as being wrong.  Sound familiar?  Does this not sound like today.  Continually we are admonished to be tolerant of sin.  We are to be tolerant of sexual immorality, the murder of babies, poverty, laziness, and a whole host of other sins.  We are to be tolerant of sin because we are not to judge.  This is plain wrong.

Let me make this clear: Be intolerant of sin.  Tell sinners that sin is sin.  That is not being intolerant that is being honest.  That is advancing the Gospel.  Moses was not tolerant of slavery.  Joshua was not tolerant of those choosing against God's laws.  Nathan was not tolerant of David's sins.  Elijah was not tolerant of breaking the Sabbath.  Isaiah was not tolerant of Israel's infidelity.  Daniel was not tolerant of being told not to pray to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  The Maccabees were not tolerant of being told not to observe the Passover.  In all these cases the people of God were intolerant.

Jesus was intolerant of Israel allowing the Temple to be defiled.  Jesus was intolerant of Herod's double dealing against Israel.  Jesus was intolerant of Judah selling itself off for profit from foreign invaders from Rome.  Jesus was intolerant of Jews being unfaithful to God, His Father.  It had to end and Jesus was the final answer from God.  Jesus was to be final perfect Passover lamb sacrificed.  A new covenant and final was to be given by God.  This time the Gentile would be saved with the Jew.  All humanity was to be brought into God's salvation - by the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

It for this reason that the Apostles became intolerant to those who rejected Jesus.  The intolerance of early Christians made them choose death before disavowing their faith.  Intolerance made St. Francis found an order of friars that cared for the poor, sick, and disenfranchised.  Intolerance made St. Ignatius found an order that would educate the poor.  Intolerance made Martin Luther demand reforms that would return Christianity to worship and away from corruption.  Intolerance made Martin Luther King Jr lay down his life for justice.  Believe me, Christians are called to be intolerant.

We are called to be the light of the world.  To fulfill this call from Christ we must become intolerant to sin and become tolerant to what Passion Week stands for - the call of Jesus to fulfill His Father's will.  We fulfill this by turning away from sin and turning to Christ.  We do this by sacrificing our way and turning to Christ's way.  We do this by humbly walking with Christ and doing justice.  That is our call of Passion Week.

Welcome Bishop Piers

Bishop Lyle Piers
Bishop of the Midwest, Congregational Episcopal Church

Today at Highland Meadows Church we welcomed Bishop Lyle Piers of the Diocese of the Midwest.  We thank Bishop Piers for a very moving homily covering a difficult topic.  We also thank Bishop Piers for staying after the service to share time with our congregation.  May the Lord bless Bishop as he travels through Texas and Arkansas with Bishop Duff the next week.

The Blame Falls On Me

By Bishop Lyle Piers

Bishop of Province 5 (Diocese of the Midwest)

David, David, David what did you do? You killed Uriah to hide the fact you and Bathsheba committed adultery. You and she had a child who ended up paying the price for your sin. David you were a murdering, adultering son of a so an so, but what does it say about God to take the life of a child who had nothing to do with the sins of you and Bathsheba? What kind of a monster do we worship? Is it justice that the innocent pay for the sins of others?

Well, let us take a moment to calm down and read what 2 Samuel 12 tells us. Yes, David hears Nathan relate a story of a lamb that was stolen from a poor man by a rich man who had many flocks. Yes, David shows anger when he hears of this. David demands not only the death of the thief but also that the poor man be recompensated. Nathan points to the fact David is the rich man in the story. David had choice of all single women in Israel and instead chose the wife of one of his men. Then has Uriah killed to hide his sin. Then as punishment God says the child of David and Bathsheba shall be taken by illness after it is born.

Again, God is punishing the innocent for the sin of another. Why not put David and/or Bathsheba to death? Why the innocent child? Well look at Deuteronomy 17:6, there must be witnesses to the adultery to put one or both to death. There were no witnesses, only David and Bathsheba knew. God would not break His own stipulations. With that resolved, why the child? It seems there was a gross injustice on the part of God.

Perhaps, but consider this: Without the intervention of God in the first place the adultery of David King of Israel who was supposed be without reproach would never have been known to Nathan the Prophet or the Rabbinical Council of Israel. David would have hidden it and it would have festered against David and Israel to judgment before God. Remember, Israel as a whole agreed to be responsible for the sins of the King of Israel. Saul sinned and Israel paid for it by a civil war that pitted followers of Saul against the followers of David. Saul's own son Jonathan turned against him to follow David. Consider also, millions of infants died during the flood in Genesis 7. Today innocent people die and innocent people suffer. The fact of this shows not that God is indifferent or malevolent, but that God may not be fair but is just. Fairness is not God's goal but justice is.

The child of David and Bathsheba was born. David performed extraordinary fasting and prayer to have God relent His verdict. It did not work. When God decides we can fast and pray all we wish, but the will of God is going to be done. That is justice, not fairness. Consider the logic we use as humans: Death is always wrong. Not so fast with this. Hear me out.

Death is not always wrong nor is it always bad. My own mother suffered so badly with cancer it was a relief when the Lord in His mercy took her home. She wailed in pain her last days. It tore our hearts to see and hear her suffer. Her death and many other deaths like hers are not wrong or bad, but may be seen as an act of mercy by a loving God. The children taken in the flood were victims of grave sins committed against them by sinful adults. It says rape ran wild through the land. The same for the children killed by Joshua in the conquest of Canaan. Children were known to be sacrifices for Baal and other gods. Incest was a right of fathers as was the rape of unmarried girls to rich men. Humans were doing far worse to children, so much so one could say their death ordained by God was an act of mercy. See this through the lens of justice and not fairness. God was taking His vengeance on the sinners but showing His mercy to the innocent. The children got Heaven and the sinning adults got Hell. That is God's justice.

Now look at the child of David and Bathsheba and consider this: This child is the product of adultery of the King of Israel. What right will this child have both then and as an adult? The child would have zero rights and would most likely would have been put to death after David's death. This child could have no claim, ever, to David's or Bathsheba's names. This person would have been an outcast in all levels of Israeli society. While the child was taken by God, David and Bathsheba had their hearts tore out. They paid for their sins. David was under the curse of the sword the rest of his life as well. The child was spared a life of misery while David was punished as fully as God could. So much so that many times we read David begging God afterward to take his life. God left David to live a long, long life. Bathsheba we are told mourned this child the rest of her life. While we think an innocent child suffered, actually David suffered greatly. The child died of fever and went immediately to God's arms. David spent the rest of his life suffering to keep Bathsheba, to keep his sons alive, to keep Israel united, and to keep his own life.

David came to realize that the blame for all his suffering fell on him. David for the rest of his life called to God for deliverance from his guilt and to forgive his sin. God did, when David died. God made David live the rest of his life in repentance. And David we are told was a man after God's heart. As are we all. God also allowed His Son to be beaten, humiliated, and crucified for our sins. Crucifixion was the most shameful death a Jew could suffer. The proper sentence for a Jew was to be stoned by fellow Jews. To be crucified by Gentiles was the most shameful death a Jew could suffer. A sign that God's Son was achieving something far beyond Jew and Gentile understanding. Jesus may have died, but the story did not end there. Jesus rose to the Father's glory and took His place on the throne of Heaven. The story did not end there for the child of David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel either. That child was taken into the very Kingdom of God. His little eyes opened to see the King of all the Universe looking back at him. That child got the glory and David got the struggle. That child got freedom and David got slavery to his own sins.

Just when we think our logic makes sense we come to realize God's is far beyond our own. Death is not always bad nor wrong. Sometimes death is all God has to be merciful. “O Blessed Day when we arise to our Savior's glory. When our eyes behold the salvation story.” Remember that hymn? It tells of when we see Jesus greet us in Heaven with His outstretched arms, we see the nail marks and know our Savior lives. We shall know also that we live, so O Blessed Day. We also sing, “Death where is thy sting? Hell where is thy grip? The Savior has ransomed and set free all who sing.” God does not give death, God frees from death. To be in God's Kingdom is to be more alive than any who live on this planet. To live in God's presence is to be alive with a life of eternity. That is a life worth living. A life worth living here is to look to that blessed day we shall behold our Savior and know our Savior lives.

Death for a Christian is freedom and the first step to resurrection. What we shall not have on this Earth we gain far more in Heaven. What life shall be taken here is given in eternity in Heaven. Which would you choose: Heaven for eternity or an hour here? Give me Heaven and you can stay here. Right? See now what I am saying. Let me sing at the King's throne and you can sing in church. Let me behold my Savior and you can behold church furnishings. O blessed day of our dear Lord's rising. Just think, men we shall have our hair back. Ladies, you all will have those figures back. We wills shine brighter than the brightest star and we will look at one another and say, “Look at you! You never looked so good!You go on with your blessed self child.” And we will respond, “O I'm going on alright, going right to the Throne of Jesus to behold my blessings.” O blessed day! Here endeth the lesson. Amen.

The Battle of the Two Me

Romans 7:14-25

This passage of scripture seems to be pretty straight forward.  Paul is battling two people.  The inner Paul who seeks to do good, and the Paul of the human who seems to do wrong no matter how hard he wishes to please God.  It seems the classic struggle of flesh vs spirit that dominates scripture especially in the Old Testament.

Further reading though seems to bring a different view.  Each time one rereads this passage a new insight seems to come to mind.  The first time I read this passage I admit that the classic flesh vs spirit struggle was plain to see.  Then on second reading it seems what Paul was writing is that one side we have the saved Christian struggling to do good in a world dominated by temptations.  It is only the grace of Christ that saves us.

A third reading brought something new and fresh to me.  I asked this, "Who is the I Paul is speaking of?"  It does not seem to be the saved Paul who is apostle and witness of Jesus.  It seems Paul is addressing someone other than himself.  With this I broke down verse by verse and this is the result.  I think it a very solid meditation for Lent.

Paul is not describing his Christian experience or his pre-Christian experience, then he must be describing a non-Christian experience.  However, it cannot be simply any non-Christian whom he is describing; the "I" of 7:14-25 is too specifically defined for that to be so.  Also, the non-Christian whom Paul describes seems to have a rather Christian understanding of the inability of the law to bring about obedience to that law.  I believe that at this point Gerd Theissen's comments about Paul's use of the fictive "I," are helpful here.  The non-Christian whom Paul describes is not any one person or grouping of people; rather, he is a figment of Paul's imagination.  The "I" of whom Paul speaks is a non-Christian as seen through Paul's eyes, which explains why such a person would have such a Christian view of his non-Christian condition.

But still he is not just any non-Christian.  At this point I must disagree with the suggestion put forward by many that Paul is envisioning humanity as a corporate Adam.  While I do agree that Paul would quite firmly depict all humanity apart from Christ as being "fleshly, sold under sin," the imaginary non-Christian whom Paul is viewing through Christian eyes is much too aware of the importance, if not the true function, of the law to be simply any Gentile who lives "apart from the law" (Romans 2:12).  I believe rather that Paul is musing about the condition of his fellow Jews, who lay claim to the law without understanding what its real purpose is, who try to do the good while all the time missing the point of justification by faith in Christ, not by works of the law.  

Of course, the Jews themselves are not thinking this way any more than did Paul think this way before he trusted Christ.  His description in 7:14-25 is not a psychological depiction of the agony the Jew feels while trying to obey the law; if it were, the entire Jewish nation would have been rushing to faith in Christ for relief from their struggle!  Paul's description is more pointedly the Christian awareness of the inability of humanity apart from God to do what is good, which, in the final analysis, would be to come to Christ on our own and by our own efforts.  The purpose of the law is to lead people to Christ for justification (cf. Galatians 3:23- 24), and the ultimate irony and tragedy of the power of sin is its leading people to look to their own "lawfulness" for justification instead.  It is much like confusing a highway exit sign on I35 that reads "DALLAS NEXT 13 EXITS" with the city itself; the sign points to the destination, but it is by no means itself the destination, and to pull to a stop and chain oneself to the sign is in fact to miss the destination.  And, Paul would say, the ultimate tragedy is that the people who have chained themselves to the sign (and who are thereby blocking the road for others) aren't even aware that they have missed the whole point of the journey, which is the main reason why he grieves so earnestly for his fellow Jews in 9:1 and wishes that somehow he could take their place so that they might know the justification which God had always intended for them. 

       Verse 14: "For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold under sin."  When Paul says, "I am fleshly," he is describing the non-Christian as he or she is seen by the Christian.  The contrast between the spiritual and the fleshly is here just as certain as it is in Romans 8:5-11, where Paul insists that to be in the Spirit makes it impossible for one to be in the flesh also, and vice versa.  The condition of being sold under sin refers not to observable misdeeds but rather to the most central truth about a person outside of Christ.

        Verse 15: "For that which I am doing I do not know; for I am not practicing this 

thing which I wish, but I am doing this thing which I hate."  Rather than being a confession of bewilderment over why one goes on committing "the same old sins" even as a Christian or a non-Christian's lament over his inability to keep the law, this statement reflects a truth which is hopelessly invisible to the person outside of Christ.  It is not that "I" do not understand what "I" am doing; "I" don't even know what "I" am doing.  In "my" striving to fulfill the law "I" am completely oblivious to the fact that "I" am failing to do what "I" in fact want to do, which is to fulfill the law by coming to faith in Christ.  "I" end up doing what "I" hate without even realizing it.  "I" am not misinformed; "I" am blind.

        Verse 16: "But if I am doing this thing which I do not wish, I agree with the law that it is good."  Since the person in Paul's mind wants to fulfill the law, even if in his own distorted way, his failure to do so is his unwitting testimony that the law is indeed good, since his failure is the performing of the very evil that he seeks to avoid.

        Verse 17: "But now no longer am I doing it, but sin which dwells in me."  Only a Christian could make a statement like this; no one of his or her own flesh could conclude that they are under the total mastery of sin, for the deception of sin is that it is possible to overcome sin by trying to keep the law.

        Verse 18: "For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh; for to will is at hand in me, but to work the good is not."  Paul is not here stating that there is a duality within the non-Christian about whom he is musing, for "flesh" is not merely one part of a person apart from Christ but rather is all that the person is.  The will to please God is short-circuited by the presence of sin to such an extent that the person is completely unable to do what he wishes -- and he or she doesn't even know it.

        Verses 19-20: "For I am not doing the good which I wish, but I am practicing this evil which I do not wish.  But if I am doing this thing which I do not wish, I am no longer doing it but sin which dwells in me."  Here Paul restates what he has already pointed out in verses 15 and 17, thereby forming an inclusio around verse eighteen, which is the heart of the human condition apart from Christ.

        Verse 21: "I find then the law, in me who wishes to do good, that evil is at hand with me."  "Wishes to do good" are no match for the law of evil and indeed only fuel that law, since the "wishing" is going on "in the flesh," in the whole person enslaved to sin.

        Verses 22-23: "For I rejoice with the law of God according to the inner humanity, but I see another law in my members at war with the law of my mind and imprisoning me to the law of sin which is in my members."  This statement must not be taken to indicate that there is a "spark of good" even within sinful humanity, for the rejoicing with God's law that is mentioned is a rejoicing that, as Paul says in 10:2, "is not according to knowledge."  Rather, it is according to the law of sin which imprisons the would-be God-pleaser.

        Verses 24-25a: "I am a wretched man; who will deliver me from the body of this death?  But thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!"  Again, no non-Christian in his zeal for the law would say this.  More likely, he would say with Paul the Pharisee that, according to the righteousness of the law, he was found blameless.  The wretchedness of humanity apart from God is not apparent to that humanity; only the Spirit can enlighten one that Jesus Christ alone can liberate a person from the unsuspected prison of sin.

        Verse 25b: "Consequently, then, I myself with the mind am serving the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin."  The pathetic state of religious and non-religious humanity apart from Christ becomes obvious.  The non-Christian truly believes that he or she is serving God, while in reality it is sin that is the master, wreaking its destruction through the person's flesh, which, for humanity apart from Christ, is all there is.

As people who are "spiritual," not "fleshly," we need not fall helplessly before the onslaught of sin (which was our life before Christ) but may with full confidence place our trust in Christ, through whom we have been freed from sin.  Whereas before we had no choice but to go on doing the evil that we hated and not the good that we wished, now there is a choice.  If we should go on living as if we did not know Christ, as if we had not been freed from sin, then this does not mean that we are expressing our deepest nature, because our deepest nature is now that of Christ, not sin.  Rather, we would be living as people who were "nearsighted and blind, forgetful of the cleansing of past sins" (2 Peter 3:9).  

This observation brings us back to where we started, for the second epistle of Peter warned us at the beginning that some things in Paul's letters are difficult to understand!  Nevertheless, one thing is certain: because of Christ, we may, as people freed from sin, "not let sin exercise dominion in our mortal bodies, to make us obey its passions" (Romans 6:12); instead, we may "present ourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and our members to God as instruments of righteousness" (6:13).  This is both the hope of joyful service to God and the guarantee thereof. 

Urgent Need

Dear Children of God,

The shelter in Richardson I am the chaplain at needs to replace a wood fence.  As you can imagine this places River of Life Homes in a very tight spot financially.  I ask that you please go to the River of Life website and make note of the address and mail a Home Depot gift card.  In doing so you would be making a huge donation to a huge need.

This Sunday at Highland Meadow Church we will be having a second collection for this need.  Please be as generous as you can possibly be.

May the Lord be with you,
Rev. Daniel J. Rea

Living Under Authority

Second Sunday in Lent

Gospel Reading Matthew 10:24-39

Our Gospel reading clearly shows Christ came to establish the proper order of authority.  Looking back to the Laws of Israel they were divided into four areas.  One, The Ten Commandments or natural law.  These commands are universal and perpetual.  They found the basis for God to establish His people and His kingdom.  They are what would be the basis for civilized society for the rest of human history.  Second, the sacrificial laws.  These laws cover the rites the Levites would follow in their sacrificial duties.  These laws are limited.  They were meant to be temporary from Israel to its fall.  They were completed and ended upon the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Third is the dietary laws.  Under the Apostles these laws were also set aside.  We see this in the Acts of the Apostles and the Apostolic Epistles.  Finally, are the civil laws.  These had to be revised when Israel began their royal lineage.  For the most part these were implemented by the Emperor Constantine in Rome after he became Christian.  Along with The Ten Commandments the civil laws were the basis of Augustine's The City of God to take Rome from its fall to the establishment of the Church as the seat and all law for Christendom.

In today's Gospel and with what I have said before, the order of authority established by God's law and therefore, His authority is as follows:

1. God - Jesus Christ
2. The Sacrficial Law, now the Church
3. The Family, with the father/husband at its head
4. The Civil Law, now Government (Caesar in the Gospel)
5. Masters, now Employers

This is the order established by Christ.  Jesus Christ is the head of His bride the Church.  The Church is to help the family as Christ helps the Church.  Fathers are to love their wife and their children as Christ loves the Church, and as to support their families as the Church supports families.  Employers are to be as honorable to their employees as Christ is to the Church, as the Church is to families, as fathers are to their children.  This is the order of authority as established by Christ.

Our problems today arise from people not following this order and therefore refusing to live under authority.  Make no mistake, you do not have to agree to be under God's authority, you already are.  All the universe is under God's authority whether agreed to by humans or not.  God who creates, sustains, and guides needs not the agreement of creation to be under the Creators authority.  That is the message from Genesis to Malacai, and from Matthew to Revelations.  From Genesis to Revelations; from "In the beginning" to "Amen. Come Lord Jesus" the message is clear - God IS THE AUTHORITY from which all other authority is granted.

The Church decides through God's laws who gets ordained, and who does not.  The Church through Christ's authority decides who is granted matrimony.  Ordination and matrimony are not rights to any man or woman, they are gifts bestowed by the Church through the authority of Jesus Christ.  No person has a right to sacramental ordinance.  Homosexuals have no more a right to ordination than an Atheist.  Homosexuals have no more a right to matrimony than a man or woman already married.  The right to sacraments are decided by the Church from the Gospels of Christ.  The Church has no more a right to ordain or allow homosexual matrimony than it has a right to allow the ordination of a Wiccan to Christian ministry or to join in matrimony two turtles.  Both are equally sacrilegious.  What Caesar does is Caesar's business.  But Caesar had better be careful when his laws go against the authority of God.

Like it or not to the chagrin of Gloria Steinham and Gloria Allred, the husband/father is the head of the family.  Husbands are to love their wife as Christ loves the Church.  Wives are to love their husbands and to submit.  Submit does not mean to be a slave.  That is a feminist corruption of the word.  For a wife to submit is as a priest submits to the law of God and the ordinance of Christ.  That is what is meant.  It has NEVER been an open license for a man to abuse his wife.  That is just as abhorrent in God's eyes as the corruption of His Sacraments.  When one abuses their authority they incur the wrath of God.  When authority goes against God's law and the Gospels it is not law then but sin, and sin is to be rejected.

Today, government is taking Christ off the throne and placing Caesar there, again, will we ever learn from history?  The Church is being replaced by courts.  Family is being replaced by handouts.  Government is becoming The Authority.  President Obama is wanting Government to be all and to be the sole authority.  Obama has created his cult and has called himself "messiah".  Obama has said repeatedly the Church has no place above government.  Obama has repeatedly said this, "For the single moms out there, I'll be your husband, I see you get support."  As one who calls himself a Christian he knows better.  As a supposed Christian he knows the blasphemy he spews.  A Christian would NEVER defile Christ's authority and His Church and seek to corrupt the family with crude jokes.  These are not jokes to Obama, or to God, these are Obama's challenge to God given authority, and make no mistake; like Nebuchanezzar, Caesar, and others before him, Obama will fall to God.  Let me repeat, Obama will fall to God.  One day Obama's knee will bend to God.  Just as all knees will.  Be careful when you challenge God's authority.

All of this is outlined in scripture.  The Gospels outline Christ's and the Church's authority.  See Matthew 28:18-20, John 27:1-2.  Read 1 Timothy 3:10,13; Acts 20:17,28; 1 Peter 5:1-2; Hebrews 13:17.  The authority of the family is lined out in Ephesians 5, 1 Peter 3:7, and Romans 1.  Government is to have no authority over God, the Church, and is to have limited authority over the family.  When government makes laws contradictory to Christ's Gospels then these laws can be ignored.  This has been the standard from the Apostles, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Employers are to pay fair wages to their employees and employees are to be respectful to their supervisors.  This is set out in the Gospels and in Ephesians 6:5-8, Colossians 3:22-25.

Our society is headed to certain disaster unless we return to living under authority.  Christians must put Christ back in our churches.  We must put Christ at the head, "Take the royal diadem and crown Him King of all." Amen.