Tag: god’s judgment

Oppressors Are On Notice (Nahum 1:1-13)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Nahum, by James Tissot, 1888

A prophecy concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
    the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath.
The Lord takes vengeance on his foes
    and vents his wrath against his enemies.
The Lord is slow to anger but great in power;
    the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished.
His way is in the whirlwind and the storm,
    and clouds are the dust of his feet.
He rebukes the sea and dries it up;
    he makes all the rivers run dry.
Bashan and Carmel wither
    and the blossoms of Lebanon fade.
The mountains quake before him
    and the hills melt away.
The earth trembles at his presence,
    the world and all who live in it.
Who can withstand his indignation?
    Who can endure his fierce anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire;
    the rocks are shattered before him.

The Lord is good,
    a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for those who trust in him,
    but with an overwhelming flood
he will make an end of Nineveh;
    he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness.

Whatever they plot against the Lord
    he will bring to an end;
    trouble will not come a second time.
They will be entangled among thorns
    and drunk from their wine;
    they will be consumed like dry stubble.
From you, Nineveh, has one come forth
    who plots evil against the Lord
    and devises wicked plans.

This is what the Lord says:

“Although they have allies and are numerous,
    they will be destroyed and pass away.
Although I have afflicted you, Judah,
    I will afflict you no more.
Now I will break their yoke from your neck
    and tear your shackles away.” (New International Version)

I’m willing to wager you’ve never heard a sermon on the Old Testament book of Nahum. It’s unfortunate that many Bible-readers have never read the prophecy of Nahum, let alone know that this book even exists in Holy Scripture.

Each individual book of the Bible has its own particular message that is wise for us to understand. Although Nahum’s prophecy is against the long-dead empire of Assyria, it still contains a timeless message for us.

Nineveh

The capital city of Assyria, Nineveh, was a large and influential city in the centuries of 600-900 B.C.E. The Assyrians were a cruel people even by ancient standards. Their army was feared, and rightly so. Army officers were experts at torture, having turned it into an art form with all kinds of different ways of killing and maiming captured people from their conquests.

The prophet Nahum focused on the sure destruction of Nineveh, and the overwhelming judgment and justice of God. And at the same time, Nahum was also attuned to the great and many sins of Israel – their predilection for idolatry and immorality, as well as their purposeful ignoring of social responsibilities.

No matter who we are, or where we are from, the Lord God, the Almighty, shows no favoritism in condemning the guilty, and upholding the innocent. Unlike us, who have a nasty tendency toward practicing cronyism, bigotry, and ethnocentrism, Yahweh extends grace, judgment, and fairness in an even-handed way.

We humans also have a bent toward emphasizing one trait of God over another. There are those who talk only of love when it comes to the Lord; and others who always speak of God’s wrath and judgment.

Yet, in truth, God is the sovereign Lord of both wrath and love, judgment and grace. And, if we are able to hear it, God’s wrath is an expression of God’s love – not willing for oppression and violence to run amok among the powerless.

What’s more, God’s love has a penetrating way of arousing the conscience and bringing deep conviction of guilt for things we have done, and have left undone. So, when we talk of God, let us keep in mind that God is the Lord of both wrath and love, judgment and grace.

Nahum described Yahweh as a powerful God who is the avenging Lord against violence, cruelty, and injustice. If this God can make mountains move, oceans froth, and the earth heave, then no one, including the mighty Assyrian warriors, can stand against Yahweh’s indignation.

It is also true that with the Lord God there is abundant goodness which provides protection for those who seek refuge in Yahweh. Throughout Holy Scripture, including the prophecy of Nahum, divine vengeance and wrath is continually set in the context of divine mercy and grace.

Because God is holy and just, sovereign and powerful, God is Judge of the nations. Mercy only really has meaning when wrath is necessary. If everything were always unicorns and bunny rabbits, there would never be a need for mercy. But we live in a terribly broken world in which oppression and cruelty too often make sinister inroads into our lives.

Although the Lord is slow to anger and God’s fuse is long, divine patience has its limits. Yahweh does not let calloused hearts and selfish minds go on with impunity. Eventually, there will be hell to pay.

God saw all the foolish destruction and misery that Assyria brought to others. And so, Nineveh would see their own terrible destruction. This is why we now talk of Assyria as a long-past ancient empire; they no longer exist in any way, shape, or form. The Lord wiped the Assyrians off of the map.

As for Judah, there would be comfort. Even though it was true that God used the Assyrians to extend judgment upon Israel, there was also merciful relief and gracious rest from Assyria for the people.

With God, relief, rest, and recovery are sure and certain. Violence and oppression shall not last. Mercy always ends up winning the day.

This is most assuredly good news for us who seek the just, the right, and the good in this fallen world. The foolish decisions of contemporary politicians shall not win the day. God will have the final word on all things.

In a time when it seems the other shoe keeps dropping, we can be a hopeful people, because there is a transcendent God in heaven who sees it all, and will have mercy upon the innocent, while judging the guilty.

Therefore, those who engage in grift, corruption, violence, and cruelty, with no concern for the weak and needy, will eventually find themselves on the side of God’s vengeful wrath.

Whereas, those who are powerless against an evil misuse of authority, eventually they will know what it is to experience hope and deliverance from that evil. They shall know safety and perfect peace.

The overarching message of Nahum is that God is sovereign over all the world and all of history. The Lord will judge and love according to God’s own sense of divine wrath and divine grace.

Since God is the ultimate champion of the frustrated and the helpless, God will by no means acquit the guilty. The universe is God’s dominion, and in this dominion, violence, corruption, and oppression will face an awesome judgment which eradicates evil.

No nation, no person, and no government can withstand the God who is over all. Every corrupt person, especially politicians who have their eye only on themselves, should be on notice.

O God, by whom the meek are guided in decision-making, and light rises up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you would have us to do, so that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in your light we may see light, and in your straight path may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Christ’s Parable of the Weeds (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Wheat Fields with Stacks, by Vincent Van Gogh, 1888

Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.

“The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’

“‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed.

“‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked.

“‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn….’”

Then, leaving the crowds outside, Jesus went into the house. His disciples said, “Please explain to us the story of the weeds in the field.”

Jesus replied, “The Son of Man is the farmer who plants the good seed. The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one. The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels.

“Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand! (New Living Translation)

As you have likely noticed, not everyone in this world is supportive of you and what you’re doing.

The good work we do – no matter how competently and expertly done – will be undermined by others. There will be people with selfish and sinister agendas who put roadblocks in our way to frustrate our ongoing work. They don’t like what we are doing and what we’re trying to accomplish.

Unfortunately, that’s just the way it is. So then, one of the big questions for all of us is this: How do we live with others trying to subvert the good work we are doing for the Kingdom of Heaven?

One of the most popular responses is to strike the enemy on their cheek just as hard or harder in the way they slapped you. It is responding to evil in kind.

But if we will ponder for a moment, we shall realize that is makes no sense to repay evil with evil. Why? Because then the Kingdom of Hell has just snagged this one with doing evil in order to defend good work – which ends-up ruining the whole enterprise.

No, instead let’s heed the words of Christ to turn the other cheek and not retaliate; and live the words of the Apostle Paul who reminded us to overcome evil by doing good. (Matthew 5:38-42; Romans 12:14-21)

Yes, all judgment belongs to the Lord, and not us. In today’s Gospel lesson the reasoning Jesus provides for non-retaliation and non-violence is both reasonable and practical.

Field with Stacks of Wheat, by Vincent Van Gogh, 1890

Christ told his disciples that the enemy’s efforts at thwarting our good works are sinister enough to bring about a situation where evil is so close to the good that to eradicate the evil is to therefore also do away with the good.

If you have weeds in your field or your garden, you know that some of those nasty weeds cannot be pulled out of the ground without yanking-up the good plant along with it. Instead, you’ll have to wait until you can harvest the plant, and then you can safely get rid of the offending weed.

Let’s think, then, about our own situations right now in this world. For myself, it seems that every single day I am upset and angered over decisions made by those in political power, because they almost always involve oppressing and/or harming powerless people.

Yet, to immediately stop the offending persons and organizations would involve some wicked methods. Instead, if I want to maintain doing good, I will have my time to unseat them through the vote, or writing my Senators, or directly contacting the offices of the institutions, etc.

Some of our responses may seem tepid in comparison to the evil being perpetrated, yet we can be sure that there is a time coming in which the reality of divine judgment will handle the wicked once and for all. At the proper time, heaven’s angels will do their own good work of removing evil and eradicating it forever.

We need to put our efforts into doing the very best at living in harmony with one another, promoting peace, and being peacemakers – using our greatest and most effective tools of humility, gentleness, grace, and love. These are the proper fertilizers which will keep the plants of righteousness and justice growing and thriving, even though they are surrounded by a bunch of close weeds.

As maddening as it is to see those weeds grow up alongside the plants, nowhere in Holy Scripture are we called or encouraged to become judge, jury, and executioner to the wicked.

Furthermore, Christians are nowhere called to force onto others Jesus as King through a theocratic nation, using authoritarian means. We are called, rather, to put our faith where our fear is and exercise a faith that does good work through love. (Galatians 5:6)

Equipped by the Spirit, we urge oppressors, tyrants, and egotists to turn from their selfishness and amend their evil ways. And we are not called to force the Kingdom of Heaven on others by trying to ensconce a form of Christian nationalism. For Americans, many of our ancestors came to the New World in order to flee their home Christian nationalist countries who persecuted them and did evil to them.

“To identify any particular form of government with Christianity is a dangerous error, for it confounds the permanent with the transitory, the absolute with the contingent.” T.S. Eliot

It takes very little prodding for Christians with political power to move into glorifying violence and ignoring biblical injunctions to love enemies, seek peace, and grant grace.

God puts a high premium of looking after the poor and needy, and rescuing them from oppression and violence. The last thing we ought to be doing is becoming the violent oppressors ourselves!

Giving ourselves as ambassadors of reconciliation, speaking truth to power, and doing the work of peacemaking is a narrow and hard road to hoe. The easy way is typically the road of destruction. (Matthew 7:13-14)

As citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, we are to labor toward the things Jesus himself did: Challenge the arrogant religious types; offer mercy to the lowly and forgotten ones; warn of judgment; encourage faith; forgive generously; and speak words of truth in all places, including the halls of political power.

It is perfectly legitimate to disagree with others, but only if we ourselves are willing to defend their equally legitimate right to be disagreeable.

So, instead of always trying to snuff-out and vanquish our opponents with overt tools of evil, let us do the good work of winning their respect, living in peace with them, and affirming our shared humanity together.

We all have the right to be different; we don’t have the right to do evil and reprise evil with evil. The organizations, institutions, faith communities, corporations, and governments of this world are only as good as the people guarding that goodness through their good work, utilizing good means toward good ends.

Anyone with ears ought to listen and understand.

God of steadfast love and grace: Teach us your way and your truth. Root us in you alone, and help us to grow in grace and love, so that we may fulfill our role and our work in the reign of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

“But…!”

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog5 Comments

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
    he delivers them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:17-18, NIV)

“…you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.” Jesus (Matthew 15:6)

In talking with other so-called “Christians” who don’t live in Minneapolis or Minnesota about events in my home of the Twin Cities, I have found a disturbing trend among many of them.

Those who support the Trump administration and I.C.E. agent activity – of whom I personally know several – typically begin their responses to me with saying things such as: “Well, I don’t condone all of the tactics of I.C.E., but…”

Then they drone on, giving an apologetic for the murders and violence in Minnesota by blaming the protesters and/or the local leadership, all the while referring to them as “rioters.”

In the last several years, I have personally attempted to remove the word “but” from my vocabulary as much as possible. The reason I do this is that:

The use of “but” in a sentence is a way of invalidating everything that was said in the first part of the statement.

I would conjecture that the reason for even making a prefacing comment before using the word “but” is to try and soften what the person really wants to say and emphasize. In other words, it’s a way of trying to appear somewhat empathetic or compassionate, so that the other person will listen. That’s why I try and no longer use the word “but.”

In the past couple of years, I’ve even began calling out people who use this type of tactic with the word “but.” Instead of getting into an argumentative discussion (which is nearly always what happens when the “but” language is employed), I simply respond to the person, “No ‘buts’ in the urinal,” and ask them to reframe their statement without using the word.

I grew up in the era before public smoking bans. When I was a little kid, I remember smokers being everywhere in public, including restaurants. Typically, there was cigarette smoke just about everywhere – which also created a problem with cigarette butts.

Men’s public bathrooms were notorious for having cigarette butts in the urinals. Public places that had chronic problems with this practice would often put signs above the urinals stating, “NO BUTTS IN THE URINAL.”

Those signs always made me laugh hilariously because, well, I was a little boy and I took the message quite literally. After all, I was in a bathroom! (Even to this day, I laugh out loud anytime I see a sign while driving past a business which says, “Parking In Rear”).

I hope you get my point, as uncouth as it may be. There is no place for using the word “but” in a discussion with anyone, if you intend on simply invalidating what another has said or believes.

So, I have a real problem with the disingenuousness and attempted manipulation of much of the use of the word “but” with “Christians” whose intent is to invalidate my thought and practice of speaking and writing against the presence of I.C.E. in Minnesota, protesting their violence and perpetual lies, and constantly agitating for people to speak and act humanely.

Out of all the Old Testament prophets, perhaps Jeremiah had the worst problem with the “but” people. After all, such persons have always existed throughout history.

The prophet Jeremiah spoke out and against the popular notion that one could worship God and offer the proper sacrifices, but at the same time, do whatever the heck you want to do – including worship of other gods, and giving the shaft to the needy through terrible injustices.

“‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.” (Jeremiah 7:2-8, NIV)

According to the present Trump administration, the prophet Jeremiah would be labeled as a “domestic terrorist” for speaking out against the powers that be, and for prophesying judgment upon them for lying words and sacrilegious ways. He would receive that moniker because, in their understanding, he would be getting in the way of the kingdom’s operations.

As for me, because I have supposedly impeded I.C.E. operations in my own community through both word and action (according to their definition), I and my compassionate peace-loving family fits their understanding of “domestic terrorists,” even though we have done everything according to our limited abilities to practice de-escalation tactics, provide spiritual care to protesters and immigrants, and uphold the words and ways of Jesus, of whom we seek to follow with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

It is high time to dispense with the word “but” in our speech, and embrace the word “and.” I have a few suggestive examples:

“Even though we do not agree, I am sorry this has happened, and I grieve with you over these recent tragic deaths.”

“Although we are at loggerheads with each other, I too, believe that human life is sacred, and I will work toward peace and harmony in my community.”

“Yes, we disagree about many things, and I am here to listen and to seek to understand what you believe and why it is important to you.”

“And tell me more about that…”

“And I care about what happens to all of us in this world.”

“And I love you, despite the fact we aren’t on the same page about this.”

These are statements I long to hear people of faith say to each other… I’m still waiting… and so I’m still presently living with profound sadness in a world in which it is imperative that Christians put love where love is not.

Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart – especially those in Minneapolis who are both resident and non-resident – so that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Remembering Dr. King

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Pastor Tim's PonderingsLeave a comment

So the angel swung his sickle into the earth, and cut the vineyard of the earth, and he put what he reaped into the great winepress of God’s passionate anger. (Revelation 14:19, Common English Bible)

One of the things to keep in mind about Dr. Martin Luther, King Jr., especially on this day remembering his life and work, is that he was a committed Christian clergyman who had deep theological roots in everything he said and did.

King’s public speeches were filled with biblical allusions to the Old Testament prophets, and the New Testament writers. In his address to the Selma marchers, he said:

“How long will justice be crucified, and truth bear it?… It will not be long, because truth crushed to earth will rise again. How long? Not long, because you shall reap what you sow… How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.

How long? Not long, because: Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; He has loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword; His truth is marching on. He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat; He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat. O, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! Be jubilant my feet! Our God is marching on.”

It seems to me that Dr. King would clearly understand our present moment in the United States of America. Two months before his assassination, King preached to his Atlanta congregation, stating:

“God didn’t call America to do what she’s doing in the world now.”

Dr. King could say that because he knew the keen distinction between patriotism and nationalism. Patriotism is a critical affirmation of one’s own country with the desire and attempt to help correct it, peacefully and non-violently, when she is in error. Nationalism, however, is an uncritical support of one’s own nation, regardless of any immoral speech or unethical actions in the world.

King was able to hold a fierce patriotic spirit, while at the same time understanding a nationalistic fervor which contradicted true and real patriotism. In his “I Have a Dream” speech of 1963, Dr. King reminded his listeners:

“My dream is deeply rooted in the American dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true mean of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’”

Along with King’s hopeful patriotism, he expressed the sad reality of what he saw. Speaking a commencement address to Lincoln University students he said:

“Since the founding fathers of our nation dreamed this noble dream, America has been something of a schizophrenic personality, tragically divided against herself.”

Dr. King warned against a selfish and arrogant nationalism that champions one’s country at the expense of the world’s common welfare. He discerned that such narrow self-interest puts morality and ethical principles on the back burner of policy and practice. And once down that road, a nation will not stop “because of our pride and arrogance as a nation.”

A year before his death, King spoke at New York’s Riverside Church and called for “a worldwide fellowship that lifts neighborly concern beyond one’s tribe, race, class and nation,” insisting that this is “in reality a call for an all-embracing and unconditional love for all men.”

On this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I choose to remember that King’s words came from a place of scriptural wisdom which was hewn in the crucible of dedicated study, along with decided Christian conviction and practice that placed him in a long tradition of suffering saints who upheld what is most important in this life.

God’s justice for the weak and powerless, and God’s judgment against oppressive abuse, go hand-in-hand. It behooves us all to know which side of God we are really on.