Saturday Night Theologian
29 June 2003

Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24

"Evil Never Dies" has been used as the title, subtitle, or slogan for at least three movies in the past few years: Wishmaster II, Halloween: Resurrection, and the TBS original television movie Evil Never Dies. I can't say that I've seen any of these movies, but they all seem to be trying to latch onto a theme that's well-known to horror movie aficionados: bad things can happen any time, anywhere. Horror movies use exaggeration, caricature, and often the supernatural to paint a picture of evil that is scary, but at the same time sanitized. Moviegoers can scream while watching a film, then half an hour later they can laugh about how scared they were. Real life is not as dramatic as a horror movie, but it is often much scarier. There are maniacs, and murderers, and terrorists abroad. They may not be indestructible, but the evil that they do is much worse than what happens in horror movies. Horror movie villains typically pick off unsuspecting innocent victims one at a time. Real perpetrators of evil often kill dozens, hundreds, or even thousands over a limited period of time. Evil is real, yet the Bible has a message of hope: "Righteousness never dies." God is not the author of death, and God does not delight in the death of the living. That God rewards the righteous is encouraging to all who want to follow God, but what is righteousness? It is that aspect of a human's being that affirms God's divine nature. God is life, and to the extent that we are involved in that life, we are righteous. On the other hand, when we involve ourselves with death, and especially when we inflict death, we are unrighteous. When we watch a horror film, we're happy when the psychotic killer meets death himself. That's fine, as long as we realize that movies are make-believe, and servants of God should not hate real live people. If we find ourselves watching the news and rejoicing over the deaths of our national enemies, wicked terrorists, or brutal dictators, we need to stop and ask ourselves why. Why are we unable to see that God is the author of life, not death? Why do we side with the forces of evil (those that cause death) rather than good (those that bring life)? Why do we see evil in the deaths of certain innocents (e.g., Americans) and care nothing about the deaths of other innocents (e.g., Iraqis)? Until we address the evil that lies at the heart of ourselves as Christians, we have no business looking for evil in others. We need to be constantly reminded, "God created us in the image of his own eternity."

Lamentations 3:23-33

What is the proper response to oppression? Mahatma Gandhi led his followers throughout India in peaceful protests against the British Government. Their efforts resulted in an independent India. During the U.S. Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, Martin Luther King and others led peaceful demonstrations, marches, and sit-ins throughout the South, often in the face of police and state government-inspired violence. As a result, African Americans won an end to segregation, as well as the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. Huge nonviolent protests against the apartheid government in South Africa occurred in 1989, after years of primarily nonviolent protests. A few months later Nelson Mandela was freed from prison, and South Africa was on its way to having a new constitution and the first black majority government in its history. Of course, violent rebellions against governments seen as oppressive have been more common throughout history. The American and French revolutions were violent affairs that resulted in the overthrow of existing governments. On the other hand, the violent uprising in Tiananmen Square in China in 1989 and the Palestinian intifadas did not result in positive changes in their respective situations. The Jews whose leaders had been exiled in 587 B.C.E. were in a difficult situation. They felt oppressed by their rulers the Babylonians, yet armed rebellion didn't seem to be a viable option. The assassination of the Jewish puppet governor Gedaliah in 582 only led to more crackdowns on the part of the Babylonians, and the people were at a loss to know what to do. They believed that God had chosen them to be his people, but they were without their own land and their own rulers. The poet who penned Lamentations advised a non-violent approach, assuring the people of God's continued care for them. "It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. . . . For the Lord will not reject forever." The natural human response to oppression is violent resistance. Do we have the strength, or the faith, or the wisdom, to resist nonviolently? Because Americans live in a nation where there are more firearms than there are families, we tend to think of violent solutions to problems at home. And because we have the largest, best-equipped military in the world, we are prone to resort to violence to solve our international problems as well. But violence begets violence, and peace is rarely accomplished through violent means. We would do well to listen to the poet of Lamentations, who was content to say, in the midst of his people's suffering, "The Lord is my portion, therefore I will hope in him."

For another discussion of this passage, click here.

2 Corinthians 8:7-15

The industrialized world lives in great abundance today. Despite the current economic downturn (or recession), we in North America, Western Europe, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and elsewhere continue to enjoy tremendous prosperity relative to the other inhabitants of the planet. Whether our wealth is the result of adherence to capitalism, militarism, or innovation is a matter of debate, but there is no doubt that as a society, we are the richest people the world has ever known. However, a quick drive across the border into Mexico or Bulgaria, or a flight to North Korea or Ethiopia, reveals a different world. While people in the West are fat and happy, driving our cars, playing our video games, talking on our cell phones, and throwing away food, others who share our planet get by on one meal a day, if they can get that. According to Bread for the World, more than 800 million people, about one-eighth of the world's population, are hungry. Astonishingly, even developed countries have millions of citizens who don't have minimal amounts of food, clothing, or medicine at their disposal. What will Christians do about it? When Paul wrote the letter that became known as 2 Corinthians, he reminded them of the collection they were taking for the impoverished Christians of Jerusalem. He laid out a principle of giving that continues to have relevance today: "It is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need." "But," you might say, "I'm not rich; what can I afford to give?" If you have more than is necessary to meet your needs, you have something to give. "But I already give to the church!" That's good; continue to do so, but also give to the poor. "There are so many poor people; how do I decide where to start?" It really doesn't matter where you start. If your neighbor has needs, give her something. If you don't know anyone personally who is in dire straights, give to an organization like Bread for the World, or UNICEF, or World Vision, or some local group that ministers to the poor. "I've already given money; what more can I do?" Volunteer in a homeless shelter, a soup kitchen, a church-sponsored co-op. Go on a mission trip to an impoverished part of your state, or to an impoverished country. Remind your children to have concern for the poor and afflicted. Teach them that the Bible says time and again that God sides with the oppressed, and so should they. "When I look at the way my government spends money, I don't believe its priorities are right." Once your own family's spending habits more closely reflect the teachings of the Bible, it's important to turn your attention to the way your tax dollars are spent. How are your local and state governments spending the money you give them? Are they doing enough to meet the needs of the poorest members of society? The national government's spending priorities are seriously misguided and unbiblical. Become part of the political process, and support candidates who pledge to bring budget priorities more in line with the principles you espouse. Above all, don't give in to fear of terrorism or nationalistic intimidation. Between a few hundred and a few thousand people die every year from terrorist acts. More than 6 million children die every year from hunger-related causes. Where should our government's spending priorities be? Part of the world has a superabundance of wealth, and part of the world doesn't have enough to survive. What are you doing to bridge the gap?

For another discussion of this passage, click here.

Mark 5:21-43

When Donald Johanson awoke on the morning of November 30, 1974, he had already mapped out his day in his head. As leader of the paleoanthropological expedition in Ethiopia, he was behind on his paperwork. He had artifacts to catalog and letters to write. He was too busy to be bothered with going into the field. When Tom Gray, an American graduate student, came by his tent to suggest that they go together to map site 162, Johanson balked at first. How would he ever get the important work he had done? It's not like anyone else was going to do it! Nevertheless, he acquiesced, and the two men went into the field. When they returned to camp a few hours later, they had in their possession parts of the oldest, most complete ancient hominid skeleton ever discovered. "Lucy" was 3.5 million years old, and her discovery revolutionized the study of human evolution. But if Johanson hadn't taken the time to deviate from his schedule, she might never have been found. Jesus was on his way to the house of a very important Jewish official whose daughter lay on the brink of death. Jairus was very concerned that Jesus arrive as quickly as possible, and a crowd followed closely to see what would happen. In the crowd was a woman with a chronic physical ailment. The problem, a low-grade hemorrhage, had afflicted her for twelve years, but it was not debilitating. It was definitely inconvenient, and it probably rendered her ritually unclean, so she would have been prohibited from worshiping in the temple. Still, a chronic bleeder hardly compares in significance with the imminent death of a young child. Nevertheless, as Jesus walked along, the woman with the ailment touched the edge of his clothes and was instantly healed. Jesus, sensing that someone had been healed, stopped to query the crowd. How shocked must Jairus have been to see Jesus delaying to find out who had touched him. Who touched him?! Everyone touched him! When the woman came forward to confess that it was she who had been healed, Jairus might have wondered to himself, "Couldn't this woman have waited for healing? Her problem is not that serious; my daughter's is!" Jesus took the time to seek out the woman and to reassure her that her faith had been rewarded. In the meantime, people came from Jairus' house to report that his daughter had died. Undaunted, Jesus continued on and performed a great miracle, raising the twelve-year old girl from her deathbed. The fact that the woman had suffered from her affliction for twelve years, the exact age of Jairus' daughter, is perhaps not coincidental. Though the woman's sufferings were not life-threatening, she had been suffering for as long as the girl had been alive. Both the girl and the woman received new lives. When Jesus stopped to minister to the woman, he demonstrated that meeting needs is always important, regardless of the severity of the problem. If your co-worker has something he wants to talk about, you can probably put off your meeting for five minutes. If your daughter needs to discuss something personal, take time to listen. If you have a dollar in your pocket, give it to someone who needs it worse than you do. The world has great needs, and we need to be involved in meeting those needs, but along the way, let's not forget to minister to those God puts in our path.

For another discussion of this passage, click here.