From a sermon delivered at Anaheim United Methodist Church, 2003.
Based on Matthew 17: 1-9, The Transfiguration of Jesus
Based on Matthew 17: 1-9, The Transfiguration of Jesus
I have been thinking a lot about what Jesus would have me
say and do as your preacher in these days when our nation prepares for war with
Iraq . There is a great part of me that has wanted
to simply steer clear of the topic. In
so many respects it would be easier to pretend that the gospel of Jesus Christ
had nothing to say about this controversial matter of war and peace. But to pretend that the gospel has nothing to
say about this matter would be to succumb to the wishful thinking of
Peter. It would be to pretend that ours
is a Christ who stays on the mountaintop, separated from the complications of
human history. It would be to deny that
Jesus came down off the mountain.
And
so today I want to share with you the pondering of my heavy heart in these
days when the war drums beat so loudly across our nation and the world. Before I do, I have to share with you that I
do not enter this preaching minefield lightly.
I know that there are many of you, perhaps most, who will disagree with
some, perhaps many, of my opinions on this matter. My intent is not to force my opinion on you,
nor to suggest that you should conform your views to mine. It is my intent, though, to invite you, to
challenge you, to think hard and pray hard about this matter of our nation
going to war in the coming days and weeks.
I want to encourage you to think and pray about this matter not just as
Americans, but also, indeed first and foremost, as Christians.
I
have presided at five funerals in the last two months – three were for veterans
and two were for the spouses of veterans.
It was for me a privilege to participate in those services, and to honor
the lives of Marion Disbennett, Al Kent, Emma Crowder. I was pleased, as a part of their services,
to honor their service in the military.
I was moved by the presentation of the colors and the playing of
taps. And to those of you who have
served our country in this way I say I am glad to honor your service, too. I understand that the freedoms we enjoy in
this country have been bought at a price.
I understand that a part of that price has been paid in blood, your own
and the blood of some who did not survive the battles. I am glad to honor the service of Tim Smith
and Tim Zenner, members of this congregation who are presently serving in the
armed forces. I understand that
military service represents for many an expression of “service above self” that is consistent with
the highest ideals of Christian faith.
So to you who have served in our nation’s armed services as an
expression of your Christian commitment I say “Thank you … thank you for
heeding God’s call to service.”
I
have also walked in peace marches these last few months – and there I have
joined a number of you from this congregation, ranging in age from eight to
eighty. It was for me a privilege to be
a part of those crowds, too. I
understand that for many of you opposition to the war represents a true
expression of your own calling in Jesus Christ.
I understand that the peaceful and democratic expressions of opposition
to government policies are in their own way uniquely patriotic. So
to those of you who are convinced our government is in the wrong in its
aggressive posturing vis-à-vis Iraq, and to those of you who in so many varied
ways are exercising your voice and working to oppose this war, I also say
“thank you … thank you for heeding God’s call on your life.” It is not too late to hope and pray and work
for peace.
These
experiences of recent weeks have made evident to me what you all know to be
true. Within our congregation you can
find the full range of opinions about the merits of the case that President
Bush has put forth for going to war with Iraq . This is a stark and simple truth -- we are
not of one mind on this matter, and probably never will be.
What
are we to make of this, that followers of the same Christ can come to such
different conclusions about the prospect of America going to war? It seems that we have come down off the
mountaintop, determined to follow this transfigured Jesus, this beloved Son of
God, and some of us are marching off to war and others marching against the
war. Can we find no common ground, no
places to walk together, in this difficult and divisive time?
I
believe we can, and I want to try to define this common ground by articulating
a series of prayers. These are my
prayers for this difficult time – I invite you to join me in them.
First,
we can pray that greater freedom and justice would be brought to the people of Iraq . I have heard no one dispute the argument of
our government that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a butcher. Surely we can all pray that a new day would
dawn for the people of Iraq .
Second,
we can pray that freedom and justice would grow in our own nation. It is right and good that we should celebrate
the accomplishments of our nation. But
to pretend that we have reached the fullest expression of God’s desire for
humankind … to pretend that there is no room for our own improvement … to
pretend that the kingdom
of God and the United States of America
are merely synonyms for one another … to think this way is to commit the sin of
idolatry. We must pray that our own
nation would continue to grow, that we ourselves would allow for the
possibility that God is not finished with us yet.
Third,
we can still pray that these greater goods of freedom and justice be brought
about without bloodshed. There is still
reason to hope that Saddam Hussein will submit to the pressures of the United
Nations, either by allowing weapons inspections to run their full course, or by
acquiescing to the pressure of the family of nations and surrendering
power. I invite you to pray with me that
President Bush and the leaders of our nation would pursue to the fullest extent
the possibility of a peaceful resolution.
Fourth,
if the war comes, we can all pray for those who will face the horrors of
war. I have no idea whether either of
the young men from our church will come into harm’s way, but I invite you to
join me in praying for their safety, and the safety of all soldiers, of
whatever nation, who will find themselves engaged in hostilities. War is a brutal business, and certainly we
can pray together that as many young men and women as possible, from all
nations, from whatever sides of the conflict, will return safely to their homes
and families.
Fifth,
if the war comes, we can also pray for the innocents who will suffer the
greatest cost of war, as innocents always suffer the greatest cost of war. It is simple dishonesty to minimize the
consequences of war. If the war comes
people will suffer. And ours is a God who is not dispassionate in the face of
human suffering. Surely we can pray for
the innocents of this and every war.
Sixth,
if the war comes, we can pray that God will bring about a greater degree of
global justice, even through the imperfect instrument of war. The witness of our scriptures is that God is
not dependent on the work of human agents to bring about good. I think of Joseph’s famous declaration to his
brothers at the close of the book of Genesis: “You intended it for evil, but
God intended it for good.” Surely we can
pray that God will take the impure intentions of all the parties to this
conflict and somehow weave from these strands a tapestry of the greater good.
Seventh,
if the war comes, we can pray that our nation’s leaders will consider long and
hard the implications of an ever-expanding military posture for America in the
world. I have heard advisers to President Bush suggest that war with Iraq is but the
first of many such “preemptive” battles that our nation may be forced to fight
in its effort to rid the world of terrorism.
This prospect of “permanent war” causes me great anguish and
concern. I heard former President Jimmy
Carter interviewed this week; he offered that he has never seen a time when
anti-Americanism has run so high around the world. I fear that an ever-expanding military
posture, should the Administration pursue it, would not only invite untold
suffering on other nations, but would also be akin to painting a bigger and
bigger target on our own back.
Eighth,
if the war comes, we can pray that this present conflict will not escalate into
a “clash of civilizations.” This is my
greatest fear. Muslim fundamentalists
are working hard to turn this into a “holy war,” and I worry that some of the
rhetoric issued forth by our nation’s leaders is only fueling these fires. I find it presumptuous to set our nation the
goal of “ridding the world of evildoers,” as President Bush has done. I recognize his authority to make the
judgment of whether war in Iraq
is necessary; but I hope and pray that he will recognize the limits of his
authority. I pray he will leave the
project of cosmic morality in God’s hands.
Ninth,
and finally, we can pray that we will grow in our love for one another, even in
our differences. Just as true peace is
more than the mere absence of hostilities, so true Christian love is more than
the mere absence of disagreement. In
many respects the true test of our love for one another as brothers and sisters
in Christ comes precisely in those times when we disagree with one
another. We could all simply avoid the
controversial topics where faith and politics intersect, but this would be, in
effect, to fail to share our truest selves with one another. The true challenge for me, as your pastor, is
to love you and accept you even as you may support this war. The true challenge for you, as members of
this congregation, is to love me and accept my service as the pastor of this
church even as I am opposed to this war.
These
are my prayers – I invite you to join me in them. I am making them available to you in printed
form, so that you can take them home with you and consider them prayerfully and
privately, or so that you can share them with friends. I also invite you to engage with me in
conversation about these prayers. Are
you able to pray these prayers with me?
If not, why not? I would like to
hear from you the prayers that you will be praying in the days and weeks to
come.
Mark’s
gospel tells us that when Jesus comes down off the mount of his
transfiguration, he instructs his disciples to “tell no one” about what they
have witnessed, nor about the voice they have heard. This is the beginning of a great puzzle in
the gospel of Mark, what has come to be known across the ages as the puzzle of
the “messianic secret.” Why does Jesus
persistently tell his disciples to refrain from revealing his identity as the
chosen one of God?
The
most plausible answer, to my mind, is that Jesus does not want others dictating
to him the nature of his mission. This
is the great risk we run at times of controversy within the church, that one
party or another will elevate their understandings to the status of “gospel
truth.” I think when we do this, when we
would pretend to an absolute belief that our views are God’s views, the word
from upon high is the same to us as it was to Peter. “This is my beloved Son; listen to him!” And then, like Peter, we come down off the
mountain, and we do our best to follow Jesus, wherever he may lead us.
Comments
Post a Comment