Let It Go

Let It Go

November 24, 2024
1 John 1:8-10, Philippians 4:6-7, Psalm 73:1-28

If we claim, “We don’t have any sin,” we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from everything we’ve done wrong.  If we claim, “We have never sinned,” we make him a liar and his word is not in us.

1 John 1:8-10

Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

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Craig J. Sefa

Let It Go

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It is far to easy to be overwhelmed by the evil in the world around us.  Hatred, greed, fear and suffering of every kind seem like they are only getting worse.  We wonder why it seems that “bad people” seem to get away with everything while those who are genuinely striving to do what is right so often end up at the bottom.  Our cries are not new.  Even the Psalmist cried out to God asking why the wicked seemed to prosper (Psalm 73). 

As we approach Thanksgiving, let me offer two truths and a way forward regarding this pressing question.  First, God is not blessing the wicked or cursing the righteous.  Things happen, for good or bad, to all people regardless of how “good” or “bad” they might be.  The rain falls on the just and the unjust.  Furthermore, Jesus shows us in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5) that those who do not seem very “blessed” by the world are already blessed by God. 

Secondly, we should approach the question of good things happening to bad people or even bad things happening to good people with a healthy dose of humility.  John writes that if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves (1 John 1:8) and Jesus himself says that no one is “good” (Mark 10:18).  The idea that good things or bad things should happen to people based on our merit is a foolish notion because at the end of the day, none of us are truly “deserving.”  God’s love is not something that can be earned, but a gift freely given to all, to those who deserve it the least, and to those who mistakenly think they deserve it the most.

There is no easy answer to the injustice in our world and the seeming lopsidedness of blessing when it comes to those who gain power and wealth through evil means vs. those who suffer for doing what is right.  There is, however, a way we can begin to reframe our perspective and build resilience in the face of suffering and injustice.  It is the simple act of giving thanks. 

When life feels unfair, gratitude keeps us grounded and allows us to focus on God’s faithfulness rather than the fleeting circumstances around us. Gratitude opens us to see God’s blessing in places we might not have otherwise noticed.  And gratitude humbles us to realize that though there are many who unfairly gain blessings on the backs of others, it is also true that God is already blessing the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek and merciful, those who hunger & thirst for righteousness, those who are pure in heart, the peacemakers, and even those who are persecuted. 

Gratitude won’t solve injustice, but it will open our hearts to hope, peace, love & joy even in the darkness.

How Many Times?

How Many Times

November 17, 2024
Matthew 18:21-35, Matthew 6:14-15, Colossians 3:12-14

Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, how many times should I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Should I forgive as many as seven times?”

 Jesus said, “Not just seven times, but rather as many as seventy-seven times.

 Matthew 18:21-22

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2024-11-17 - How Many Times

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Seventy seven or more accurately 70 x 7 times.  In one humorous telling of this story, Peter continues the conversation…

“Seriously Jesus, first you tell me to forgive the one  who sins against me and now you’re going to make me to math too?!”

Taken literally, I suppose that means we only have to forgive someone 490 times, but if we’re counting that high, I’m not sure genuine forgiveness is really on our minds.

Seven is commonly used in scripture as a number of completeness or fullness.  In other words, we are to forgive the full or complete number of times… which would be every time.  At first glance, this seems a bit unreasonable, until we understand the parable that follows. 

A servant owed the king 10,000 talents.  I have seen several different calculations on what this would look like in 21st century American dollars, but needless to say, they are all exorbitant amounts.  There is no way this debt can ever be repaid, and yet the king releases him of the debt rather than forcing him to pay for the rest of his life. 

Of course the servant is beyond grateful, until he comes across someone else who owes him a much smaller amount, perhaps only a few dollars by comparison.  In turn, he refuses to forgive the debt owed to him.  When the king learns of this, he is furious.  He reinstates the tremendous debt and throws him into prison.

Perhaps one reason we struggle so much with forgiveness is because we don’t realize just how much we have been forgiven.  We don’t appreciate the value of the forgiveness and mercy we have experienced in our lives, not only from God but also from others.

It’s amazing how stark this truth becomes when we look at it in the financial terms Jesus lays out.  Forgiveness sometimes feels abstract.  We can’t always put a price on how much someone has hurt us.  But when money is involved, we know exactly how much we are owed and how much we owe others.  When we see others in debt, we can be quick to judge.  We don’t ask what happened that led to such debt, what tragic circumstances or exploitive systems may have led them to being in over their head.  We simply demand that they pay up, just like the man who the servant refused to forgive.  Yet when it comes to our own, though we my do our best to pay, there may very well come a time when we ask for mercy, for an extension, for a reversal of unfair fees, or some other relief during a hard time when other expenses overwhelm us. 

When Jesus forgives those who hung him on the cross, he declares that they do not know what they are doing.  Perhaps that alone is a good reason to forgive.  We simply don’t know what’s going on in the other person’s life.  Maybe they don’t fully understand what they have done.  Maybe a bit of mercy will help them turn things around.  May we forgive as God has forgiven us. 

Leveling Up on Love

Leveling Up On Love

November 10, 2024
Luke 6:27-38. Matthew 5:43-48

But I say to you who are willing to hear: Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on the cheek, offer the other one as well. If someone takes your coat, don’t withhold your shirt either. Give to everyone who asks and don’t demand your things back from those who take them. Treat people in the same way that you want them to treat you.

If you love those who love you, why should you be commended? Even sinners love those who love them.

 Luke 6:27-32 (CEB)

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Craig J. Sefa

Leveling Up On Love

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In Matthew’s telling of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).  Luke’s rendition shows us exactly what such love looks like in action.  Turn the other cheek, give freely without expecting anything in return, lend without expecting repayment, show compassion, don’t judge, forgive.” 

Two things I find particularly interesting here:

1. The editors of the Common English Translation title this section of Luke, “Behaving as God’s Children” in contrast to Matthew’s section header, “The Law of Love.”    It’s easy to talk about love in abstract terms, but Luke seems to realize how easy it is to separate what we call “love” from actual actions or behavior.  There are a lot of people who claim to love everyone while behaving in extremely unloving ways. 

2. It seems that Luke’s version of this command is used far more rarely than Matthew’s these days.  A lot of people want to call themselves “Christian” without being bogged down with the nuances of actually “behaving as God’s children.”  Many Christian groups are far more vocal in deciding who they think God’s enemies are and then declaring God’s wrath and judgment upon them.  Some even go to the extreme of seeing themselves as instruments of God’s judgment to condemn or punish the wicked.

In our world, “an eye for an eye” is much more popular than “turn the other cheek.”  Forgiveness and compassion are seen as weak.  And let’s not even talk about  the money issue, “lending without expecting to be paid back in full.”  Our economy thrives on exploiting people’s debt so they pay back far more than they ever borrowed, often over the course of a lifetime. 

Funny how the rules of our culture run so contrary to Jesus’ most basic teaching, and yet we see no conflict between calling oneself a Christian while behaving in greedy, hateful and judgmental ways toward others.  I wonder how many of the rules and laws we want to pass to keep our enemies (or political opponents) in line would be acceptable terms if similar laws were passed against us. 

Many Christians today have a persecution complex.  Despite having a lot more freedom than we realize and holding significant political power at every level, we tend to feel like everybody is out to get us… everybody is our enemy.  Even if that was true, which I do not believe, I wonder how our relationships with those “so-called” enemies might change if we behaved toward them the way Jesus taught and modeled for us. 

Maybe, just maybe, we would make a lot more friends.

Caught Between Truths

Caught Between Truths

November 3, 2024
John 18:33-19:16, Psalm 2

Jesus replied, “My kingdom doesn’t originate from this world. If it did, my guards would fight so that I wouldn’t have been arrested by the Jewish leaders. My kingdom isn’t from here.”

“So you are a king?” Pilate said.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. I was born and came into the world for this reason: to testify to the truth. Whoever accepts the truth listens to my voice.”

“What is truth?” Pilate asked…

… From that moment on, Pilate wanted to release Jesus.

John 18:36-38, 19:12

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Craig J. Sefa

Caught Between Truths

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Jesus is clear that his kingdom is not of this world and that his primary purpose is to “testify to the truth.”  Pilate responds with the question that has haunted us all for over 2,000 years… “What is truth?”

Here in the 21st century, we are still sitting on the edge of our seats waiting for Jesus’ answer, as though the conversation somehow got cut short.  And in the meantime, we have had more than enough “truth-sayers” trying to fill in the blanks with their own answers to this seemingly impossible question.  As a result, we now live in a culture where truth is so drowned out by lies that we can hardly tell the difference.  When lies are told often enough, they don’t necessarily become facts, but they do create a certain kind of truth that shapes reality.  When enough people believe a lie and act on it, it’s veracity no longer matters.  Real people get hurt, and most often it is the innocent and marginalized that are harmed the most. 

Just a few weeks ago a gunman was arrested in North Carolina over threats of potential harm intended against FEMA workers.  Lies and conspiracies about the government relief organization have run rampant in the aftermath of two disastrous hurricanes and the fact that they are not true doesn’t change the real harm they are causing to relief workers and storm victims in desperate need of help.  Sadly, this is only one of many examples where the truth or lack of truth has become irrelevant and caused great harm to entire groups of people throughout our nation during the current election cycle.

The same reality was true for Jesus.  It didn’t really matter whether he was a king or not, or what kind of kingdom he proclaimed.  It didn’t matter if he actually deserved to die.  For Pilate, and far too often for us, there was a voice far louder than truth.  It was the voice of fear.  The lynch-mob that yelled the loudest got to decide what truth was.  Jesus is guilty… Crucify him!

And in the end, truth surrendered to the fear of the people and quite literally died at the hands of both the mob and the state. 

Jesus says that if his Kingdom were of this world, he would respond with violence as the world does, but instead he chooses not to fight because his Kingdom is not of this world.  How tragic then that his followers across the centuries continue to fight.  We continue to stir up people’s fear with lies and conspiracies for the sake of political power, wealth and security. 

Perhaps the mobs of fearmongers understand Jesus’s truth better than it seems.  The truth of God’s kingdom will not give them the earthly power they desire.  It will call them to surrender and to lay down their lives for the sake of love, even the love of their enemies. 

“What is truth” indeed, that it would call us to sacrifice so much?