I found myself meditating on some different scriptures right after the attacks on the U.S. Capitol on January 6th (which was Epiphany Day on the church calendar). We also had just finished our online Bible study that morning. We had been looking at portions of Acts 22 and 23 – covering topics like defensive anger, religiously-motivated violence, organized death threats, riots, respect for authority, conspiracies against innocent people, inept leadership responses, etc. Right after it was over was when I got the call telling me about the riots in Washington, D.C. The timing of it all seemed providential.
And then I found myself looking at this line: “…you delivered me from the violent” (II Samuel 22:49b). It was part of a selection in II Samuel 22:47-49 that I had planned ahead of time to preach on for the next Sunday. And that made me think of the line from the Lord’s Prayer, which we pray each week: “…deliver us from evil.” There are two variations of the Lord’s Prayer in the New Testament. The most popular one is in Matthew 6:9-13. The one in Luke 11:2-4 is more abbreviated and lesser-known. Matthew’s version is longer because it records Jesus praying more explanatively, fleshing out what each line of the prayer means. The Lukan version actually ends with the petition that says “Lead us not into temptation” (or better “Lead us not into the time of trial”). But what does that mean? It means that we’re praying for God to deliver us from evil (or better, to “deliver us from the evil one”). To understand how this works each of us needs to be cognizant of the potential for evil within ourselves. Around Epiphany it’s common to study the narrative of the evil king Herod (in Matthew 2:1-23), who went to great lengths in trying to kill Jesus – seeing Jesus as a threat instead of a savior. The violence was a bit like the Sandy Hook shootings in 2012. It was cruel, murderous, and directed at small children. Douglas R.A. Hare, onetime Professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, addressed it in this way: “Scoff not at Herod until you have acknowledged the Herod in yourself.” The rage that I’m so quick to judge in other people, I need to be careful of in myself. I’m susceptible to that rage too. And it’s stuff like that which leads to the violence that happened at the Capitol. I find this interesting as I turn back to the above portion of David’s psalm in II Samuel 22 (which, by the way, is nearly identical to Psalm 18). It’s a full-throated cry of praise: “The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation.” I learned this line by singing it in a praise song at Christian youth camps years ago. But the praise is couched in a larger experience. Think of all the dangers and hostility David experienced in the preceding chapters of I and II Samuel. He reflected on his enemies: “…[you] brought me out from my enemies; you exalted me above my adversaries…” What’s interesting is that he doesn’t lament that he had enemies. He doesn’t try to wish them away. Instead, he sees them as part of God’s larger working plan. This is true in life. In order to get to where you can praise God enthusiastically, you have to go through some dangers and tough times. You may have to face some enemies. But it’s part of forming who you are; and it certainly was that way for Jesus. His enemies persecuted Him almost from the time He came out of the womb. And they eventually did put Him to a violent death – but then, of course, He rose up from the dead. And that gives us hope for pressing on in ages of violence and rage. God can protect us from outside threats. But He also seeks to protect us by cleansing our hearts of what is evil. And in either case we’re assured that His grace has the final word. God bless you. Andrew McHenry – Pastor First Congregational Church
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Andrew McHenryI am a husband, a Congregational pastor, and a native Kansan currently living in Thermalito, California. In the past I have also been a prison chaplain and a youth pastor. Interests include reading, railroads, prog rock, KU, and the KC Royals. Archives
March 2024
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