Sunday, August 19, 2012

Fair Fight

Ephesians 5:15-20
Luke 12:49-15


'All is fair in love and war'.  I'm not sure where that phrase came from or what kind of philosophy or virtue it tries to express, but I don't think it can honestly be said that 'all is fair in love' in the same context as all being fair in war.  Mindless expressions as these are as careless and as condescending as advising our children to 'follow their hearts' knowing as we should that an undeveloped or underdeveloped spiritual heart can lead to more trouble - and ultimately more heart ACHE - if 'think first' is not part of that advice.  Let's face it; "if it feels good, do it" is NOT good advice!  It is horrible, it is senseless, it is heartless, it is irresponsible, it is downright ungodly dangerous, and it is incredibly self-serving - that is, it is ANTI-Christ!

When we are speaking in terms of Christian theology and what our Lord expects and commands of us for the sake of the Church and the Gospel, 'fair' will hardly ever enter into the picture!  At least, not "fair" on our own terms.  Love is not always fair.  War is never fair, and life in general is often extremely unfair especially if in each we do little more than follow our own hearts because as it is written in the Proverbs: "He who trusts in his own heart (that is, his own impulses, his own instincts, his own sense of pride and what is right) is a fool" (28:26a); probably the same "fool" who says there is no God. 

These days it seems everyone - inside and outside the Church - is in more of a fighting mood than in a loving mood.  Love seems only to get us hurt because to truly love as the Lord commands makes us vulnerable - but if we fight back, at least our adversaries will know where we stand and maybe they'll back off.  Well, they might - BUT - only to regroup! 

Life is getting even more complicated and we seem threatened from all sides, all of which has the appearance of general hostility toward Christians.  Several years ago prayer was removed from public schools, and that just was not fair - to Christians.  Courts have since ruled that prayer is not allowed at public school functions such as ball games, and that also does not seem fair - to Christians.  We forget, however, or do not know that the Courts have never said we "cannot" pray any time or anywhere; they only ruled we "cannot" compel others to participate such as through the use of a PA system owned by the public (aka, "state") school. 

In each of these and many other instances, we feel overpowered by the authority of the secular state which seems not impartial to religion but specifically hostile toward Christianity.  It's not fair, we say, because 'Christians founded this country on Christian principles' and/or 'Christians are in the majority; therefore Christians should make the rules and call the shots'.  It's a nice idea for some Christians, of course, and that Day will one day be upon us but it will not be "Christians" in charge - it will be the Lord and those He appoints upon His return (Luke 12:44)!  Until that Day, however, Christians cannot always get along or even agree on fundamental doctrine, and individual churches have been destroyed over the simplest of silly arguments such as the color of carpet, where to hang a picture, or where to place a table.  How have we come to believe we can - or even should - be trusted to run a whole country while the Church is itself in such decline??

St. Paul advises the Ephesians, "Be careful how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time because the days are evil.  So do not be foolish (remember the Proverb!), but understand what the will of the Lord is."  It is important for Christians to note - with jealous intensity, I might add - that St. Paul did NOT say, 'Be careful how others live.'  And when Jesus warns His disciples that the burden of making peace with an adversary is upon US, He is advising us that if we are only protecting our frail egos, our senseless pride, or our constitutional rights (no matter how "right" we may think we are!) and are not honestly assessing and measuring our part in the conflict according to "the will of the Lord", it could well be we who will be handed over to the judge and thrown into prison.  WE could be the ones under condemnation until "WE have paid the very last penny."  It doesn't seem fair, but "fair" does not factor into the Holy Standards by which the people of the Holy Church are held accountable and will be judged on the Day of the Lord!

I admit this is all a bitter pill to swallow sometimes, but Jesus and St. Paul are both offering remarkably sound advice within the very harsh reality that life is never fair, especially within the nature of conflict itself, because everything is subjective.  When human temperaments and human impulses begin to clash with Christian principles, if we are living faithfully, we should expect to get stepped on - and we should answer that violation by a sound understanding of "what the will of the Lord is", NOT according to what we think we are entitled to - because when we think in terms of "fair", we are only thinking in terms of what WE want and what WE think we are entitled to.

None of this is to say Christians do not have the means to fight back, but we are compelled by Scripture to fight with the understanding that even though "we live as human beings, we do not wage war according to human standards ... we are ready to punish every disobedience WHEN OUR OBEDIENCE IS COMPLETE" (2 Corinthians 10:3, 6).  Remember the "log in our eye" verses the "speck in our brother's eye" thing?  Ouch.

"Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.  If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.  Never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay', says the Lord ... do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:17-19,21).

An evil act at the hands of a person who only thinks he is right according to his own standards and self-serving desire is still an evil act, and only puts us at war within ourselves in doing what we would prefer to do and neglecting the better part of what we are called to do.  So when Jesus says He came to bring "division rather than peace", is He only referring to the inherent conflict between those who will believe and choose to follow Him, and those who will not?  I think maybe there is much more to it than that because even though there are those obvious external conflicts, there is also that internal conflict between doing what we have been conditioned to do (impulses, instincts, and sense of entitlement), and what we are called to do by our Lord.  That, I think, is the worst conflict of all because when we drill down to the ultimate source of the conflict, we will almost always find "pride" at the core protecting the "ego". 

It all boils down to whom or what we trust and believe.  We call Christ our Lord, but are we prepared to obey Him as Lord?  If not, then we do not consider Him our "Lord".  We call Jesus the Savior, but are we prepared to trust Him fully to judge what is truly fair, truly right, truly just?  If not, then we do not seriously consider Him the "Savior of the world".  We might often rather call our own shots and be our own judge according to our own standards, those standards we sometimes arrogantly refer to as "common" sense.  Such is an impossible standard because all is not "common" to each and every human person.  "Common" sense arrogantly assumes everyone had the same background, the same upbringing, the same advantages, the same education, and the same experiences.  Such, also, is ultimately our understanding of what is "fair" - according to what WE know and what WE want. 

Leading up to our lesson from Luke's gospel, Jesus is asked, "Lord, are you telling this parable for us - or - for everyone?" (12:41).  The parable is of the master who has gone away and the faithful slave who lives as though the master will return anytime but certainly will return "at an unexpected hour" (12:40).  Jesus answers that the slave who lives faithfully and serves faithfully (that is, "obediently") "will be put in charge of all [the master's] possessions" upon his return, but the unfaithful slave who only did as he pleased and only for himself, perhaps according to his own perception of what is "fair", "will be cut to pieces and put with the unfaithful.  That slave who knew what his master wanted but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted (by the master; that is, "willful" disobedience) will receive a severe beating" (12:42-47).  Our Lord is clearly speaking to His own; the faithful, the ones who should know better, the ones "to whom much is given and from whom much will be required" (Luke 12:48).

Our Lord has so spoken, and His Church has embraced His words.  Let Him be the Judge of what is fair and right, and let us be found at His return faithfully serving at the "unexpected hour"; for being found and judged "faithful", we will NOT receive what is "fair" or what we truly deserve - thank GOD for Christ! - but we will receive from our Lord all He desires for His faithful, obedient servants: Eternal Life in the Kingdom to come.  Amen.          

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