Forgiveness

This past weekend I watched the movie In My Country (also known as The Country of My Skull) starring Samuel L. Jackson (A Time to Kill as well as many other movies) and Juliette Binoche (The English Patient and Chocolat). In this movie, she plays an Afrikaner writer, and he, a writer for the Washington Post. Both have been asked to cover the Reconciliation talks after the collapse of Apartheid. Obviously, they go into it with very different attitudes. She feels that it is important to find out exactly what abuses occurred under Apartheid, but he feels that it is important to bring the Afrikaners to justice, and feels that every Afrikaner has a share of the blame for what happened. She, and some other locals, try to explain to him the concept of Ubuntu. I thought Ubuntu was a Linux operating system, but I digress (okay, I knew the word Ubuntu meant something before anybody ever named an OS after it, but I wasn’t clear on the meaning). Eventually he came to understand that we are all connected, and, if you do something that hurts me, it also hurts those around me, and, eventually will hurt you, too, even if you do what you do because of something I did to you. That, in a nutshell, is Ubuntu.

It occurred to me that the people who practiced Ubuntu are better at forgiveness than I am. By the way, I could be mistaken, but I got the feeling that the two main characters in the movie were either fictional or composite characters; at the beginning of the movie, though, they showed a disclaimer that basically said that the Reconciliation talks were faithfully recreated, that the script-writers did not write any of that dialog. In many cases, those who testified wanted only to have the bodies (or body parts) of loved ones returned to them for proper burial. It’s hard for me to imagine what those people must have been feeling, but clearly they had accepted the fact that killing or imprisoning those who had abused their power would not bring back their loved ones; it would only make the healing of their country more difficult.

We are, of course, commanded to forgive. In fact, we have been told to pray for those that despitefully use us. I have to admit, I haven’t had to deal with too much “despiteful use” myself. Perhaps if I lived in another part of the world I would get a chance to really test my faith (not planning on doing that any time soon, though). I have certainly been lied about, but then, I guess all of us have had to deal with that at one time or another.

I just got an E-mail from a good friend who just found out that her family has been embezzled from. They don’t know how much was taken, but it could be a considerable amount. The embezzler is someone who has been very close to the family for quite some time, and was never even suspected. She understands that she has to forgive this person; she wants to feel love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance, but right now, it’s hard. She is in prayer, and she has asked me for prayer, and I am asking for prayer on her behalf, as well.

Perhaps the best known Scriptural reference is the Lord’s Prayer, in Matthew 6:9-15. You notice that, in the prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray for forgiveness, but also for God to help us to forgive others. At the end of the prayer, He points out that our forgiveness from God is dependent upon our ability to forgive others. Has anyone ever wronged us as much as we have wronged Him? Remember also that Peter once asked Christ how many times was he required to forgive, and Jesus surprised him with how much forgiveness Peter was responsible for. That applies to us, too.

The Transfiguration

This week I’ve been posting from Mark chapter 9. Up until now, I’ve been going off of the middle part of the chapter (a man brought his son to Jesus’ disciples, and they were unable to help, but Jesus healed the son). The first part of the chapter talks about the Transfiguration.

Jesus took three of His closest disciples, Peter, James and John, up to the mountaintop. While they were there, Jesus was transfigured, and Moses and Elijah appeared. Now, the disciples didn’t quite know what to make of this. Peter suggested building three tabernacles, one for each of the three, but Jesus thought differently. If those three men hadn’t already known that they were in the presence of greatness, they definitely knew it then. You would almost think that they had seen so much by then that nothing could surprise them, but this particular incident not only surprised them, I would say it stunned them.

In any case, I think that we should spend a little time discussing the significance of the Transfiguration. I don’t think that there is any real controversy over the idea that Moses appeared because he was the Lawgiver, and Jesus had come to fulfill the Law (and yet instill Grace). Some have said that Elijah was the greatest prophet of the Old Testament, so it makes sense that he would appear with the greatest prophet of the New Testament (not to suggest that Jesus was only a prophet, as some have said, He was much more than that). I have to question, though, whether Elijah was the greatest prophet of the Old Testament. Certainly, one of the greatest, but, I don’t think he has clear claim to the title of greatest prophet. I would be willing to entertain the notion that perhaps Elijah was there because he had ascended into Heaven, therefore foreshadowing the end of Jesus’ ministry, except that Enoch did that first.

The day that Elijah was taken up, his protégé Elisha made a point of staying with him all the way up until Elijah was taken from him. Several times Elijah told Elisha to wait for him at one place or another, and each time, Elisha insisted on going with his master. At one point, Elijah broached the subject that neither one of them wanted to talk about, and he asked Elisha what he wanted after his mentor was gone. Elisha responded that he wanted a double portion of the spirit that he knew rested on Elijah. Elijah said that he had asked a hard thing, but, if he saw Elijah after he was taken up, then he would get it. If you read up, Elisha did some amazing things after that (see also here, and here, and here). I would think that Elisha should be considered a greater prophet than Elijah.

To be honest, I think this may be the point that Jesus was trying to make. Elijah was the master, and Elisha followed him. Even after Elijah was taken, Elisha never departed from the ways that Elijah had taught him. It was clear that the same spirit was on him that was on Elijah. At another point, Jesus said that if His disciples remained faithful than they would do greater works than He Himself had done (not that any of them would ever be greater than Him, but that they would do greater works). This promise extends also to us, if we allow the spirit that was in Jesus to flow through us. Of course, that would require us to walk in the Spirit, and allow God’s spirit to guide us, and direct us, and to remember that it isn’t us that’s actually doing the work, it’s God.

All In the Family

Yesterday I posted about the man in Mark 9 whose son was demon-possessed. Today I would like to look at another aspect of that incident. At one point, the man asked Jesus to “have compassion on us.” He could have asked Jesus to have compassion on the young man who was possessed, but he made a point of asking for compassion for both of them. I think that it’s important to note that when a family member isn’t right, then it affects the entire family.

King David had a son named Absalom that he loved very much. Absalom was very self-willed, and at one point, tried to overthrow the kingdom, and make himself king of Israel. David sent his men out with orders to defeat Absalom, but not to kill him. The general over David’s army, Joab, had opportunity to take Absalom alive, but chose not to, in direct conflict with the king’s wishes. There is a certain wisdom in Joab’s actions, although I would not condone killing a man unnecessarily, I can understand that if Absalom had lived, he would have only continued to cause problems. Joab rebuked David (imagine that, being in position to disobey the king, kill one of the royal family, and then rebuke the king!) and reminded him that Absalom would have been only too happy to kill the king and every Israelite that was loyal to David. Joab, in effect, asked the king what he would have had Joab do, let Absalom run roughshod over everything else that the king held dear, just as long as Absalom lived?

In 1 Samuel, the priest Eli had two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, that he was supposed to bringing up to take over his job when he got too old to do it (or died), but they were rebellious and used their positions in the Temple to fill their own bellies. Granted, they were supposed to eat of the offerings that people brought, but they got tired of eating boiled meat, and started demanding meat that hadn’t been prepared in accordance with Temple Law. Eli knew what was going on, and he made some attempt to correct his sons, but they did what they wanted to do anyway. Eli took in Samuel, and raised him better than he had raised his own sons, and at one point, God told Samuel that He was displeased with Eli because of his sons. Eventually, God took Hophni and Phinehas, and, when Eli heard about it, he fell down, and broke his neck.

At the same time, in the gospels, we are told that when Jesus called Simon, Andrew, James, and John, that they left their fathers with the fishing boats and just walked away and followed Jesus. I would imagine that they at least said good-bye, although the Bible doesn’t say that they did. These were men that knew the call of God, and were not about to let their families interfere with what they had to do (later on, we find out that Simon Peter was even married—presumably had kids; what do you suppose his wife thought about her husband wandering all around the country with Jesus for three years?). I’m sure it wasn’t easy for these men to live the lives that they did, and I suppose that their families understood; even the non-believers recognized that Jesus was very influential.

We are more fortunate. Most of us will never have to abandon our families for the Gospel, but all of us need to remember that family must always take second to God. Jesus said that he who loves father or mother or son or daughter more than Jesus, is not worthy (which is not to suggest that any of us is truly worthy anyway), and it is clear that He takes precedence over all else. If it helps, understand that He wants the absolute best for every one of us, so, by putting Him first, you are making things better for your family, as well.

Who Is Your Faith In?

In Mark chapter 9, we are told that Jesus, having separated from most of His disciples for a time, returned and found the scribes disputing with them, and a man with a demon-possessed son. For many years, in reading this, I assumed that the son was a child, however it never says that, in fact, Jesus asked the man how long his son had been tormented, and the man said, “Of a child,” which would imply that the son was no longer a child. In other words, because the son was possessed by a demon while he was a child, the father has attempted to take care of him even after the son was old enough that he should have been able to take care of himself, if he had not been afflicted.

It occurs to me that there is a lesson here in the fact that the disciples had unsuccessfully attempted to cast the demon out before Jesus returned. I seriously doubt that this was the man’s first attempt to have his son healed; we are told that his son had suffered for a long time, but Jesus’ ministry only lasted about three years, total. I would think that he would have tried anything he could think of before Jesus was even tempted in the wilderness.

It’s hard for me not to consider that many people with problems will go to great lengths to try to solve their problems. Doctors and psychiatrists can help with many things, but there are some things that only God can fix. I wonder how many people go from this to that, hoping for a cure, and not finding it, and then start trying different religions, and still not getting out from under, and finally going to a Christian minister, and still not getting satisfaction, because they are looking to the man for answers, instead of to God. One would hope that a minister of the Gospel would be able to call down power from on high, but, if Jesus’ own disciples were not able to cast out the demon from this young man, and had to wait on Jesus to do the work, then we have to understand that every minister has his limitations. God, however, does not.

It’s interesting, too, that at the beginning of the chapter, Mark describes an event that has become known as “The Transfiguration.” Peter, James and John went up the mountain with Jesus, and He was transfigured; His raiment became shining white, and Moses and Elijah appeared with Him. Now, Elijah’s protégé was named Elisha, and in Elisha’s time, there was a man named Naaman that came from Syria to try to buy a healing from his leprosy. Elisha wouldn’t even talk to him. He sent a messenger to talk to Naaman, and told him what to do to be healed. Apparently, Elisha didn’t want there to be any confusion about who was doing the healing. Naaman went and dipped himself in the Jordan River seven times, and came out of the water completely healed. Now, he knew that it wasn’t the water that healed him, and he hadn’t even seen Elisha, so he can’t have thought that the prophet healed him; he would have known that the God of Israel healed him.

I don’t mean to suggest that you shouldn’t talk to your pastor about your problems; you should. I do mean to say that if your pastor’s advice helps you, then that’s of God; if it doesn’t, then maybe you should prayerfully consider who it was that you were putting your faith in: Your pastor, or God?