- 7 hours ago
To the First Presbyterian Church at Norristown congregation,
This last Sunday we celebrated Easter but as I always say, it's really just the first Sunday of Easter, a season that will take us to the end of May. This season is itself part of the longer liturgical year, and we will continue our emphasis on multiple Scripture texts from the lectionary read every Sunday. For those in need of a recap, the column detailing this is on our website. Of course, Jesus' resurrection stands as our hope for our future resurrection and it is absolutely a critical piece of our entire existence, both now and future. Please see last year's Easter column for more on this.
The lectionary readings for this Sunday and Christ's resurrection (and ours) do have relevance for us now. I am referring specifically to Exodus 15 and the song of joy from God's people. The Israelites didn't need to fight a battle to protect themselves from the threat of the Egyptian army; rather God did all the work for them! Exodus 15:1 and 4 mention God defeating horse, rider, and chariots. These were among the best anybody could have in military technology then, equivalent to the best long-range missiles, drones, and rockets today. And the Hebrews as a group of escaping slaves obviously had none of those things. To be clear, I generally try to stay away from a focus on current events in my church correspondences and especially in my sermons. Right now, the news cycle is so pervasive and overwhelming many people doubtless come to church just to escape it. I still remember once in college in 2003 lamenting the fact that all everyone wanted to talk about was the Iraq War. Doubtless there are many now who think the same about the Iran conflict.
Nevertheless, if the texts for this Sunday have something to say to us about peace and a Christian's trust exclusively in God . . . then we should not just grudgingly talk about them, but celebrate them! Moses and Israel sang a song about it, because they saw God as their ultimate savior. All opponents, no matter how formidable they looked, were no match for God. And the New Testament frequently takes similar language to not just describe (and marginalize) powerful empires like Rome but the ultimate enemy of all people: death. Jesus' only weapon was simple faith in God, and He defeated death. With the same faith, we too will be victors just like Him.
Resurrection hope leads directly into the new heavens and new earth where peace and wholeness are permanent — no more war, sickness, or death. Yet some American Christians, including prominent ones with a big platform, right now seem to find their joy and hope in the instruments of war. Here's an example of such sentiments in a megachurch pastor's celebration of the rescue of an American airman from Iran on Easter. While the rescue itself is certainly to be celebrated, the parallels he –and the politicians he quotes – draw to Christ's journey from cross to tomb are tenuous at best, disturbing at worst. For an overall view on the use and misuse of faith in our country's public arena, which would include military policy, check out this article from World Magazine. I don't agree with all of this either, but at least it does call out the way our faith has recently been abused by our elected leaders and offers suggestions for a better way.
Suffice it to say here, none of this is advocating for any particular position on the current Iran conflict, and indeed what exactly our Scriptures say on just war is a difficult topic. I hope to explore this with you soon in one of our after-worship dialogue/presentation times we've done before. (Prior topics have included views on science, Scripture, & God as creator and end times, Israel, & the millennium). Furthermore, it's been far too long since we've done one!) For our purposes here, this Sunday, and the Easter season, I hope we can keep the focus where it should be: on God and what He has done for us in Jesus' resurrection. God is, as Moses sang, more powerful than any military weapon or army. Nobody, no matter how powerful or well-armed, has defeated death but rather only created more of it. Jesus is the only one to defeat this enemy.
As our country is engaged in another conflict, where many have and will die, I hope we are a church that keeps Easter hope in the forefront. I realize just by mentioning the military, Iraq, Iran, and prominent Christians arguing for war I may have risked getting us into the distraction of current events and politics. But it is my prayerful hope that this reflection has prioritized the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And the significance of that should ultimately free us of all distractions and bring us into unified hope as a church. This is hope that will never die and will outlast all armies, wars, and nations of this world. Christ has the victory over all of them. He is Risen. He has the victory. He will live and rule forever. One day, we will live and rule forever with Him.
Romans 8:36-39
~Pastor Peter Martin
