Saturday Night Theologian
3 July 2011

Zechariah 9:9-12

Last week President Obama gave a speech in which he laid out his plan for bringing home U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Within the next year, he said, a little more than 30,000 soldiers would leave the country and return to their homes, leaving almost 70,000 still deployed in Afghanistan. While many Americans, myself included, wished for a faster drawdown of troops, most were at least somewhat relieved that the president announced the withdrawal of a substantial number. Although Obama did not send the first U.S. troops into Afghanistan--that was President Bush in 1993--he has escalated the U.S. presence significantly since coming into office in 2009, largely with soldiers who had previously served in Iraq, from which the U.S. withdrawal under Obama has been much greater. His speech suggested that he understands what so many world leaders before him have come to realize: the problems in Afghanistan--indeed, the problems of the world--cannot be solved by the application of force. Or do his actions in Libya, Yemen, Pakistan, and elsewhere belie that supposition? The anonymous author of chapter 9 of Zechariah, an unknown prophet sometimes called Deutero-Zechariah, speaks a word of hope to an oppressed people during the Second Temple period. Contrary to what some probably expected, he did not promise that God would deliver them through force of arms or supernatural intervention into world affairs. Instead, he describes a ruler who brings peace rather than war. He rides on a donkey, a royal animal to be sure, but distinct from the war horse. "He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war-horse from Jerusalem; and the battle now shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations." Who are the people preaching peace today? Too often those who advocate nonviolent solutions to the world's problems are mocked, ignored, or even attacked as unpatriotic. Right now a peace flotilla, led by a ship christened The Audacity of Hope, and containing messages of hope for the oppressed Palestinians, as well as food and clothing for the poor, is being blocked from delivering their message of peace and hope by the powerful countries of the international community. We are a world that sings the praises of the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Nelson Mandela, but we refuse to follow their example. As Christians, who claim to follow the Prince of Peace, we need to learn the deep meaning of the concept of ahimsa, a Sanskrit word usually translated as nonviolence, but it also carries with it the idea that all life in the world is connected, and we are all mutually dependent upon one another for our wellbeing. Approaching the conflicts we face, from interpersonal to international, from the standpoint of nonviolence is the only true hope for building a future of peace and security for all people. We've tried war for several thousand years, and that hasn't worked. Isn't it time to give peace a chance?

Psalm 145:8-14

Temper is a funny word. We say that someone who gets mad easily has a temper. Yet at the same time we say that when a person gets mad, he is losing his temper. Maybe that's an indictment of the human condition. This temper thing, whatever it is, afflicts us whether we have it or lose it. The psalmist quotes Exodus 34:6, an ancient Israelite confession of faith. One of the oldest extant descriptions of the Israelite's conception of God, it portrays God not as a warrior so much as a loving, forgiving parent. God doesn't lash out at those who do wrong. Rather, God is patient and merciful. By extension, we who are followers of this God are to be patient and merciful, too. The psalmist further describes God as abounding in steadfast love, a translation of the Hebrew word hesed, which might also be rendered as covenant faithfulness, loyalty, or mercy. We live in a world that expects instant gratification of its desires and instant satisfaction of its baser instincts, whether involving food, sex, knowledge, or vengeance. This week the prosecutors in the case involving former International Monetary Fund managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn announced that the woman who accused Strauss-Kahn of rape has a history of making false statements to authorities, allegedly including an earlier charge of rape that proved false. Whether the woman's charges against Strauss-Kahn hold up remains to be seen. What is already evident, however, is that many in the news media, and many in the public, rushed to judgment on the case without waiting to hear the facts of the case or to carefully weigh the evidence. "He's guilty," many believed, "so let's move on to the next piece of juicy gossip, hopefully involving sex, money, and power in some combination." We think that getting an answer fast is more important than getting it right, but it's not.

Romans 7:15-25a (first published 3 July 2005)

Alcoholism is a condition that affects millions of people worldwide. People who get hooked on alcohol find it difficult to function without it. Even if they manage to kick the habit, a single drink after years of sobriety can plunge them back into a self-destructive lifestyle. There are many other dangerous addictions besides alcohol, of course: drugs, sex, and food, for example. Those of us who are not -holics of some sort may look at those around us who suffer from these maladies and wonder why they can't just quit. Why can't they just say no? It may be possible to say no at the beginning, but many people find it impossible to say no after becoming involved with their addiction. Paul suggests that we all understand the alcoholic better than we sometimes let on, because we all have an addiction to sin. We begin to sin early in life, and we continue to sin throughout our lives. We're not all addicted to the same sins, but we all know the power that one or more particular sins hold over us. When we're confronted with temptation we can certainly say no, but we often find ourselves saying yes, much to our own disappointment. What is the solution to this dilemma? Paul says that it is our relationship with Jesus Christ, who gives us the strength to resist temptation. Does that mean that anyone who is a Christian can automatically resist temptation just by calling on Jesus for help? I don't think that's necessarily true. When we have a relationship with Jesus Christ, we also have a special relationship with other Christians, people whom God has given us to help us through times of crisis. Groups like Alcoholics Anonymous understand the importance of alcoholics having a sponsor, someone they can call when the temptation gets really hard to resist. It is probably hard for many alcoholics to admit that they have a problem that they can't handle on their own, but to succeed in the struggle with alcoholism, they must learn to overcome the embarrassment of having to lean on someone else. Christians, too, need to learn to lean on others when we're in need of help, and we need to be willing to help others without judgment when they call on us. Life isn't always easy, and sin is always a tough competitor. There are times when we simply can't stand alone, and we need somebody to lean on.

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 (first published 3 July 2005)

In The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, Christian is trudging along the path of life with a heavy burden on his shoulder. He struggles through the Slough of Despond with the burden, but when he sees the cross his burden falls off and rolls to the foot of the cross. The journey is far from over, and Christian will encounter many trials along the path of his life, but he will never have to confront them with the added weight of an unnecessary burden on his back. Jesus told his followers, "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." It's easy enough to understand the concept of laying down our burdens--sin, guilt, the need to accomplish great things, pride, loneliness, fear--but what is the yoke that Jesus says is easy to carry? Sirach 51:26-27 speaks of the yoke of wisdom that is easy to bear but which affords great rewards. The Christian life is not without its burdens, for Jesus also told his disciples that they would have to take up their crosses and follow him. Are the cross and the easy yoke compatible? Yes, if we remember that a yoke is a device that shifts the weight and makes something easier to pull or carry. Our relationship with God through Jesus Christ enables us to follow the path that God lays before us, no matter where it leads. The cross we are called to carry may be heavy, and it may become heavier with time, but as we learn to carry the yoke of Christ, we will find that the weight of the cross becomes easier to bear, not harder.