Here In
America, Justice and Mercy
Seem to
Be In Short Supply
by Pastor
Paul J. Bern
To view
this on my website, click
here :-)
I
did not bother watching the farce on TV this past week having to do
with the US Judiciary Committee hearings on president Trump's nominee
for the US Supreme Court. As my regular readers already know, I don't
even subscribe to cable TV, nor do I have a satellite dish. I catch a
little news, mostly local, on my old box TV that I'm still using. I
guess I'll continue to use it until it dies of old age, which could
be anytime now even though it still plays very well. The state of our
federal government today is a lot like my old 20 inch Sony
“Trinitron”. It still works okay, and from time to time it
actually works quite well. But on stormy days, or if there are any
low-flying aircraft close by, it interferes with my incoming signal.
So it is with our current federal government, and our state
governments are no better. During times like these, when the future
of our country is at stake, interference with it in all the wrong
forms is getting all the wrong results.
Don't
get me wrong. Dr. Ford's testimony during the Judiciary Committee's
hearings this week was compelling by all accounts. I don't care to
get into the he-said-she-said debate regarding the allegations of
sexual assault. As I wrote last week, all of these allegations past
and present prove that the United States is a really corrupt and
immoral country (thank you all for all those responses!). For anyone
interested, you can find last week's message right
here. But that's just what's on the surface. What lies underneath
is pride, avarice, pole-vaulting ambition fueled by desires for
revenge for past offenses – whether real or imagined – and what I
would describe as a visceral and primal mind-set of competitiveness.
Judge Kavenaugh was attacked mercilessly by his critics, together
with their own agendas. But then again, so was Dr. Ford for much the
same reasons. So what does all this prove? If nothing else, it proves
we have become a country full of sex maniacs and alcoholics!
What
was completely lacking throughout this past week's hearings was a
sense of fairness, justice, and especially mercy. Everyone was in
full attack mode from the time they all walked in the door and took
their seats, like a predator stalks its prey. Yet if you asked any
one of them whether they believed in Jesus or not, the overwhelming
majority of them would say they did. OK, then here's a few quotes
from our Lord and Savior regarding this week's happenings in
Washington from Matthew chapter 5: “ 6)
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they
will be filled. 7) Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown
mercy.”
Again in verses 9 - 10 he said, “ 9)
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10) Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Based
on what I've heard and read about this past week's confirmation
hearings, there is little righteousness to be found these days in
Washington, DC. Instead, we evidently have an entire city of people
who are constantly jockeying for position inside the Beltway, the
majority of whom are apparently engaged in all kinds of deviant
sexual behavior. Instead of governing as they were elected to do,
most (but not all) of these people are engaging in a bed-hopping
contest with one another. Hearing and reading about all this fills me
with dismay. Writing about it makes me ashamed of my country, and
that's an uncomfortable place to be. As for myself, I long for the
day when I am finished being filled with righteousness by the Lord as
it says in verses 6 – 7. That righteousness that Jesus spoke of
does not come by man's or women's efforts, no matter how great. It
comes from a willingness to step aside, from within ourselves, and
swallow our pride as we abdicate control over our destinies and
surrender them to Jesus Christ. Jesus is the very personification of
the righteousness we all seek.
“Blessed
are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
When women are sexually assaulted, it is done without mercy. When
women and children are abused by the head of that household, it is
similarly done without mercy, otherwise it can no longer be called
abuse or assault. When the Constitutional rights of the American
electorate are rapidly being evaporated, as it is currently happening
throughout the land, it too is being done without mercy. But we as a
faith-based Christian people (never mind denominational differences,
or even whether you attend church or not) are charged with the
responsibility of showing mercy, kindness, gentleness and sober
judgment in order to set a good example for everyone else, especially
the children. We are responsible for doing everything Jesus said to
do, to the very best of our abilities, so help us God! Show mercy to
your fellow man/woman during your lifetime here, and God will reward
you. Show your fellow man/woman no mercy during this life, and when
it is over, God won't show you any mercy, either!
“9)
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10) Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Do you want to spend your life fighting all the time? Or if you're
like a few people, are you the type of person who becomes a cop or a
soldier so they can legally shoot people? Don't they really enjoy
putting those 'bad people' back in their place? Those are NOT
peacemakers, people, they are predators! But if you promote
yourselves as peaceful (excluding matters of self defense), loving,
tender, compassionate, gentle and teachable, this is all we have to
do to make our world a much better place. And, if you've ever been
unfairly targeted for your Christianity, or for other matters that
are spiritually important, or for taking a stand for something good
or against something evil, rejoice and be glad, Jesus said. The
prophets of old who came before you experienced the same kinds of
persecution and rejection, so you're right in their league.
Allow
me to serve up one more good quote about justice and mercy, this time
from the prophet Zechariah. “
8) And the word of the Lord
came again to Zechariah: 9) “This is what the Lord
Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion
to one another. 10) Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the
foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’ 11)
But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs
and covered their ears. 12) They made their hearts as hard as flint
and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord
Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the
Lord
Almighty was very angry.”
(Zech. 7: 8-12) We as a nation are, by and large, completely ignoring
verses 9-10. My country that I've always loved and always will has
nonetheless become a country devoid of any trace of justice, mercy
and compassion, and the fault lies squarely with America's
leadership.
Anytime we devolve
into a bunch of high-rolling wannabe aristocrats that verbally abuses
one another just because they get to be on TV, I would say we as an
American people have sunk to a new low. Yes, I stand against those
who sexually assault or otherwise abuse innocent people, but I'm also
absolutely against one nation waging warfare against another. Most of
all as far as this week's message is concerned, I'm also against
those who lie under oath on international television, as well as
those congressional representatives sitting on the Judiciary
Committee in Washington who abuse their authority for profit. I
vehemently stand against men who abuse women, as well as the other
way around.
But there are plenty
of good things that we can all stand for. Justice, mercy, fairness,
the absence of bias in our decision making, and the possession of
much empathy and compassion towards others regardless of who they
are, where they come from or what color their skin is – it is these
things that are required of us by our Maker. Because, you see, that's
precisely what He put us here for. It is our purpose for living. The
very reason for our existence is to take care of one another, just as
God is taking good care of each and every one of us as I write these
words. God has made us wonderfully and with utmost perfection! He
puts the breath in our lungs, he has put the blood in our veins, and
he causes the heart to pump all 5 quarts of it with the greatest of
vigor. That way we will never lack the energy or ability to care for
one another. That's what Jesus meant when he said, “A
new commandment I now give you: Love one another.”
(John 13: 34)
“Do
not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the
poor....”
See that, all you “patriots” and “conservatives”? Don't pick
on widows, orphans, foreigners or the poor! God is serious about this
– leave 'em alone!! Suppose the United States sustained a nuclear
attack – who would do this is a matter of mere speculation, but
what if we had to leave the country to save our own lives and that of
our families? Wouldn't we expect a little justice, fairness and
(above all) mercy instead of being greeted as unwelcome guests if we
were to become refugees in, say, Canada or Mexico? Of course we
would! And being treated with hatred and contempt wouldn't make any
of us feel very good, now would it? “Love thy neighbor as thyself”,
that's what Jesus taught, isn't it? OK, so all you immigrant haters
and so-called “patriots” or “white nationalists”, what do you
think God will say to you when it comes your time to stand before
him? Think about that for a minute. You'd better!!
“
11) But they
refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and
covered their ears. 12) They made their hearts as hard as flint and
would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord
Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the
Lord Almighty
was very angry.”
If God was so angry back in Zechariah's time because the people
lacked compassion and simply did whatever they wanted, what do you
think God would say to America's leaders, and those who voted them
into office, today? I'll tell you what I know for sure, it won't
sound pretty.
