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Bible Readings for Sunday, September 11th, 2011

– The Week of The 13th Sunday After Pentecost *Click on each bible passage to expand the text. Genesis 50:15-21 15. Realizing that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers said, “What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong that we did to him?”

16. So they approached Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this instruction before he died,

17. ‘Say to Joseph: I beg you, forgive the crime of your brothers and the wrong they did in harming you.’ Now therefore please forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him.

18. Then his brothers also wept, fell down before him, and said, “We are here as your slaves.”

19. But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God?

20. Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today.

21. So have no fear; I myself will provide for you and your little ones.” In this way he reassured them, speaking kindly to them. Psalm 103:[1-7] 8-13 1. [Of David.] Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

2. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits–

3. who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,

4. who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

5. who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

6. The LORD works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed.

7. He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.

8. The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

9. He will not always accuse, nor will he keep his anger forever.

10. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.

11. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

12. as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us.

13. As a father has compassion for his children, so the LORD has compassion for those who fear him. Romans 14:1-12 1. Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions.

2. Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables.

3. Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them.

4. Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

5. Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds.

6. Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God.

7. We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves.

8. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.

9. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

10. Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.

11. For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.”

12. So then, each of us will be accountable to God. Matthew 18:21-35 21. Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?”

22. Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.

23. “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.

24. When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him;

25. and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made.

26. So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’

27. And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt.

28. But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’

29. Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’

30. But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt.

31. When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place.

32. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.

33. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’

34. And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt.

35. So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

‘Say to Joseph: I beg you, forgive the crime of your brothers and the wrong they did in harming you.’ Now therefore please forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. – Genesis 50:17

He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion for his children, so the LORD has compassion for those who fear him. – Psalm 103:10-13

Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.” So then, each of us will be accountable to God. – Romans 14:10-12

Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” – Matthew 18:33-35

A Question…

10 years ago, something evil happened that would change the world forever.

10 years ago, evil men attacked us.

10 years ago innocent blood was spilled in the name of God.

10 years ago, the world wept for us.

10 years ago, a new thought entered the minds of many people:

Where was God?

… “if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart”.

We are told we must forgive our brother and sister from our heart, else no quarter will be given to us. We must demonstrate to others the mercy we are to receive.

But were the Muslim extremists who attacked us on 9/11 our “brothers”? They can’t be, right?

In the most legalistic sense of “brotherhood of God”, the answer is undeniably “yes”!

From Wikipedia: Abrahamic religions are the monotheisticfaiths emphasizing and tracing their common origin to Abraham or recognizing a spiritual tradition identified with him. The three major Abrahamic religions are, in chronological order of founding, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The three main Abrahamic religions have certain similarities. All are monotheistic, and conceive God to be a transcendent Creator-figure and the source of moral law, and their sacred narratives feature many of the same figures, histories and places in each, although they often present them with different roles, perspectives and meanings. They also have many internal differences based on details of doctrine and practice. At times and in various locations the different religions, and some of the branches within the same basic religion, have been in bitter conflict with each other to the extent of war and bloodshed.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all trace their theology to Abraham. We all believe in the same God.

We may call our god a different name, but the fact remains, it is the same concept of God: the god of Abraham.

Therefore if even these evil men can be considered our brothers in God, how does God teach we are to react against such evil?

Psalm 103 10. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.

11. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

12. as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us. Matthew 18 33. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?

For you see, the attacks of September 11th, 2001 are nothing new. Human beings have been shedding each others’ blood in the name of God since the dawn of man.

What if, just once, we refrained from shedding blood? What if, just once, instead of waging war in God’s name we made peace in the name of God?

Some say, “How can mercy be shown to murderers? They will never know justice. We will never know justice!”

I know, I know this is the normal human reaction because it is my reaction! But God knew this, too, and God begged us to see past our need for retribution, to see past human wisdom and into divine will.

Romans 14 10. Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.

11. For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.”

12. So then, each of us will be accountable to God.

A New Way of Life

Imagine if we had turned the other cheek, and shown the world something new. We would have heaped coals upon the heads of our enemies. Instead we chose to show the world the same thing the terrorists did: violence perpetrated in the name of God.

Instead of choosing the way of peace, the way of Christ, we repaid evil for evil. A very human mistake, indeed.

Luke 6 32. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. 33. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. 34. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. 35. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Romans 12 17. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

21. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

But we don’t believe that, do we? Not really, no. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have taken God’s justice into our own hands.

The Cost of Blood for Blood, Eye for an Eye, Tooth for Tooth

Instead of trusting in God’s Word, we shipped our young men and women off to wage our wars of “righteous” retribution. We needed blood for blood. Therefore, God’s will was ignored.

And lo, what blood we received.

The terrorists took 2,977 of our brothers and sisters from us on 9/11. Ten years later, our need for retribution has cost us over double the dead of 9/11 with today’s count at 6,026 and rising. Tragically, the fallen are our youngest, and our bravest, whose deaths leave behind countless broken families, widows and widowers, and children without parents.

As of 2009, Iraqi casualties were estimated at over 100,000 Iraqi deaths by the Associated Press.

The rest of our brave fighting men and women who are still “alive” have been away from their homes for so much of the last ten years, it’s almost like they’re dead to their loved ones. Little boys who have grown up without seeing their fathers. Little girls who haven’t really been able to know their mothers. And many who have finally come home for good aren’t whole. They are wounded, either mentally or physically, and unable to fully live their lives.

But we needed blood for blood, remember? Evil men in this world had hurt us and wanted to hurt us again.

There was no other way… we had to do this… right?

Then I ask, what did all of this satisfy?

Are you satisfied? Has there been enough blood?

Were you satisfied when Osama Bin Laden was killed? Or did it fall short?

Were you satisfied when the new Iraqi parliament was installed? Or did it fall short?

Were you satisfied when we declared “Mission Accomplished”? Or did it fall short?

Of course it didn’t satisfy anything, and it never will.

No amount of blood will bring back the dead. No amount of vengeance will give a little boy back his mother. No amount of sacrifice will give a wife back her husband.

And so the question looms over us now, demanding to be addressed:

Where was God?

How can a supposedly loving, compassionate God allow such horrors to occur? Can’t God stop it??

The truth of where God was during all of this is often more than I can bear.

I struggle to think of it now. So I turn to the wisdom of another, an author named Elie Wiesel and a passage of paramount importance from his book about his time in Nazi concentration camps, entitled “Night“:

An excerpt from “Night” by Elie Wiesel: One day when we came back from work, we saw three gallows rearing up in the assembly place, three black crows. Roll call. SS all around us, machine guns trained: the traditional ceremony. Three victims in chains— and one of them, the little servant, the sad-eyed angel. The SS seemed more preoccupied, more disturbed than usual. To hang a young boy in front of thousands of spectators was no light matter. The head of the camp read the verdict. All eyes were on the child. He was lividly pale, almost calm, biting his lips. The gallows threw its shadow over him. This time the Lagerkapo refused to act as executioner. Three SS replaced him. The three victims mounted together onto the chairs. The three necks were placed at the same moment within the nooses. “Long live liberty!” cried the two adults. But the child was silent. “Where is God? Where is He?” someone behind me asked. At a sign from the head of the camp, the three chairs tipped over. Total silence throughout the camp. On the horizon, the sun was setting. “Bare your heads!” yelled the head of the camp. His voice was raucous. We were weeping. “Cover your heads!” Then the march past began. The two adults were no longer alive. Their tongues hung swollen, blue-tinged. But the third rope was still moving; being so light, the child was still alive… For more than half an hour he stayed there, struggling between life and death, dying in slow agony under our eyes. And we had to look him full in the face. He was still alive when I passed in front of him. His tongue was red, his eyes were not yet glazed. Behind me, I heard the same man asking: “Where is God now?” And I heard a voice within me answer him: “Where is He? Here He is—He is hanging here on this gallows…”(emphasis added)

This is what happens when we reject the Word of God: we hang God upon a cross.

This is what happens when we ignore the word of God: God dies in a fiery blast as a plane explodes into the World Trade Center.

This is what happens when we think we know better than the Word of God: God dies in an IED blast as his platoon patrols the outskirts of Fallujah.

The reality isn’t that God isn’t there. Not at all. The horrible reality is that God is always there, bleeding with us, dying with us, and mourning with us.

And all of the while, God whispers the same prayer, hoping beyond hope that one day we will utter these very same words, too:

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Lk 23:24)

Father, forgive them…

So today, I forgive the terrorists of 9/11.

Today, I forgive Osama bin Laden and all of al-Qaeda.

Today, I forgive our leaders who took us to war.

Today, I forgive our leaders who keep us at war.

Today, I forgive our enemies who killed our brave soldiers.

Today, I forgive our brave soldiers, who have had to do things no man should have to face.

For we are only human, and we know not what we have done.

None of us.

Amen.