Intolerance: Prayer and Repentance
So I need to address something. We have become too polarized. I do not mean that it is bad to have opinions. I mean we have become filled with anger. Now far too often, Christians use such unity-talk as a way to deflect from necessary repentance and to maintain the evil that is the status quo. I am in no way suggesting this. I bring this up because I read my friend Peter’s post the other day, and it hit me like a tone of bricks. I knew this topic needed to be addressed.
A Greek Orthodox priest once told me that his church believes the only place anyone can go alone is hell. We’re in this walk together friends. I want us to make sure we’re walking in the right direction.
Far from being a nation in which #AllLivesMatter, I fear the United States is quickly becoming a death cult. If all lives mattered then 120,000 people would not have died due to COVID-19. Instead, we would have put the value of human life before our selfish pride and exceptionalism and followed strict quarantine procedures early on such as were implemented in South Korea and New Zealand.
If all lives mattered, countless children lost to gun violence and mass shootings would still be with us because we would have demonstrated at the ballot box that we value human lives more than our freedom to own instruments of death.
If all lives mattered #RayshardBrooks, #GeorgeFloyd, and #BreonnaTaylor would still be alive because previous instances of officer involved shootings would have led to swift and meaningful reforms.
This is only to name a few examples. How many more could we think of?
But all lives don’t matter in this nation, and I’m afraid we’re reaching a new era in which fewer and fewer lives matter anymore. Welcome to the Great American death cult where all lives are expendible which get in the way of the personal freedoms of white men.
We say #blacklivesmatter because if we don’t start with black lives in a country that has historically under valued them compared to all other lives, then soon enough our cavelier disregard for unnecessary death (there are no necessary deaths) will lead us into a era in which anyone can die for any foolish reason and we all just keep following the herd into the slaughter house saying, “It’s just too bad.”
I believe the life, (unnecessary) death, and resurrection of Jesus demand that we repent — that we turn and go a different way. Christians seek to walk in a way that leads to life. Look up folks! The path we’re on most certainly leads to death and has already claimed too many lives. When will we open our eyes and see Christ in every person put on a ventilator, every child killed by a classmate, every person shot by police?
We put the cross at the front of our church and wear it around our necks to remind ourselves of how Jesus was killed. It’s supposed to remind us of the way we participated in the sin that led to his death. It’s supposed to cause us to repent and seek to live differently so that no one ends up on a cross again.
Make a cross for every person that died an unnecessary death this year. Or make it the past five years, or the past 244. Write them in a note book. How long would it take? How many pages would it fill? How many crosses do we need before we decide enough is enough?
It should only require one.
Eventually every Christian in this country is going to have to decide where to put their loyalty. Will we reenlist in the death cult or turn and walk in ways that lead to life?
I hope we will choose life friends. It should start with black life and it should help us to see and all life more than we have. It’s time to listen to the people telling us that we have to do something to keep more unnecessary death from happening. What do we need to do to find our way again?
So, to my initial point about polarization, this friend and pastor, is in no way suggesting that we avoid hard-truths in the name of unity, rather he is suggesting that we repent, that we change course, in order to lead the way, and to do so with strength and humility. If we remember back to a few months ago when I preached on the Beatitudes, Blessed are the peacemakers, means in the paraphrased words of MLK, not to seek a negative-peace that is the avoidance of tension, but a positive peace that is the presence of justice. Also, blessed are the meek, as they will inherit the earth, is not being a pushover, but being strong in humility and self-control.
This is about repentance and prayer.
When I say repentance, let’s go back to last summer. The word that was translated into time here in Mark is kairos. The Greeks had 2 different words for time: Kairos and Chronos. For those of you getting bored with the language study, just stay with me here. Chronos is translated as age, all, delay, exact time, long, long ages,period, time, times. Kairos translates into fitting season, season, opportunity, occasion, or time. So what does this mean?!
Jesus here, is not saying this is the end of the world, repent now. If that was the message, it would be Chronos. But it was Kairos. It’s like he is saying: “at this moment, in this fitting season, I am giving you an opportunity. I am ushering in the kingdom of God. Repent and believe.” The time we are in now, the kairos we are in now is an opportunity. Repent.
When I say prayer, I do not mean the passive and dismissive statement of “thoughts and prayers.” Our prayer requires repentance, humility, and action.
Let’s look at the circumstances. Our social media is filled with angry vitriol over political beliefs. Desiring equal rights for all has divide us!? The usage of masks has become a political statement! How!? Why!? Why do we, in the words of my friend Peter, keep marching in the death cult?
People that look different and think different are perceived as an enemy. This is true on all sides of the political spectrum. If someone doesn’t agree with me, they are an idiot and they are an enemy. Why can we no longer peacefully disagree with one another?
Of course, and this is of utter importance, disagreement of what the right solution is should and must be heard. Disagreement on someone’s human value or rights is not up for debate, and fighting against those that denounce such humanity is not being intolerant.
I have often seen arguments where someone that has been called out for saying or doing something racist, sexist, exclusionary, or something of the sort to say, “you aren’t being tolerant of my views!” We should and must be intolerant of intolerance.
So, What will it take to look at someone and say “you look different than me, you think differently than me, I may not always agree with you, but you were made in God’s image and I love you?” What will that take? I want everyone reading this to examine themselves. How are we how are you how am I part of this problem?
I believe we as individuals and we as the church can make a difference! Maybe not on the national scale But we can in the lives of maybe just the people we come in contact with. Maybe people can look at you, me, or us, and say something is different about this person. Maybe the peace of Christ and the spirit of God can be contagious. This isn’t a fantasy! I am really suggesting this. You can make a difference! Every single person reading this can be agents of peace agents of change in this society of anger and tension.
May I suggest something? Maybe, it begins with prayer. Maybe we need to make prayer, honest prayer a lifestyle what if we prayed first and spoke second? What if we prayed first and acted second? What if we acknowledged and welcomed the Holy Spirit First.
What if we actually took this seriously!? How do you pray without ceasing? Sometimes it may be a direct verbal prayer.
“God. I am angry with this person. Their opinion upsets me. Help me be more understanding even if I don’t agree. Reveal to me if I am wrong. If they are wrong help me forgive Amen.” A few years ago, I wrote a prayer and blog titled, “God, help me not be an asshole.”
Maybe it is simply acknowledging God’s presence in all situations. God is with you in the car, at the bank, in an argument, even in intimate moments with your spouse. Acknowledging that presence IS PRAYER! How often do we act and live as if God is NOT present in all situations? I do this. Acknowledging God’s presence all the time is making prayer a lifestyle. Maybe visualizing God connecting people together or whatever mental visuals you make could be your way of praying. Others write. There are many ways to make prayer a lifestyle.
Also what if we pray for God’s will rather than praying for God to favor our own will? How will that change things? How else can we be revolutionary with our prayer? A few years ago, after Annual Conference one evening, my friend and I were having this discussion in a pub, (acknowledging God’s presence, were we at that moment engaged in prayer?) were talking about prayer and he told me a story of the pastor in his congregation. She was teaching a Sunday School class for kids of special mental and emotional needs, such as down syndrome. The lesson was prayer. In the lesson, she asked them to join hands and pray. What she observed was beautiful. They were not praying for themselves. They were not praying for Aunt Myrtle’s failing knee or their dad’s surgery.
Now quick aside. It is well and good, even pleasing to God to do that. We should continue to do so! But, here, one child said, “I want to pray for all the hungry people in Africa.” Another child said, “Well, I want to pray for all the hungry people in the world.” “And I want to pray for the hurt people in Nepal,” said a child. They went back to coloring as if that was normal and uninteresting. Meanwhile, my friend’s pastor was dumbfounded. Without hesitation, they saw beyond their bubble.
These kids of special needs, were praying for the world. They were praying for the extraordinary. They get it! Why don’t we? Their child-like faith reveals something beautiful about how they see the world They can see something bigger than most of us! God in typical fashion reversed the playing field and the pastor that came in with a lesson on prayer came out having learned about prayer from these kids of special needs.
This is a passage that often gets co-opted by people that support the current administration, regardless of party, and which administration is currently in power, to get dissenters to toe the line. This is an incorrect usage of this passage.
This means to pray for Trump. To have prayed for Obama, Mitch McConnell, and Nancy Pelosi. Not just praying for God to remove any leader. Nor to thank God for such a supposedly Godly leader in a way to justify our own support of such a leader. We are to pray for all of our leaders. Even of opposing nations. Do we believe prayer makes a difference? This is to pray for them to make wise decisions This is to pray for their protection, not from dissent, but from unwise counsel, evil intentions, etc.
If we engage in this prayer lifestyle, not only are we being obedient to God but maybe we can be agents of peace to our world. What if we prayed for and loved our enemies as Jesus called for in Matthewe 5:43? Making prayer a lifestyle can move mountains. We are to pray for those that hurt us ….. whether small or large. This kind of prayer must be coupled with repentance or it is in vain.
Lastly, let’s look at this guidance from Jesus in Matthew.
There is a common culture, especially on the internet, and while seen on all sides of the political spectrum, it’s especially prevalent in progressive circles. This is “call-out” culture. The idea when someone perpetuates something problematic, like racism, or homophobia, or disagreeing with someone kneeling during the anthem to call them out on their statement or behavior. This is often done with good intentions, it is often done so we do not keep upholding the status quo. Unfortunately, it is toxic and does not lead to change.
What if we “called-in?” That is what Jesus is discussing here in Matthew. If someone sins, go to them directly. Privately. Humbly address the problem. Invite rather than scold. Encourage rather than shame. Jesus says if you do this and it works, you have won them over.
Sure, it will not always work and there are times when bolder methods need to be taken, but this is the starting point and it is rarely done in our culture. This is where change happens. This is how the daughter of the cult-leader of the Westboro Baptist Church got out of that cult and changed her life. This is how the “God-son” and I use that term loosely, of David Duke, the Neo-Nazi and Klan leader got out of that lifestyle and now fights for justice. By being called-in. By privately being listened to and being humbly corrected.
When God called Abraham, in Genesis, God said that the world would be blessed by Israel. Jesus fullfilled that in a way that no human beings corrupted by sin could ever do. Jesus became the ultimate blessing to the world. What did Jesus ask of us? To follow him. If we follow Jesus, we will be a blessing to the world. If we are not being a blessing to the world we are not following Jesus.
Repentance, Prayer, and humbly calling in makes this possible.
Repentance, Prayer, and humbly calling in breaks down walls.
Repentance, Prayer, and humbly calling in unites us together
Repentance, Prayer, and humbly calling in unites us to God.
Repentance, Prayer, and humbly calling in changes our posture away from us and toward our dependence on God. God knows our hearts but instructs us to pray anyway. It humbles us before God.
We all have prejudices and ill thoughts and motives deep inside. Prayer can help expose that darkness to the light and repentance can change the behavior
If you lack forgiveness in your heart, maybe your first prayer is to help you desire to forgive and understand. Then repent.
If you are angry, maybe your first prayer is for empathy and understanding then repent
If you are struggling to believe in God, maybe your first prayer is for God to reveal God’s self to you. Then repent and believe
I’m not gearing this post of being a blessing to society, to our world as a way to use prayer for our own purposes, to simply live in a better world. Rather, I’m saying these things, because seeking the peace of our world introducing God’s love to the world is one of the ultimate forms of worship. When Jesus taught us how to pray, he taught us “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.”
Jesus taught us to pray for and to be agents of the bringing of God’s kingdom to earth. Prayer just may very well be that first step.
Prayer should be that first step. Then repentance. What if we pray the Lord’s prayer…. and actually believe it!?
What if, instead of taking up arms, we lock arms, and pray together and repent together?
Lord I believe, help my unbelief!
