"I am for peace; But when I speak, they are for war." (Psalm 120:7)
Our text is from yesterday's reading in the Psalms. It might as well have been written this morning. It is the theme of the Blessed Trinity. The messengers announced the birth of Jesus with the words, "Peace on earth goodwill toward men," or, "among...men of good will." The problem? The Enemy declared war on Jesus and His Kingdom from the beginning. And this war continues. It is just difficult to find "men of goodwill."
In October of 1969, "The Weather Underground Organization" led a riot in Chicago. This group was an offshoot of "Students for a Democratic Society." The stated purpose of "The Weatherman," as they were known, was the violent overthrow of the US Government. There were several in my graduate school (seminary) who were a part of this group. It was a sobering thought this morning; I sat in classes with some of these people.
I have been saying for many years that there are people in the United States who hate the country they were handed-- and they are everywhere. They are in the schools, the churches and pulpits, the government. I personally have seen them on the floor of the US Senate and in church gatherings! I was in a prayer meeting in Washington, DC, a couple of years ago, when a woman in the group related a statement of her pastor, "Founding Fathers? They're not my "founding fathers!'" What can we say? "They are for war."
Now we have finally done it. We have a person running for President who is among them. Here is a statement of Barack Obama which he made last winter. "As I've said about the flag pin, I don't want to be perceived as taking sides....There are a lot of people in the world to whom the American flag is a symbol of oppression." (You mean like China, Cuba, Zimbabwe, North Korea, the Arab Nations?!?) "And the anthem itself conveys a war-like message. You know, the bombs bursting in air and all. It should be swapped for something less parochial and less bellicose. I like the song 'I'd like to teach the world to sing.' If that were our anthem, then I might salute it." It is now well known that one of Obama's best friends is William Ayers, a member of "The Weather Underground Organization."
If you are an American citizen, you are a citizen of a country which was indeed founded in war, blood, "the perilous fight--- the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air." And, you have the freedom you enjoy because that "perilous fight," and those rockets and bombs could not extinguish the fire of our freedom loving forefathers, a great many of whom were true Believers in Jesus Christ. They were men who said what all true Believers in Jesus have said throughout the centuries, "I am for peace." The historic problem has always been, however, "But when I speak, they are for war." Mr. and Mrs. Obama have what they have today because some people before them were willing to endure and defeat "the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air."
Father, in Jesus' Name, may I always be a man of peace, but, in the face of attack on You and Your Kingdom, say with You, "I did not come to bring peace but a sword." Amen.
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