From the Pastor |
“What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them… the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts…” (Matthew 15:11, 18-19a, NIV)
Wow! These are words we should all be able to relate to this week. With all the attention given to the events from last weekend in Charlottesville… from the accusations of fault and hateful rhetoric on all sides… we can see how the words that come from a person’s mouth can demonstrate what is really in their heart. Videos of men and women marching around crying out phrases like “blood and soil” and “Jews won’t replace us”… people who regularly vehemently speak out against people of other races and religions… it is clear that those neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups really do have hate filling their hearts. And the extremists on the other side are not much better… the discord, anger, hatred and violence that both sides incite… well… as Jesus said “For out of the heart come evil thoughts…” As if their rhetoric isn’t enough to disgust me… the most horrifying thought for me is that some of those people claim to be Christians. They claim to follow Jesus, yet they spew such hatred. Maybe they need to read their Bibles again… especially verses like the ones we’ve heard today! It seems like our readings were written just for them… but you know what… Christ is speaking directly to each and every one of us as well. We are all guilty of being “defiled” by what comes out of our mouths. Now, I know I am not standing here or anywhere else speaking words of hate, or inciting any kind of violence. Neither are you. We all KNOW that is WRONG! However, none of us spend every waking moment speaking only words of love and kindness to others. Nope! Instead, how often do we get “snippy” and short with others? How often do we say things, even in jest, that hurt other people? Many times even with those we love the most? How many times this week did you, perhaps, speak out in anger? Or in an unkind way? I hate to say it, but if you tell me you never do… I probably won’t believe you. We all harbor some negativity in our hearts… anger, fear… prejudice… yes prejudice. While you might not be a hate-filled member of the KKK… but every person on this planet has some prejudice and bias. Some of it based on experiences… some based on what we have been taught. I mean, picture it… you are walking down the streets of New York City. It is getting dark out and a young black man wearing baggy jeans, a tee shirt and a bandana on his head is walking directly behind you… I bet you’d most likely be at least a little nervous, wouldn’t you? Now what if it was a white man that was behind you? Which of the two would scare you more? Who is to say which of them might be a criminal or dangerous? It is our perceptions and preconceived ideas. We all have them. Sometimes they are spot on… many times they are not. After all, 1st impressions while lasting… are often wrong! Nelson Mandela once said “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate…” This reminds me of the movie West Side Story. At the end, Maria watches the man she loves, Tony die after being shot and she grabs up the gun, points it at all of them and says: “All of you! You all killed him! And my brother, and Riff. Not with bullets, or guns, with hate. Well now I can kill, too, because now I have hate!” I have to say, I do not understand hate. I hate lima beans, but that is about as far as I go. There have been many people over the years that I did not like, but I cannot say I hated any of them. Back in 1984, the band Depeche Mode released a song that has always resonated with me. “So we're different colors And we're different creeds And different people have different needs It's obvious you hate me Though I've done nothing wrong I never even met you So what could I have done People are people so why should it be You and I should get along so awfully I can't understand What makes a man Hate another man Help me understand” Nelson Mandela was right. Hate is a learned behavior. One we human beings are very good at learning. However, he continued by saying: “and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” Love is the key… Jesus knew this that is why he talked so much about LOVE! Love God, Love your neighbor, Love one another, even Love your enemies… When we open our hearts to love… especially God’s amazing love… there is no room for hate! When we have faith and open ourselves to God, LOVE is what we find… not condemnation or anger or hatred… Love! Followers of Christ, all Christians… people like you and me… we’ve been called, as I have said before, to share Christ’s message of love and peace with the rest of the world. It is our job to combat the evil that thrives in anger and hatred. Paul tells us how we are to do this “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good… Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse… Live in harmony with one another… Do not repay anyone evil for evil… Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” “Overcome evil with good.” Not an easy task, but a very necessary one. Letting anger fester… seeking revenge for wrongs done to us whether real or perceived… these are the types of things that bring about hatred… and hatred allows evil to thrive. As Martin Luther king Jr said: “Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction. So when Jesus says “Love your enemies,” he is setting forth a profound and ultimately inescapable admonition. Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies– or else? The chain reaction of evil–hate begetting hate, wars producing wars–must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.” It is unfortunate that in the 5 decades since King wrote those words for his book Strength to Love, we have not yet learned. You would think in 2000 years of Christ’s teachings being shared around the globe, we would have learned the lesson, but we haven’t. We still allow hate to multiply hate and violence to multiply violence. People, including Christians, still try to overcome evil with evil. One problem we have is that there are many of us… faithful Christians who have NOT tried to overcome evil with evil… yet we are basically just as guilty as those who do. Why? Because we go about our daily lives… turning away… turning a blind eye, and a deaf ear to the evil that surrounds us. We might not repay evil for evil but we also do nothing to overcome evil with GOOD! The problem in our society is that the “silent majority” has remained silent for far too long. Now what we are regularly experiencing is the devastating effects of our apathy. Most of us were raised to believe that our faith was personal… it was to be kept in church or at home… not “pushed” on others. So we have kept quiet while our society pulls further, and further away from God. Further form the teachings of Christ. We have quietly watched as our people have spiraled out of control. Over the past few years, we have seen so many of our citizens allowing fear, anger and worst of all hatred to fill their hearts. Conflict and violence has become the norm… and many Christians wonder “why?” Well, back in the 1700’s, an Irish statesman named Edmund Burke told us exactly why. He said: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” The good men and women of our nation have done nothing for so long… it seems like evil is winning. It is time, my friends… it is time for each and every one of us to get up out of our pews, to go out of our homes… to let our voices be heard. To stand up for what is right. To let people know that HATE is WRONG. To work daily to overcome evil with GOOD! With kindness, love and compassion! So, search your hearts… let go of whatever negativity you, yourself, might be harboring and really open your hearts to God’s love… because then… if you are filled with love… there will be NO room for hate. We need to be more vigilant of the words coming from our mouths… more conscious of our own fears and prejudices. We need to be out there… doing everything we possibly can to share the love and light of Christ with the world. We need to strive every day to “Live in harmony with one another”… not just those we like or those who are like us… this includes being a blessing to those who persecute us and showing love and care for our enemies. This is the only way to break the chain reaction of evil we see running rampant in the world. After all, it is true… only LIGHT can drive out the darkness and only LOVE can drive out hatred… May God fill our hearts with love so we can share that love and drive Hatred out of our nation!
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Yeon Shin
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