Peace Sabbath - October 24, 2004
It is when we are truly humble that we can be truly thankful and grateful to God. In the Luke passage, the humility that the tax collector exhibits is simple: he recognizes and seeks to express the truth of who he is in relation to God. He pours out his pain and separation. Through all of these passages, we hear God inviting us to be equally truthful and to share in the same grace and salvation.
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by Rev. James Farrell
Going to church can be risky business. Week after
week we come together to worship with all sorts of people. We sit side by side
as liberals and conservatives, with soldiers and pacifists, with the
self-righteous and the self-loathing. Jonathan Swift once observed that, “We
have just enough religion to hate, but not enough to make us love one another.”
An overstatement? I certainly hope so! But sometimes it feels deeply
uncomfortable when we discuss things that put us on opposite sides of a fence.
What we have in common, though, is that we are all
in need of grace and in the presence of that grace we are willing to struggle to
understand each other. And when you think about it, that is the only hope the
world really has. Our shared spiritual journey is the only thing that keeps us
from degenerating into the abyss of self interest. In today’s gospel lesson, two people go up to the
temple to pray. It’s important to remember that the Pharisees were not villains
and the tax collectors were not heroes in Jesus’ day. Pharisees took their faith
seriously, but they remind us that faith becomes tainted if it leads to contempt
of others. Now as then, the biggest challenge the church has is to offer hope
with substance and yet not to polarize people with dogmatic opposites. “Warm
religion” is a tough sell because folks want to know who is right and who is
wrong. In God's economy I believe another option exists. 2000 years ago, tax collectors collaborated with
the enemy, the Roman Empire. And with each campaign of Rome, each
military endeavor, the cost of keeping the empire in check rose. To pay those
costs taxes increased and so the agent of tax collection was seen as a stooge
for the war machine that kept local people in servitude. Tax collectors were
seen by Jesus’ contemporaries as those who compromised their heritage for
material gain. As has been pointed out by others, perhaps the
greatest danger for church people is that we will too easily identify with the
repentant tax collector and thus leave church thinking, “Thank God I am not a
Pharisee.”
But heart and head must meet and confession must
also include change of behavior or it remains just so many words.
Peace Sabbath may be a good day to renew our
commitments as a congregation to be people of the heart and people of the head.
We need to be genuinely motivated by the heart and use that motivation to stir
our minds to new places of commitment and change. We need to be people who celebrate our strengths
and pray for the Spirit’s healing in broken places… and there are lots of broken
places in our lives, some we find the courage to acknowledge and some we don’t.
For those we acknowledge, those we are willing to be aware of, we can make a
choice to allow the indwelling spirit of God to move within us and mold us into
instruments of change in our own lives and even beyond. In this congregation I have met with people whose
life’s work and passion it has been to work for peace…change in the global
sense. Some have built orphanages or brought North American wealth and knowledge
to other places: Asia, South America, Central America, China. Others have gone as peace keepers to Africa, the
middle east and countless locales through yet other efforts during the various
world conflicts. Today, in fact, right now in Amman Jordan, Darcy
Fox is just finishing his shift and returning to the residence where he and
other Canadian peace keepers are relaxing after their training session with
Iraqi Nationals. These Iraqi men are being trained to become law enforcement
officers in the New Iraq. The school at which they are training is 45 miles from
Jordan’s capital, Amman. Of course Darcy is missed by his family and all of us
here at Westminster and we wish he could be here to tell us himself how things
are going. But in his absence and by the wonder of email he
is able to share some thoughts with us on this Peace Sabbath. I read from Friday’s correspondence: that is,
Darcy writing, October 22, 2004 James, it was good to hear from you. On Sunday morning at the time of your worship I will be
at my residence in Amman as we will have returned from work by then. The weekend
that we have here is Thursday and Friday (as Friday is the Muslim holy day). It is funny that you would write at this time and
ask what contribution that, I feel as Canadians, we are making. The question
made me pause to collect my thoughts. As peace keepers and policemen it is true
that we are regarded as some of the best world wide. I have received very
favorable responses when speaking to the locals here in Jordan. They will
invariably ask “American?” and when I reply “No, Canadian,” they will smile and
say “Ah, Canada …Good”. So that in itself speaks loudly I believe. As far as my role here I'm still struggling as to
whether we are doing any good or just building a false sense of security for the
young men of Iraq. At least 40% of the cadets that attend here will go back to
Iraq and will not report for duty. They will sell the Glock firearm and
ammunition that they are issued and take the money and use it to support their
families. It would appear to be a fairly wise decision considering what is going
on there at this time. Yes, I'm a bit negative right about now. I have
found the cadets themselves to be like the rest of us in the world … like most
people, they just want to have shelter and raise their families. However they
have been under such a brutal regime for so long that violence is what they
know. Given that most of the recruits are between 18 -35 years old they can not
remember a time in their country that was not awash in violence. I truly believe in democracy but I don't think
that it can be thrust upon a people and expected to last. There has to be
protection for the weak and the institutions that are needed to survive. The
democracy that the Iraqi, and most Arab cultures, need, is different than our
western concept of democracy. I find that their religion plays an overwhelming
part of the society here and for the systems to work for all people there is
going have to be some compromise. This past week, Class ‘9’ graduated from the
school and was sent home on Saturday. (editorial note: that would be 8 days
ago)… You may have heard on the news what I'm about to tell you. There were 9
young men who attended the school and were traveling in a van back home. Two of
these young men were brothers and another was a cousin to the other two. As they
entered a town their van was ambushed and the nine were killed. I had the opportunity to teach two of those young
men who were killed. We go through so many faces here I have a hard time
recalling them all. It still saddens me that a religion will support the “Holy
Warriors” that committed this crime and it is a crime. These young men wanted
nothing better but to support their family. Chances are that some of the nine of
them would not have even reported for duty when they got home. They were killed
for the holy war that the Warriors are waging against any semblance of western
involvement in their lives and culture. (I should say here that 16 Iraqi Police
officers were killed yesterday and, I suspect, Darcy helped train some of them
too.) Darcy Continues. “It saddens me that this “cradle of civilization” has degraded to this point and I truly see no end of it. I
don't know if we are helping or hindering, James. I guess only history will tell. Hopefully I have been able to touch a few lives as I also have been
touched by a few individuals that I have been fortunate to make contact with.
I have experienced tons of personal growth and had the privilege to live in a different culture and meet with people whose lives
have been nurtured with other experiences. None of this would be possible had I remained in Canada. I have had my eyes opened and my mind broadened as I have been made to think outside the box. Having always loved my country I have
gained a new respect for our Country and our culture. I'm forwarding a copy of an interview (written) by a Staff Sergeant from the Edmonton Police Service which was produced for the
RCMP magazine. Maybe it will provide more insight than I have been able to share. (I have that article if anyone wishes to read it.) Darcy concludes, “I'm sorry that I wasn't more helpful, James. I truly have enjoyed the experience but at times have wondered
if we are making a difference. Thanks for your prayers and thoughts. Darcy Darcy is set to leave Jordan on January 8, 2005 and will be home a couple of days after that. Darcy is one of many in our congregation’s life and memory who have decided to fight “the good fight of faith” as a peacemaker
and a bridge builder. All of their stories encourage our attempts to model God’s shalom in the world, because we know that peace does not simply
happen. We do not drift into shalom, but work faithfully at creating space for God’s healing and wholeness to touch the world. Amen.