Living in the Spirit
August 29, 2020
Scripture Reading:
Matthew 16:21-28
From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’ –Matthew 16:21-23
When are our minds set on divine or human things? We had another police shooting of a black man—this time in Wisconsin. The black man survived but was shot seven times and is most likely paralyzed from the waist down. It was ironic to hear that he is handcuffed to his bed. I doubt he is going anywhere soon. Everybody involved is now trying to get their stories straight. The police had been called to a domestic violence report. The black man’s friends said he was trying to intervene in the dispute. Apparently, the authorities thought he was involved. They followed him as he returned to his car and then shot him seven times in the back as he attempted to enter the vehicle. I have seen the videos of the event several times, but nothing is clear. What is clear is it reflects a human construct, not divine.
Later in the hubbub, as the local white militia was gathering, a seventeen-year-old participant carrying an automatic rifle tangled with some adults trying to stop him from killing others, and he ended up killing two men. A woman tried to save one of the men shot. Afterword, in an interview with the press, she is quoted as saying, “I never run toward trouble, but it’s worth getting shot for somebody else*.” That is divine.
All of us need to transition from the human to the divine and stop being stumbling-blocks to others, especially youth who obviously are encouraged or allowed to get caught up in hate. Bigotry and killing must stop. None of us wants to live in a world where we are all afraid of the other. God created all people in God’s image. Jesus died on the cross because of “human things.” His death on the cross freed us from evils grip. Our call is to accept the gift of God’s love and let it empower us to love one another.
Prayer: Lord, forgive us for being complacent and sometimes complicit in allowing hate to win. Amen.
*https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/08/26/jacob-blake-kenosha-police-protests/
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.