crucifixion and prayers for peace

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995602.post-85116030683651678022008-03-21T22:33:00.004-04:002008-03-22T23:04:58.090-04:002008-03-22T23:04:58.090-04:00crucifixion and prayers for peaceThis week the focus of First Born Son is both Holy Week and the 5 Year Anniversary of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq. Seven days into the invasion of Iraq there was a special chapel service at Asbury. I have never seen so many hundreds of people crammed into Estes Chapel. Emotions were high. People who supported the war and those who opposed it were all gathered together to talk, listen and pray through two countries at war. There was some time given in the service for people to stand and share their thoughts, feelings and prayers. Our pastor John David moved back and forth around the isles, taking a microphone to anyone who stood to speak. I was pretty numb and so I honestly can’t remember anything anyone said, except for one older lady. When she stood and took the mic from John David she gently told us that her son was on the front lines marching toward Baghdad. In fact, there were reports that some in his outfit had already been killed. She was as afraid for her son’s life as any good mother would be. But then she said something that shocked at least me, if not most of the people in the chapel. I am going to say something that I don’t think anyone else here is going to say. God loves Saddam Hussein, and Jesus died for his sins. So while I’m not holding out hope that he is going to change, I am praying for Saddam Hussein. Today is the day we remember that God loved the world so much that his Son was crucified. This is the critical moment in our salvation story: Genesis tells us that God created ADAM – Hebrew for “humanity” – in his image. But humanity turned away. When the time came to redeem his creation he chose Israel, an enslaved people group who were the lowest of the social order at that time. And he sent his Son through these lowest people to redeem humanity. He was from what is now Palestine, a backwater province of the Roman Empire, born in Bethlehem, a backwater town in this backwater province, to a peasant virgin girl betrothed to a workingman. In the middle of the dung and the straw of a stable, the Savior of humanity was laid in a donkey trough. When his time had come, he rode on the back of a donkey into Jerusalem, where he was nailed to a cross, which meant he was cursed as a Jew and had no citizenship as a Roman. From the cradle to the grave he was among the lowest of the low. And if salvation began there, then that means it is for everyone – for all of ADAM. All of us created from dirt, and all of us redeemed by Christ… the NEW ADAM. I am fairly confident that a very, very small minority of Christians I knew at that time prayed for the Iraqis during the first few days of the war. But this year, as we celebrate Holy Week while lamenting an unholy war, we have been given an opportunity to remember, repent and pray for the peace of Christ that is found at the Cross. <blockquote>O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus, your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in the bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Book of Common Prayer</blockquote> Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, give us your peace. Omarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08664056566879773286noreply@blogger.com2