“No More of This!”

Whenever there is a discussion of gun rights and gun control, there is always at least one fellow Christian who will quote Luke 22:36 as support for gun rights. The passage has Jesus saying, “But now, the one who has a purse must take it, and likewise a bag. And the one who has no sword must sell his cloak and buy one.”

It was one of those verses plucked to support a position, but in order to support that position, the reader is required to dismiss the whole passage.

The story the author of Luke is telling occurs the evening of Passover, after the last supper, and concerns Jesus being apprehended by temple police due to Judas Iscariot’s betrayal.

If you read verse 36 in context of the rest of the passage, you will eventually come to verses 47 through 53.

This is how it reads:

⁴⁷ While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him; ⁴⁸ but Jesus said to him, “Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?” ⁴⁹ When those who were around him saw what was coming, they asked, “Lord, should we strike with the sword?” ⁵⁰ Then one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. ⁵¹ But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him. ⁵² Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple police, and the elders who had come for him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a bandit? ⁵³ When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness!”

Did you notice what happened when you read just a little further into the story? Jesus is asked if his disciples should use their swords, but before being able to answer, one of his faithful disciples decides to use his sword. Jesus cries out, “No more!” and heals the individual his disciples injures.

Just as “a well regulated militia” in the Second Amendment is either completely ignored or bastardized to mean something it doesn’t, so Luke 22:36 is bastardized to mean something it does not mean and the rest of the passage is completely ignored.

If the author of Luke is calling for gun ownership, the author is also calling for guns not to be used.

I suppose someone will reply to this, pointing out Cain killed Abel with a stone and that evil is in the heart, not in the tool. True. Of course, this ignores the fact that guns are specifically manufactured, advertised, and used to kill others. Rocks are just naturally occurring formations. When we  live in a culture that glamorizes rocks and we find ourselves with a National Rock Association advocating for more rocks in more hands and we are faced with an epidemic of mass stonings in our schools, movie theaters, churches, and other places, then perhaps we have an argument worthy of debate.

Either way, the author of Luke clearly recorded Jesus as saying “No more of this!”

Best For Last

Last night I was watching The Colbert Report and had a good chuckle. Senator John McCain was Stephen Colbert’s guest and was invited to discuss his new book. As you may know, Colbert will soon replace David Letterman as the host of the long running late Show.

Colbert: Thanks for coming here for one of my last twelve shows.

John McCain: You’re scraping the bottom of the barrel?

Colbert: No, we have saved the best for last, to paraphrase the Gospel.

McCain: What chapter of the Bible is that?

Colbert: It’s the marriage at Cana when Jesus turns the water into wine. The wine that he makes out of the water is passed around to the guests, and they say “thou hast saved the best for last.” I thought, ‘How are you going to appeal to Christian conservatives if you don’t know your Gospel,’ sir?

Watch it for yourself. http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/videos/3h1qqa/john-mccain

From John 2:7-10 (NRSV):

Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.” So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.”

A Place At The Table For Everyone

Image

Defining Yourself

Image

Christmas Chapter and Verse

Image

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Image

Flipping Tables

Image

I realized after making this pic, that most who read it will see it as a criticism of others rather than as a starting point for self-reflection. I read it and reread it and found that on a daily basis my tables are being overturned, more from a place of disappointment than from a place of anger.

I thought about editing Mr. Zacharias’s last sentence. Replacing “lust, greed and wealth” with “opinions, rightness, and rights.” As I continued to reread his quote, I realize the words/ideas I would have added are fully and completely embraced within his words.

I Come as a Servant

Image

John L. Bell is a hymn-writer and a member of the Iona Community. My denomination, Community of Christ, awarded Mr. Bell with the International Peace Award on October 18, 2013. This quote from his acceptance address is what stood out for me.

I believe militarizing God creates a one dimensional, narrow God. Too many of the writers of the different books, poems, and letters in the Hebrew and Christian books have painted many people into a prejudiced, ignorant, intolerant corner by this.

I believe in liberating God from this. God as a compassionate, empathetic, full of grace (graceful), a God who comes as a servant is the God that calls me to those same characteristics. I tend to be much too self-centered to respond appropiately to that call.

It is a tougher call to be a servant, to be compassionate, empathetic, and graceful towards others, especially those we see as less than us in one way or another. Which, I believe, is why so many prefer the easy path of the one dimensional God who calls us to fulfill role of warrior instead of the more difficult role of peace maker.

This link will take you to John Bell’s address this quote is from:
http://link.videoplatform.limelight.com/media/?mediaId=7ef3e5f34c804e8ba77acdd6e0164876&width=480&height=411&playerForm=PlayerStandard

http://www.cofchrist.org