I recently heard from a former college classmate of mine, who works at a church in the Indianapolis area, that the Westoboro Baptist Church (WBC) has decided to protest their congregation this (Sunday) morning. Apparently WBC is in the area to protest the Super Bowl and they decided to use the free time, on Sunday morning, to rail against this particular congregation because they preach that "God loves everyone." Now this is where it gets weird, what my friend is asking for more than anything else are prayers. Obviously prayers for the congregation but also prayers for the protestors! Now I am not going to use the "H" word (that rhymes with eight) but I REALLY don't like these guys. If you are not familiar with WBC these are the individuals who protest military funerals because they believe the death of the soldier is God's punishment on this country due to our tolerance of homosexuality. Regardless of your stance on this controversial issue, to protest someone's funeral, especially the funeral of someone who lost their life serving in the military, who died far too young, is simply unacceptable. I REALLY don't like these guys. But here is my friend, face to face with their hate, and he is asking us to pray for those who hate.
Being a follower of Jesus was never meant to be easy. Jesus said a lot of challenging things and too often we soften those commands. We choose to focus on the side of Jesus that best fits the comfortable spot that we are in, instead of wrestling with the challenges that Jesus laid before us. Jesus told us to "love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us." How many times have we heard this? How many times have we not lived up to it? Conceptually we get it. We can put this verse back into the context of the "Sermon on the Mount" but when the rubber hits the road and we have been wronged and we are face to face with our enemies and those who hate us, is praying for them the first thing that comes to mind or is it something else? Are we walking the talk? Martin Luther King Jr once said that only love can drive out hate. What is our response to hate? Is it more evil or is it love? Being a follower of Jesus was never meant to be easy, it is a challenge, but it is also how we know we should live. I will leave you with the last line from what my friend wrote as he and his congregation prepared to pray for those who hate:
"We've been working hard for the past two weeks since we learned of the protest to craft our responses to the matter in such a way that God's love would shine in everything we say and do."
Who are you praying for?
See you in church.
Chris
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It is easier for me to pray for someone who dislikes me and has treated me badly than it is to pray for someone who completely demonstrates hate and disrespect for others, especially because it does not make any sense to me.
ReplyDeleteI have first prayed that God would change MY heart to be able to pray for the WBC people and their hatred and complete ignorance. If I truly hate them, then I become one of them. I found that it is easier to pray for these radicals when I am with more people. I feel that when there is a group coming together, prayer is more powerful. I also listen to the hearts of others who pray for change and then my heart changes and eases up to continue to ask God to put His love in their hearts.
With that said, if the WBC people came close to my church and we began to pray and I didn’t see immediate change, I would most likely have to choke a few of them and then ask God for forgiveness.
After the shootings in Tucson in January, 2011, members of the WBC came to attempt to protest at several funerals. The city worked quickly to get orders that they were not allowed to get within 50-100 yards of the services.
Jynn
Tucson, AZ
This is a great reminder. Thanks Chris.
ReplyDeleteIn late 2010, when John Edwards' former wife died, the church announced it would protest at her funeral: not because John had committed adultery (though that would have been just as heinous) but because she supported equal rights for gays, or some equally ridiculous reason. I was so proud of the Raleigh-area pastors, who decided to show up on a very rainy, cold Saturday in December to form a human wall so that members of the family, etc., could enter the church without being seen by the protesters. Nothing was said by any of the pastors and others who joined the wall-and soon the protesters left. The ironic thing was that the Edwards' immediate family - like her children - had not even arrived before the Westboro members left. A very clear example of what, I think, Jesus would have us do. There will always be evil in this world; what we do to confront it and disarm it is of utmost importance.
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