Disturbed

Mar 8, 2022

"You have heard the law that says, 'Love your neighbor' and hate your enemy. But I say, Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!"

- Jesus, Matthew 5:43-44

"We're beginning Lent, and Lent leads to the resurrection. But in-between, there's the cross, and Ukraine is being crucified right now."

- Ukrainian Orthodox priest, Boris Gudziak

If you're like me, you've got way more than enough challenges, issues, problems in your life right now to bring you to your knees in prayer every morning before Jesus. I know that in spades! And yet, without apology, this is my prayer for you…

...I pray, today, that you would be disturbed by a bully superpower's violent, brutal, and unprovoked invasion of a smaller country!

...I pray, today, that you would be burdened by the images of thousands of families whose lives have been tragically uprooted - traumatized grandfathers, grandmothers, teenagers, children, young mothers and their babies fleeing bombed-out apartment buildings and seeking safety, food, water and medical care in bomb shelters.

...I pray, today, that you would be angered that war… the horrific destruction of human life… is still a reality in the 21st century! Is our memory that short?!

My prayer is that, with everything else that's going on in your life and mine, you'd wake up… at 2:00 in the morning… and while you hold your crying baby… or worry about your 401K… or deal with the pain from that recent surgery… that you would say a heart-felt prayer for the people of Ukraine… because it bothers you!

Believe me, unlike my sermons, no one was nodding off when Jesus said what He said in Matthew 5:

You've heard it said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemy! Pray for those who persecute you!"

Wow! This was brand new! Nobody had ever taken the call to love this far before. This had to have sent major shock waves through the hearts and minds of everyone sitting on the hill that day!

And here's why… No one in the crowd that day had to wonder about who their enemy was. You know, when I've heard a pastor teach on this verse from the Sermon on the Mount, oftentimes, I've had to think, "OK… now who's my enemy? ‘Cause it's not always that obvious to me. I've had to ask myself, 'Who’s done evil to me with a malicious heart?' or "Who’s intentionally taken unfair advantage of me or my family?" or "Who’s aggressively trying to ruin my life or my reputation?"

Identifying an enemy I hate is not always easy for me. But, for the people listening to Jesus that day, it was a no-brainer! It was the Romans! The Roman army occupied Judea with an iron fist, and their boots were pressing hard on the necks of every Jewish family. With the arrogant power of Caesar they intimidated… they confiscated… they subjugated the Jewish people by violent force and by taking and taxing whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. When Jesus called them to love their enemy… they knew immediately who Jesus was calling them to love and pray for. And guess what? So do the Ukrainians!

When Candace and I were in college… back when dinosaurs roamed the earth… we had a very close, personal, older friend named Walter Powell - the founder of Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon. Walter was born in Ukraine. One year, Walter invited us to midnight mass on the Saturday night before Easter Sunday. As we sat in that small church, surrounded by sixty or so Ukrainian people in festive traditional garments, I found myself smiling at the icons of all the saints on those walls. From a small altar, in front of the Crucified Christ, this Ukrainian priest delivered the most gut-wrenching message I've ever heard. Going back through history, he chronicled in great detail all the atrocities and human rights abuses that the Ukrainian people had suffered under the brutal hands of the Soviet Union. You could see all the elderly people present nodding in agreement - some with tears in their eyes. At the end of the message, he paused, and with great emotion said…

"They are our enemy! I hate them for what they have done to us and to our families! And that is why,” he said, “I choose to love them and pray for them!"

Unbelievable!

And then, at 12:01 on Easter Sunday morning, he led us outside into the dark… into the rain… and we walked around the church three times. Then he led us back into the church, and as he stood before a long table piled high with fresh baked breads and cheeses and olives and salamis and wines, he declared:

"CHRISTOS ANESTI! (CHRIST IS RISEN!)

And we all shouted:

"ALITHOS ANESTI! (HE IS RISEN INDEED!)

These people could find the capacity of heart to love and forgive their enemies because they followed a Risen Savior who said that's just what God's people do!

So… where is God in this tragedy… in your tragedy? Right smack dab in the middle of it! God is present in the darkness to bring help and healing and hope to His people.

He is present for the Ukrainian boy who picks up a gun to fight against tyranny and protect his family and his home. And God is present for that same Ukrainian boy to love and forgive the Russian boy who fights against him. So… what does this look like?

Yesterday, I watched a video from The New York Post that showed a Russian soldier, who had surrendered, break down in tears as his Ukrainian captors handed him a cup of tea, a sandwich, and a cellphone to call his mother, in Russia, to tell her that he was OK."