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It is the purpose of Divine Providence that people should act from freedom according to reason. Divine Providence 71
Scripture:
Isaiah 1:16-18
Wash yourselves, purify yourselves, remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless; defend the orphan, plead for the widow. "Come now, and let us reason together," says the Lord, "Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be white as snow." Though they were red like crimson, they will be like wool.
Matthew 25: 35-40
I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and [you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me. And He said, To the extent that you have done this to one of the least of my brothers, you have done it to me. Come, you blessed ones, and possess as your inheritance the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
From the Kuran: Sura 2. 254-255
"Who can describe the nature of God?
The Living, the Eternal: His throne
Extends over worlds and worlds
That no imagination can compass.
His truth is clear as daylight: how
Can compulsion advance religion?
The keys of Life and Death, and the mysteries
Of everything around us, are in His hands.
Our duty then is to seek the path
Of goodness, kindness, upright conduct,
And charity, to grasp at no advantage
To a brother's need.
To stand by the word that is pledged,
To bear true witness, and remove all cause
Of misunderstandings in our dealings
As between man and man.
It is difficult, in unreasonable times, to think with reason. At such times our lives and hearts become filled with fear and anxiety and our thoughts tend to make us either lash out at what is bothering us or withdraw and hide and hope the situation will return back to what we perceive as being "normal." But the reality is that change is change and the only way to deal with it is to recognize it, accept its existence and adapt to it in ways that our knowledge and experience and faith allow us to adapt.
On September 11, 2001 our lives all changed. The attack on the World Trade Center in New York was felt all over the world, and of course the closer we are to the center of the attack the more strongly we are affected by it. However, because of our modern day media we all could witness the events and destruction first hand, as it was happening. Those images are ingrained in the mind of every one of us. Consequently every one of us feels it has happened to us personally. Every one of us feels threatened directly by the invasion on our freedom and happiness. This is a different experience than that of previous world conflicts where news of what was happening often took weeks or months to reach us, and then was condensed and reported only on radio or in newspapers. News clips at movies were more graphic, but generally months old and seen only by those who happened to go to the movie theater.
This attack leaves us wondering 'what is coming next?' as the perpetrators of it are telling us clearly that they hate us and intend to eradicate us from the face of the earth. There is little solace in seeing blurred images of the destruction of airstrips and unidentifiable buildings out in some desert space that looks more like the moon than our beautiful earth, and then to hear that innocent women and children are being killed and maimed by these bombings.
Yes we have all been affected and now we must figure out what we are going to do about it, How we are going to cope with it? This morning, as we remember those who died in order that we might have freedom and peace, I am reminded of a visit I made some years ago to the National Memorial located in Ottawa. Surrounding the arch through which the armed forces are pressing forward are the figures of 'Peace' and 'Freedom.' To win peace and secure freedom Canada's sons and daughters enrolled for service during two World Wars. For the cause of peace and freedom, 68,260 Canadians (including Newfoundlanders) gave their lives in the Great War, and a still larger number suffered from impairment of body and mind and spirit. Then in the Second World War 45,615 lives were given followed by 516 in the Korean Conflict. The National Memorial, however, does more than just commemorate lives given in great events of the past. It has a message for all generations and for all countries - the message given, which called for Canada's response, is seen, intentionally in the crowning figures of 'Peace and Freedom,' which appear side by side. The message is that "Peace and Freedom cannot long be separated." It is a wonderful thing that we have, in one of the world's capitals, a visible reminder of so great a truth; for without freedom there can be no peace, and without peace there can be no freedom. We must remember, however, that it is God and not wars that gives us freedom and peace and if we do not want to see the lives lost in previous conflicts and the great sacrifice they made, as being given in vain, then we must increase our faith in God who is the only One who can truly influence the thought and actions of fanatical religious groups.
If we want to win the battle against terrorism then we must fight it with God's weapons of wisdom and love, as expressed in truth and good. To do this we must start here at home in our every day lives, in our family relations and in the way we treat our neighbors. Then we can expand this to all others in our community and our Province and our country and then to the world at large. Jesus gave us the answer when he said we should love one another and do unto others as we would have them do to us.
If, in our religious life, we are prepared just to believe and accept only what others tell us, then we are servile to their beliefs and thus limited. But if we believe what we read or hear from the Word of God because we think about it, with reason, and decide what it means to us, then we have freedom and a chance for peace. "Come now and let us reason together," the Lord said to Isaiah. "Wash yourselves, purify yourselves, remove the evil of your deeds from My sight; cease to do evil; learn to do good." Jesus told His followers that they should feed the hungry, and give water to the thirsty, to be kind to strangers, to clothe the naked and to visit the sick and those who are in prison. Thus to show love to our enemies. The Kuran tells it's followers that they should seek the path of goodness, kindness, uprightness of conduct and charity, and to take at no advantage from a brother's need.
The Lord loves freedom, and he loves it when people worship from a sense of freedom rather than from a sense of fear or obligation. So, if we wish to have freedom and peace in our life, we should heed the Word of God and live according to our understanding of what it teaches us. Then we can worship the Lord with willing hearts and enjoy with confidence the bounty of His Divine Providence. Let us pray that the choice of all is toward wisdom and love, that is toward good and truth, for the truth when used for good will make us free!
Prayer: Let us give thanks to God for His loving kindness, His joy in creating us and for allowing us to enter into His eternal presence for this brief moment. Lord God, provider of all good things in our life, we thank you for the opportunity of being in your presence here today. As we come before you, conscious of the sacrifice made by those brave Canadians who died for the cause of Peace and Freedom, we pray that we might live for the self-same cause. We pray that you will cleanse us from all that is wrong in our lives, for we know that where there is falsity truth is shut out; where there is anger understanding does not exist; where there is hatred love cannot abide and where there is evil there can be no good. So Lord, help us to remove those things from our hearts and from our minds and from our lives, that stand in the way of receiving your blessings of wisdom and of love.
Lord God we pray that your message of love and kindness will reach the leaders of all nations so that their hearts may be softened and they will dream of peace and not of war so that Peace and Freedom might reign throughout the world.
We thank you Lord and ask your blessing on this congregation.
Benediction:
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you.
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.
Amen
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Music: How I Love You
© 1999 Bruce DeBoer
