Synths and Meekness

Greetings Warriors and Scholars!

Found on IMDB.com

Have you been watching "Humans" on AMC this season? This show is about androids gaining free will and emotions of their own in our present world. I am 4 episodes in to season 3 and it is getting interesting. Spoilers ahead. If you remember from the season 2 finale, the code allowing Synths to gain their own feelings and will was released into the open. Now, hundreds or even thousands of Synths are trying to make it through life, of some sort, with distrust and anger around them from others. Some have turned violent while others are seeking peaceful initiatives to handle the situation.

At one point Max, played by Ivanno Jeremiah is talking with a small camp of Synths that he is leading. He tells them:

"To human eyes we are all guilty. We are all killers. That is how they will see us now so we must be beyond reproach. We must stay open. Show them mercy when they extend none. Forgiveness when they deserve none. And when they strike us down, we must reach out to them. Some will reach back, not many. But those that take our hand will not let go. Believe me."

"You mean to surrender."

 "No, to appeal to what is best in them."

Have you heard similar discussion before? Martin Luthor King said similar things when he was leading the peaceful protests of the civil rights movement. Gandhi had similar views for his movement to gain freedom for India.  Jesus also taught such ideals.

You have heard that it was said 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth,' but I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.                        Matthew 5:38-42

 Jesus goes on in the next few verses about loving our enemies. Not he does not say that we do not have enemies, but that we should treat them as anyone else. At one point he says. "If you only love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?" (Matt. 5:46).

Keep in mind that meekness is not weakness. It is controlling your power and trusting God to handle it. Essentially, it means allowing God to decide when and how you use your power.

There is no scripture that says that vengeance is never earned, In fact Romans 3:23 tells us that "...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." But we are also told in Romans 12:19 to "...leave room for God's wrath..." It is not our job to dish out punishment. That job belongs to God alone. Instead, we are encouraged to offer friendship and peace. This is not always easy and is not always "cuddly" either. There will be disagreements and we must work together in spite of them rather than try to push on each other. You don't have to be a Carebear or a Pony, but you do need to treat others with respect. Sometimes the most powerful thing a warrior can do is to take a hit and not hit back.

In our social and political climate right now we need these skills more than ever. I am not perfect at all of this myself but fortunately for all of us there is grace and help from Jesus if we accept it.

Jesus' Apprentices

Greetings Warriors and Scholars!

 http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/The_Sorcerer's_Apprentice?file=Fantasia-disneyscreencaps.com-2363.jpg

Sunday night I watched The Disneyland 60th Anniversary tribute. As I processed how they were celebrating the lifework of a man of amazing imagination, I started to think about something. It happened during a performance they showed of the Los Angeles Philharmonic performing a piece of Fantasia. The piece was "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". We all remember this one, right? Mickey Mouse is cleaning for a sorcerer and he decides to use a little magic, bringing a mop to life and having it do the work for him. He gets swept up in the craziness of what seems to be dream and in the end finds his mentor back with a nasty look on his face.

How easy is it to feel like God is that way? We think he just wants us to do chores for him with a seat watching Him work. Now, admittedly, watching God work is amazing. And even being asked to do a chore for the King of Kings should come as an honor to us. But what if God has more in mind than that?

"I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." John 15:15

Jesus doesn't just see you as a droid to fix things around the house. He wants us to be His friends. Notice how much He has shared with us? "for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you."  Everything. Not some stuff. Not a few things. Everything.

Jesus taught us a lot. Just read the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5-7 or his many parables found throughout Luke. But Jesus taught us more than that. He was speaking with men who had lived with him for years. These men had watched him heal people of blindness, feed thousands, and even meet serious needs when he was tired and ready to rest.

Jesus doesn't look down at us in anger as if we are messing with powers we know nothing about. This is amazing considering how undeserving we often are of Him. He sees us with all the potential we have for good. He doesn't miss out on our weaknesses. No mentor ever does. But He sees the full picture of what you can be and what you are now.

Today, I ask you to do a simple thing: ask Jesus to show you the potential He sees in you. This might include good things you can accomplish or current sin you can overcome. Don't expect His vision of who you can be to be an easy one. Do know He has so much more for you than the Sorcerer had planned for Mickey Mouse.

Spiderman, Drugs, Truth and Love

Today I contemplated something that happened in the comic book industry many years ago in the 1970s.  The government approached Stan Lee about writing a Spiderman comic that educated youth about the dangers of drugs and joined in the battle against such evils.  At that time the Comics Code forbade any mention of drugs.  The Code refused to give its approval for the comic because it mentioned drugs, despite the message that taking them was wrong and dangerous. So what did Stan Lee and Marvel do?  They published Spiderman #96 without the approval of the Code simply by not putting the Code's Seal of Approval on the cover.  This was so effective in the fight against drugs, that it led to a change in the Comics Code.  I honestly believe that they got so focused on their strategies, that they forgot their overall mission, which was to oversee the Comics Industry so that the entertainment found in it was healthy and family friendly.  Isn't a warning about drugs important for health?  Doesn't a comic provide a great chance for parents and kids to talk about these issues?

This makes me wonder about how we do things in the Church.  How often do we get so focused on strategies or truth that we actually fail in expressing the grace and love of Christ?  Do we need to call sin by its real name of sin?  Absolutely!  But we also need to do so in a way which is loving and grace filled.  Yet sometimes we go the opposite direction.  We are scared of pointing sin out but keep trying to express a sentimental love around that doesn't challenge people to grow in Christ.

Jesus was never afraid to call people out about sin.  He told the woman caught in adultery to "go and sin no more" and he kicked out the merchants who were taking advantage of travelers to the temple with high prices.  Yet despite this he was called a "friend of sinners".  He never backed down from calling sin what it is but had amazing relationships with everyone around Him.  This sometimes can be a little confusing, but Jesus is always there to help us.  He has thousands of years of experience in doing this so learning from Him is certainly a great idea.

Luke, Vader, and Love

Love "...holds no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."  1 Corinthians 13

So yesterday I watched Star Wars Episode VI, Return of the Jedi.  I recently picked up the blue-ray set of the full saga and had this last one to watch.

I find the issue of Luke confronting Vader interesting.  It seems Yoda thought confronting him meant fighting/killing him.  Luke did not take to that.  He looked for any bit of goodness in his father and in the end he found it; even though it meant Luke had to approach death to find it, he found it.  Saving Luke's life may not have been much compared to the years of killing and hunting Jedi, but it was a beginning.

Whether or not someone pursues righteousness is their choice and the reality is that people do not always make that choice.  Paul was not asking us to be ignorant or naive.  Simply to know that we should look for the best in people.  How can you do that today?