“A Christmas Meditation – Good vs Evil”

With two of our three children at home and my wife willing to go to see the new Star Wars Movie, “The Rise of Skywalker” (Lucas Films-Disney), all four of use made our way tonight to see the last of the Star Wars trilogies.  It was a strangely satisfying movie, perhaps because it is a rare experience to be able to sit with two of my children through a movie together.  In the past, when they were much younger, we looked with great anticipation to watching a blockbuster movie together at Christmas.  Today, this is a rather rare event, not only due to our age, but life circumstances of our often being so far away from one another.

I think I found this movie satisfying at a deep level, because for a few moments good actually does triumph over evil.  In a movie, unlike real life, this is a foregone conclusion, but even in this movie it is not certain that the force for good will prevail over the evil force until the very end.  Though much of the movie “the dark side” is that which takes all the life from the universe in an over reaching desire for rule and ultimate power.  It seems odd, when I should be celebrating the story of Jesus’ birth, I find another narrative to also have a great deal of power.  This story carries power because those who fight on the side of the good have to believe that when they fight the Sith army together they actually can win.  The sheer numbers of persons who arrive from all parts of the galaxy to fight against the evil Sith lord is overwhelming in scope.  The diversity represented by persons from all parts of the universe overpowers the Sith emperor with the assistance of one remaining Jedi who in her own person incorporates them all.

I find myself somewhat disappointed in evangelical churches as we are not actively opposing the evil which seems so entrenched now in our culture.  I wonder if we are also afraid.  I worked today with a 17 year old Hispanic male, who seem visible surprised when I told him I did not support our President due to the way he treats immigrants from other nations.  The welcoming message of Christ, who welcomes strangers cannot correlate with the fear that brings us to build a wall on the Mexican border in an attempt to keep out “criminals and drug dealers.”  This wall and the racism which builds it in fact harms the innocent men, women and children who simply want to join us in this country for an opportunity for a better life.  Drug dealers and criminals will always find a way across our borders as long as we have American citizens who need a fix of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines and so many other drugs.  Our misguided President uses these poor persons as another way to divide us.  He spends his days generating fear among us of a multicultural nation as an attempt to hold his grasp upon power.  Of what truly are we afraid?  Our blood is all red.  When I need a blood transfusion to save my life I don’t ask the nationality of the person who donated their blood to save my life.  Are we yet so stupid to believe there are that many differences between us?  Christ loves us all!  Can we not somehow learn by God’s grace to do the same?

It made my heart glad this week to see “Christianity Today’s” editor break with this President and with many other evangelicals, including Franklin Graham and call for this Presidents impeachment and removal from office.  Truer words have never been spoken in the evangelical church than to say we will all regret the day we compromised our Christian values in the name of political expediency to support this “amoral President.”  Are cracks beginning to emerge among the evangelicals in our support of this President?  Have we compromised our faith simply in the name of opposing abortion and bringing conservative Supreme Court justices to our Supreme Court?  Are we ready to sell our souls simply in a bid to perhaps overturn Roe v. Wade?    

  I have yet to hear my evangelical friends speak out against the racism and the white nationalism this President promotes and the divisions his Presidency has caused among brothers and sisters across this nation.  Overlooking so many glaring wrongs does not make it right to support this President.  If he violates one commandment, he has violated them all.  I am continually amazed at the moronic statements my brothers and sisters make in a twisted attempt to support a man who espouses no Christian values.  In one speech this week as he was being impeached in the House of Representatives, this President offered no remorse or apology to the country.  Instead, he spoke at a campaign rally and had the gall to opine loudly about whether a man who had served 40+ years for the people of Michigan had ended up in either heaven or hell.  No one has the right to comment on another man or woman’s salvation.  This is a sacred area reserved for The Lord God Almighty!  Only God knows the state of a man or a woman’s soul.  I predict this President will continue to go from worse to worse.  I really do not think we have yet seen the full measure of darkness which is blinding the heart and soul of this man.  I pray for him daily, that God may have mercy upon his soul.

So as I prepare to celebrate once again the birth of my Savior and am reminded of the Good News of the Gospel which has its fully human incarnation of God in human person in this baby Jesus Christ, I am reminded not to be discouraged even by the terrible things happening to this country while we are under the leadership of this President.  Instead, I am reminded of the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which declares in the face of evil’s triumph, “Its Friday Now, but Sunday is coming!” The darkness is upon us now, but the resurrection of Jesus is not as distant as we might imagine.   Any one of us who has heard Rev. Tony Campolo preach his famous sermon on the resurrection of Jesus Christ will surely remember this phrase:  “It’s Friday now, but Sunday is coming!”   We believe in a God in the person of Jesus Christ who continually says to each of us and to our nation: “Do not be discouraged; God your Savior is not finished with you yet!”

And so when hope is fading for the possibility of a new day, remember that “with God nothing shall be impossible for those of us who believe!”  But as “The Rise of Skywalker” teaches us, we are not alone in this struggle.   There are many more who believe and who will work for the good of our society as much as we will ourselves do!

‘Merry Christmas my dear friends!  May the joy of this new day enter deeply into your being and give you hope that despite the darkness of this hour, with the hope in our Savior dying on the cross, we can remember what is said about Him:  “It’s Friday now, but Sunday is coming!”  And in that day of resurrection we shall all be glad, in the name of the one who died, but rose again from the dead, in the name of Jesus, precious Jesus, Jesus Christ our Lord and our Redeemer!  If hope exists anywhere in this world, it exists in your heart, Lord Jesus Christ!  May your name, which is above every name on heaven and on earth, receive all praise, glory, honor and blessing, both now and forevermore.  Amen!

Let all of God’s people say, “Amen!”

“Amen!  We praise you Lord Jesus Christ!”

 

Bill Wilson, servant of God by God’s grace and God’s mercy.  “Amen!”