At Peace with War. Harold Ristau
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death of Lazarus (John 11:35). Why did He weep? Jesus knew He was about to raise His good friend from the dead, so what caused Him so much grief? Perhaps it was because He was witness to the hopelessness of the other mourners around Him and their lack of faith in Himself as the Resurrection and the Life. Perhaps His tears were a reaction to the greater reality of sin, death, and the suffering of others. According to the context, it is clear that it was His love for the living, instead of a simple personal grief, that caused God’s Son to shed those memorable tears in the midst of this death. Christ was incapable of condemning those who crucified Him, and were crucified with Him (Luke 23:34). Dare we say that His love prohibited Him from that judgement? He is Love, and can only love. He forgives them. At the same time, He says very little. His silence confirms their self-condemnation.
I said very little today in that make-shift chapel. It may be due to the fact that I am not as comfortable in the French language as I wish I was (since I was working with a Francophone group). Maybe I was being wiser than usual. I read Psalm 23, prayed the Our Father, and simply said, in my broken French, “We don’t know why things like this happen, but God promises that He is with us” followed by Jesus’ words, “There is no greater love than to lay your life down for your friends (John 15:13). You were their friends. We are His friends.”
We thank and praise You Jesus for redeeming us from our selfishness, pride, and ignorance . . . in short, ourselves. Give us the humility and courage to boldly, yet gently, apply Your Law and Gospel to the life situations of those You bring into our lives, so that they too can know Your loving presence and receive Your merciful salvation. Amen.
September 12
Why doesn’t God perform miracles more frequently, and demonstrate grand interventions on earth? This question pops up a lot after critical incidents. I wonder the same thing. In those moments I need to ask myself why it is that I think that He should. Is He somehow obliged? Are we deserving? Is not our freedom one of our most precious moral commodities? Despite our arrogance, ignorance and pride, the Lord intervenes all over the place, by grace. If I were God I would have abandoned this planet a long time ago. As a matter of fact, I neglect it every time I fail to help another creature. Yet, as we learn from Christ’s temptation in the wilderness, the miracles of Jesus are not simply acts of humanitarian compassion. They show us His identity. The physical aid is always of a secondary consequence. Consider the healing of the paralytic: “So that you may believe that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins . . . get up and walk.’’ Otherwise, why not just keep people from falling ill, if Jesus were simply concerned for their physical well being? After all, even the resurrected Lazarus dies again.
Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov does a magnificent job revealing the enormity of Satan’s infamous temptations for the Son of Man. Jesus was not tempted to prove His divine identity because He felt upstaged by the devil. He was tempted to help humanity, but in the wrong ways and at the wrong times. The devil’s arguments were reasonable. They were ingenious as they touched Jesus precisely in the inmost depths of His heart and His love for us. “Jesus, think of all the good you could do if you turned these stones into bread. You could solve world hunger. Jesus, you want people to believe in you right? Well, jump down from this tower and they will see the angels lift you away. Jesus, I will give you all the kingdoms of the world. You would make the best king, leading the nations in justice and peace.’’ It must have torn His heart declining those offers, and for what? Death on a bloody cross. By rejecting the offer, Jesus appears less than compassionate. By choosing to die, He appears less than sane. Jesus wants to help people. But the greatest help He can offer is eternal. A temporary solution to all the world’s problems can actually have the opposite spiritual effect. As Jesus’ casting of demons into the pigs demonstrates, sometimes even those who believe His claims and witness His miracles, chase Him and want nothing to do with Him. In short, miracles don’t create faith, and, despite popular opinion, faith is more important than anything else on earth.
This all gives me great courage as a chaplain. When God appears absent and doesn’t grant us that much sought miracle, I know that there must be a good reason, since I am sure that the temptation to intervene consumes Him more than I could ever imagine, due to His love for us. He is not a masochist nor is He a sadomasochist. The temptation to intervene is just as great as it was during those 40 days in the desert. Although resurrected and ascended, Christ still bears His wounds. He still suffers, as He sees us here, and hears our complaints caused by unbelief. But for me as a chaplain, I no longer try defending God when I find myself intervening in the midst of tragedy, not because I am disappointed, but because I love Him too much to make excuses. May God prevent me from offering those well intended, but hopelessly erroneous, explanations that simplify the tragedies of others. Job’s friends were well-intentioned as well. They attempted to defend God’s reputation, and were rebuked by the Lord. Instead, may I save my thoughts, and my words, for some heartfelt moans and groans as I drop to my knees in prayer.
Could it be that I am that miracle and “intervention,’’ sent by God as His messenger and bearer of Good News? Forgive me Lord for the times that I believe otherwise.
Dear God, the world can be confusing at times, and we are often tempted to rely upon our own wisdom and reasoning to make sense of it all. Thank You Lord for the innumerable times that You forgive my errors which are driven by simple lack of faith in Your omnipotence and sovereignty. I praiseYou Christ for your patient commitment to using me as the answer to the prayer of others. Amen.
September 16
It is a bizarre feeling to fall onto your stomach on a cafeteria floor along with close to 500 others. When the alarm is sounded and we hear “rocket attack” or “ground attack,” that is precisely the procedure. Wherever you are on KAF, you drop down and cover your face. The voice, blasted over speakers throughout our base, occupied by close to 60 000 troops, reminds me of something out of an Orwellian novel. Out on the FOBs, there are no warnings before a rocket strikes, except for a short whistle about half a second prior. On KAF, it is unlikely that we will get injured or killed because the base is so large, though we have taken casualties from time to time. Often, by the time we hear the alarm, the rocket has already landed somewhere. We tend to get a lot more at the airfield, since the insurgents know well that that is where most of our fuel is kept. Lucky for us, their aim is lousy and they lack equipment. The rockets are usually set on an angle between some rocks. They are constructed of whatever combustible material is available to them, and catapulted from the mountains or fields. They have hit a couple of aircraft and some of our hangars. Immediately after an attack, every member needs to notify their CoC regarding their whereabouts to assure that everyone is accounted for on base.
We have had some close calls, and everyone knows it. The chaplain’s take on things gets a greater hearing in times like that. More than a few have reconnected with God, or have started attending chapel or Bible Study. Hopefully those patterns persist back home after the tour.
Peace and security: we take it for granted. However, even at home, tragic surprises occur. Wherever there is sin, there is violence. It is inescapable. Even if I isolate myself in a desert, I cannot escape from the violence hidden in the depths of my heart. “Trust in the Lord.’’ We don’t have a lot of choice!
Almighty God, defender of the poor and weak, guard and protect us from the attacks of our enemies, of both body and soul, through Christ our Lord, Amen.
September 18
Some children were seen with wire cutters, openly cutting the barbed wire that surrounds our FOBs. It is not surprising. We have here just another episode of insurgents sending their children to do their dirty work. The insurgents have periodically taken children along on their missions. Although some soldiers consider children in these regions as “potential terrorists” or “Taliban in training”, most Westerners have a soft spot in our hearts for children. The enemy is well aware that we won’t shoot at or deliberately kill kids, and so they play on our compassion. They have a lot of faith in our mercy. As I wrote a few days ago, we have a similar temptation with Jesus in the desert, where the devil tempts Him to stay on earth to satisfy all of humankind’s temporal needs; an attempt at dissuading Him from going to the cross to provide for their eternal ones. Even the devil plays on the kindheartedness of God. And when we should, we don’t.