Osama & Obi-wan

Star Wars sketch from the BBC's Happy Mondays: The Odd Half Hour

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9fPpya1iDQ)

Previously unnoticed parallels are often funny. Not only is this a funny clip (in my view). It raises some interesting questions.

When we watch Star Wars, we side with Luke - he’s the hero. His actions are ‘good’, the empire is ‘evil’ (Darth Vader wears black and has a suitably ominous theme tune). We feel glad as the Death Star is destroyed and Luke and Han fly away into the starry blackness. Yet despite some similarities in the fact pattern (brought out by this joke), no one I know would dream of giving moral equivalence to the perpetrators of 9-11. There is no question either that intellectually or by “listen[ing] to our feelings” we can conclude anything other than that those actions were despicable.

It's popular to claim that our moral ‘take’ on events or actions is purely subjective - it's up to the individual to decide. That no one person has authority or justification for applying their subjective moral framework to others. But when it comes to it, I don’t know anyone who would accept it is legitimate to say that Darth Vader is the good guy. Or that those who flew the planes were Luke Skywalkers. There are areas where subjectivity is unacceptable.

It seems we implicitly assert universal “goodness” and morality more strongly than we would care to admit. A few questions follow I think :

- What entitles us to make these universal assertions?

- Where does this moral authority come from?

- Is Western culture arrogant in seeking to impose this view on others?

Some have suggested you cannot have a moral law without a moral law giver. You cannot have a universal moral law without a universal moral law giver. Who would have the authority to do that? What's the corollary if there isn't one?...

Do we find Jesus scary?

I wonder why it is we don’t find Jesus scary...   A group of us were looking at Mark’s Gospel last night, and it is pretty clear that, faced with his power, the disciples did:

They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" (Mark 4v41) 

The disciples have just been terrified of drowning in a storm. In their fear, they appealed to Jesus who calmly rebuked the wind and the waves, calming the storm. The result? In front of this display of awesome power, the disciples are now terrified of Jesus. 

Imagine walking down an alley-way and only to be confronted by a rabid Doberman. It bears its teeth and runs at you. Fear’s icy fingers begin to grip you. The dog leaps for your throat, and you are convinced your time is up.  Then, out of nowhere, a lion soars through the air, effortlessly catches the Doberman in its teeth, and tosses it away with disdain.  Where once there was a dog, now there is a lion.  If you thought you had problems before, this new and greater power would been even scarier!

That is where the disciples are at.  They had no control over the storm.  They were helpless before its power. But now they realise they stand before a greater power. A power that can still a storm with a few words. A greater power, over which they have no control, and which may prove an even greater threat.  Small wonder they are terrified!

And yet too often we consider gentle Jesus meek and mild.   Subconsciously, we’re thinking: “How scary can a bearded guy in a white dress and sandals be?”  The answer is "Very!" when you understand who he is.  Through chapters 4 and 5 (and throughout the gospels) we are confronted with a Jesus who is completely in control – powerful over every threat or power (nature, spirits, sickness, death – you name it).  The more we see of him, the more we realise he has absolute power. 

That kind of power is generally scary.  It seems to me there are only two reasons not to be scared of Jesus:

1) You won’t be scared if you are persuaded that Jesus doesn’t (still) have power. 

...Although interestingly, at the time nobody questioned Jesus’ power to do these things!  While his opponents questioned the origin and purpose of the power he wielded, they didn't doubt the reality of his power.  Rather, they concluded he was evil and tried to stop him by killing him. 

It turned out they had badly under-estimated Jesus. his power was demonstrated supremely in overcoming death.  

In fact, Jesus has power over everything. As Peter says to the crowds in Jerusalem after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension:

“…God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (Acts 2v36)

But, recognising Jesus' power, there is still a reason not to be scared of him...

2) You won’t be scared if you know that Jesus will use that power for your good.

If Jesus has power over everything as the creator and King of the world, then he is supremely in control of the world, our lives and our futures. We get scared when we feel out of control… powerless! We get especially scared if someone else is in control… if they have power over us, and we don’t think they have our best interests at heart.  So what are we to make of Jesus’ control?  The million dollar question is: "How will he wield his power towards me?"

If he has the kind of power the Bible speaks of, we are helpless before him. He has power over us whether we like it or not. We have no bargaining chips. He doesn’t owe us any favours. How can we be sure that he has our best interests at heart? (After all, how often have we truly shown concern for his interests?!).  

This is how Peter’s hearers responded to his warning:

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" 

Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call." (Acts 2v37-39)

In Mark 4, the disciples had recognised Jesus’ power, but they still didn’t know how he would wield that power towards them. They were terrified. What reason do we have not to be?

Proverbs – the consequences of poverty

I'm looking at the Bible's wisdom literature at the moment, in particular the Old Testament book of Proverbs.  Nothing fancy! Just skimming through trying to get a sense of what is said on particular topics.

What follows is a sweep that picks out proverbs focusing on the situation of the poor*.  It brings out three things (according to which I’ve roughly grouped them below).

• Material poverty leads to relational poverty

• Material poverty leaves you vulnerable to oppression

• God is concerned for the poor
  

Material poverty leads to relational poverty

• The poor are shunned even by their neighbors, but the rich have many friends. (14v20)
  
• Wealth brings many friends, but a poor man's friend deserts him. (19v4)
  
• A poor man is shunned by all his relatives— how much more do his friends avoid him! Though he pursues them with pleading, they are nowhere to be found. (19v7)
  

Material poverty leaves you vulnerable to oppression

• The wealth of the rich is their fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor. (10v15)
  
• A poor man's field may produce abundant food, but injustice sweeps it away. (13v23)
  
• The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. (22v7)
  
• A ruler who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain that leaves no crops. (28v3)
  
• Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. (31v8)
  
• Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court,
  
• for the LORD will take up their case and will plunder those who plunder them. (22v22-23)
  

God is concerned for the poor

• He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God. (14v31)
  
• He who mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker; whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished. (17v5)
  
• He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done. (19v17)
  
• If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered. (21v13)
  
• Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all. (22v2)
  
• A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor. (22v9)
  
• He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses. (28v27)
  
• The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern. (29v7)
  

*Note: I've not included here the (many) proverbs which consider patterns of behaviour and lifestyle that can lead to poverty (the sluggard, the drunkard,...).  However, the place of personal responsibility needs to be wisely considered alongside these issues.  It does not contradict nor should it  lessen any of the above.