Readings for today: Judges 18-19, Luke 10:25-11:12
Today we encounter some of the most difficult material in all of Scripture. We see Israel at her lowest point. She has forgotten Yahweh. She has become like all the pagan tribes around her. She is more focused on her own gratification than she is on serving and honoring the Lord. Her world is full of idolatry and violence. Yes, she still goes through the motions. She still makes her sacrifices. She still prays. Fasts. Appears before the Lord at the appointed times. But it’s all empty at this point. Everyone is doing what seems right to them. They are all following their own ways. They are plumbing the depths of sin. They are pushing the boundaries of evil. Unspeakable atrocities are taking place in Israel such as the gang rape of a woman whose body is dismembered resulting in a genocidal war that basically annihilates an entire tribe. It’s madness.
One of my favorite books is the Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. With penetrating insight, he describes the nature of man. Given the right conditions. Given the right set of circumstances. We will all succumb to temptation. In the book, Kurtz sets himself up as a god to be worshipped. He exploits those around him. He uses them for his own personal gratification and enjoyment. He is evil and selfish and insane. Towards the end of the story, he finds himself dying as he “returns” to civilization. His life flashes before his eyes. He reflects back on all he has done. And his final words are, “The horror! The horror!”
Horror. It’s a good word to describe what we read today from the book of Judges. There simply is nothing redemptive in the story. Nothing good. Nothing godly. Man’s inhumanity to man is on full display. It’s dark. It’s evil. It’s terrifying. Sadly, we see some of the same dynamics in play in our world today. Even amidst a global pandemic, many of our political leaders can’t stop lying and using the crisis for personal gain. Many of them can’t stop attacking each other with rhetoric that only incites further violence. It’s horrifying. But it’s not just them. It’s us as well. The isolation of the past year has set everyone on edge. Our emotions are raw. Anxiety is high. We are reaping what we’ve sown. Tragically, the daily injection of fear into society has resulted in greater and deeper divisions. Judgment and condemnation have replaced grace and compassion. We have become less resilient. Less tolerant. Less able to accept difference. Instead, we fight over masking protocols. We assume the worst of the health professionals who’ve worked so hard to keep us safe and frankly, many of them assume the worst of us which is why we have to resort to public health orders in the first place. We cut off relationships with family members, friends, and our brothers and sisters in Christ over political, social, and cultural disagreements. We embrace rage, anger, and hate because it makes us feel powerful. Self-righteous. Safe. But the reality is we’ve never been more fragile. More vulnerable. So we take it another step further. We demand action. We restrict freedom. We call for a more totalitarian approach to life where speech is monitored. Different groups labeled and scapegoated. Blatant attempts are made to grab hold of power under the guise of either “draining the swamp” or “political reform.” All this lays the groundwork where extreme elements open fire in grocery stores or attack Asian-Americans in the streets. It’s all quite frightening and sadly, all too familiar.
If we’re totally honest, we know all of us are guilty on some level. I give into fear. I give into anxiety. As the stress builds, it can bring out the worst in me. Darkness that I’ve tried very hard to bury deep starts to emerge. As I read our passage today, I realize all of us are perpetrators. All of us are victims. We are the Levite. We are the concubine. We’ve sacrificed others and we’ve been sacrificed for the sake of self-protection and self-gratification. In the Bible’s judgment, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes." (Romans 3:10-18)
Perhaps it’s providential that we read this section of Judges as we come out of Holy Week. A period of time where we reflect on the Cross. On the death of God. The most horrific act in human history. We reflect on the price Jesus paid. The blood He shed. The penalty He bore. This past week we spent time reflecting on the suffering He endured. The pain He experienced. The heartbreak of betrayal. We reflected on the depth of our sin. The depravity of our nature. The darkness of our hearts. We reflected on the cost of our salvation. On what it took to redeem us from sin and death. To deliver us from evil. And as we reflected we also remembered our salvation! God plunging Himself into the horror of our condition! Plumbing the depth of our darkness! Immersing Himself in the breadth of our madness! And embracing us as His own! Today we declare there is hope for the Levite and his concubine! Today we declare there is hope for the Kurtz’s of our world! Today we declare there is hope for the fearful and afflicted and anxious and afraid! Today we declare there is hope even for us! And that hope is found in Jesus!
Readings for tomorrow: None