Sunday, September 13, 2020
An American World War II general leading the allied forces is
stunned when a company Nazis clumsily allows themselves to be surrounded by the
allies. Shouldn’t the general give the
order to fire on them and eliminate them; or, at the very least, take as
prisoners of war and only free them when the war is over?
Two gangs battle over turf in a rough neighborhood. The gang with the blue bandanas has about 20,
of the gang with the red bandanas surrounded.
Do they let them leave? Or, do
the knives, chains, and guns come out?
Does it get bloody?
This is the exact situation in 2 Kings 6. The Arameans are surrounded by Israel. Aram has not been friendly or merciful to
Israel. Now Israel has a chance to turn
the tables and wipe out this foe, giving them what they have given Israel: violent
death. The Old Testament is a history of
violence. David was heralded in 1 and 2
Samuel for the 10’s of thousands of enemy troops he killed.
Many generations later, King Jehoram of Israel would love
to hear such songs sung about him. He
can have the accolades even though he knows he’ll never have the faith or
ability of David. How did this inept
monarch end up with his enemy at his feet?
Before we get to that, consider a thought exercise. This requires you to follow my prompts and
create a picture in your mind. Here’s
the guiding question. Who do you see
in your mind’s eye, when you hear the word ‘enemy?’
Perhaps someone foreign, a faceless foreign soldier or
militant comes to mind. Perhaps an
antagonist in a movie; you know, the bad guy. “Enemy.”
What comes to mind? Now, think
more deliberately. You’ve had the
initial reaction, in your mind, to the word.
Now, intentionally paint the picture.
Who is the enemy? Who do you see?
An Al Qaeda or ISIS fighter? If that’s your mind’s picture of enemy, consider
this. Have you ever met someone who
identifies with these groups? I doubt
many of us in our Chapel Hill church have, but if you have, did you dig deep
into that person to understand what led him or her to join a terrorist
organization? I don’t deny the evil and
violence perpetrated by extremist groups.
But I do think we can have empathy for individuals who end up attached
to terrorist movements. I know Jesus
calls us to pray for our “enemies.” If
you think of a terrorist extremist, but you yourself have no actual contact
with them, then Al Qaeda or ISIS is not your enemy. They are stories on the news. In your life, they aren’t personally
threatening you.
Enemy. If we
eliminate terrorists and we eliminate Kim Jong-un, because I don’t think any of
us have had personal encounters with him, then what picture comes to mind. Who is our antagonist? Who is our enemy? Who threatens us?
Did you think of Democrats, or a certain subgroup within
the Democrat arc? Or, Republican, or a
wing of the Republican party? Again, I caution
against this as the picture of enemy, if this is where your mind went. Perhaps you have very strong feelings about
our country and how things should be; and, your strong feelings lead you to
ardently support one political party and oppose the other. Fine.
Enemy is the wrong word.
Democrats and Republicans are Americans who want the country to be a
good place to live. They have different
approaches for how best to govern. They
have different ideas of what makes our country a good place. But in their own minds, they all work for
America’s good.
If you’re a real devotee to one party and an opponent of
the other, please, for the sake of our nation’s future, use words like
‘opponent,’ ‘rival,’ or ‘other side of the aisle.’ Republicans and Democrats are not each
other’s enemies or yours.
Enemy. What do you
see? A personal rival? Someone with whom you have had conflict? It could be someone you work with. It could be someone in your neighborhood or
even in your own family. Your perceived
enemy could even be someone in your church.
When you consider enemy, have in mind an adverse
relationship in which you have something at stake; something to lose. In 2 Kings 6,
Aram and Israel are at war and the Aramean king is furious. He’s convinced that someone from his own
inner circle is telling Israel the Aramean army’s movements. However, one of his officers assures him that
there is no mole. It’s Elisha, the
Israelite prophet. He sees with God’s
vision and so nothing escapes his view.
He even knows the words the Aramean kings speaks in his bedroom
(6:12).
Thus, the Aramean King will kill Elisha. He sends a large force of Aram’s finest. They surround Elisha’s town, Dothan. Horses; chariots; the king of Aram will kill
this Israelite prophet so he can get on with killing his foe – the Israelite
army.
How foolish! If he
can’t ambush Israel because Elisha sees, how can he sneak up on Elisha
himself? He tries, and when Elisha’s
servant sees all those Aramean troops, he is frantic. Master!
What shall we do? Note how
closely seeing is tied with awareness of God’s protection. Elisha prays that God would open his
servant’s eyes so that he may see (6:17).
The Lord immediately grants this request. The servant looks out of the house and sees
the fierce Aramean army. But beyond
there is something else, a force from heaven.
Just as Arameans surround Dothan, an angel army with flaming chariots,
unseen by human eyes, surrounds the Arameans.
These enemies of God are no match for the angel army and
cannot even see the angel army. It will
be an utter slaughter! Yet, not one
angel draws a flaming sword. Instead,
Elisha prays that the Arameans would be rendered blind. God clouds the vision of these Arameans and
makes them pliable. They allow Elisha,
the man they came to kill, to lead them into the very heart of Israel.
When Elisha prays that their Aramean eyes be opened and
God grants that prayer, they see they are surrounded by the enemy they came to
kill. And it is at this point that the
Israelite King, Jehoram, begins to imagine great glory for himself.
To the prophet who delivered this prize he is deferential. He calls Elisha “Father,” a show of absolute
respect. “Father, shall I kill
them? Shall I kill them” (6:21). In his head, Jehoram is writing a third verse
to song sung by starry-eyed Israelite virgins.
“Saul killed his thousands, David killed his tens of thousands, and
Jehoram killed the Arameans.” Ahh, it
sounds so good.
“No!” barks Elisha.
“Did you capture with your sword and your bow those you want to
kill?” He demands (6:22).
I asked you to do a
thought exercise earlier. In your mind’s
eye, see your enemy; not a terrorist or a militant or a third world
dictator. There’s nothing at stake in
defining enemy that way. I asked you to
not to select a Republican if you’re Democrat, or vice versa. We’re all Americans. We have rivalries and political opponents,
but we must not demonize those with political differences. Instead I wanted you to envision someone
truly antagonistic, a personal enemy.
Elisha knew who the enemy
was: Aram’s army. Jehoram was quite
clear: Aram was the enemy. Now take note
of what the prophet did. He told the
king not to kill the Arameans, but instead to feed them. So, a great feast was prepared; not a few dry
loaves and some old, dirty water. A
feast! King Jehoram oversaw the
preparation of a feast for these enemies who had terrorized him for a long time
and who were now sitting in his power.
He didn’t, though, really hold any power. He sat in the seat of the king, but the
leader of Israel is primarily to be about service to God and to neighbor. Jehoram did not see as God sees. Did the action Elisha directed him to take –
to feed, not kill his enemies – help him see as God sees?
More importantly, does it
help us see as God sees? The thought
experiment – to visualize who is enemy – leads us to this point. The one we call enemy must be personal. In this relationship, there must be a lot at
stake – everything at stake. Is it an
abusive boss? An abusive parent? A spouse who left or cheated? A bully who terrorizes? Is it someone who has expressed prejudice
against you or wielded power over you, or someone who mocked your pain? See the enemy.
Now, do you long to
destroy the enemy or has God gotten a hold of your heart? Will you entrust your thoughts about enemy to
God? Will you and I be so transformed by
the love of God; we are able to see our enemy and feed him a feast?
The Apostle Paul, living 900 years later, knew
the Elisha stories. Like Elisha, Paul
had the Holy Spirit in him and could see as God sees. In Romans 12, Paul writes, “Beloved, never
avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written,
‘Vengeance is mine … says the Lord.’ No, if your enemies are hungry, feed them;
if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will
heap burning coals on their head. Do not
be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (12:19-21). Yes, Paul knew the Elisha stories, especially
the one about feeding enemies.
Paul also knew Jesus, the
real teacher. And we do too. He – Jesus - tells us, “I say to you, Love
your enemies and pray for those who persecute so that you may be children of
your Father in Heaven” (Matthew 5:44-45).
We need to work for
justice and that work includes naming evil and identifying doers of evil, even
when, especially when the evil doers are us.
We cannot skip justice and run right to forgiveness and
restoration. Repentance and repairing
what’s broken is a painful process. It
is lifetime work.
But, working for justice
and repairing what’s broken does not mean we neglect that before God, our sins
make us the enemy. Jesus’ cross
transforms us. From enemies, we are changed,
made new, adopted as children of God. We
are not destroyed. We are fed a heavenly
feast. We receive God’s generosity until
our cups run over.
You know when it is clear
that God’s generosity has taken hold in us?
It’s when we are so overflowing with love that we don’t we ask what King
Jehoram asked. “Father, should I kill
them? Should I kill them?” We can’t ask that. We’re too busy setting the
table, because we are going to give our enemies a feast.
AMEN
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