PASTOR'S PENRight and Attitude''and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well'-Matthew 5:40
Recently, as I was stopped at a red signal, the front of my car was forcefully backed into by a big new-looking SUV. For some reason, this car was backing up and would not stop despite my attempts to honk again and again ' and boom! I was hit. I was shocked that I was hit, but I was even more shocked when the car began to speed away. The car forced its way in between two lanes and drove off in a hurry. I couldn't help but yell, 'I can't believe this!!' I immediately tried to chase the car that hit me, but there were so many cars that were in the way. So I had to give up. The thought that ran through my mind was that as the victim, I had every right to expect the offender to apologize and repay for his/her actions.
Looking at the above Bible passage, however, it seems that Jesus is saying that we should give up our natural, God-given right. This passage is taken from Jesus' 'Sermon on the Mount'. People in those days usually had more than one shirt, but only one coat. This coat was necessary to protect oneself from the cold at night. So, even if the coat was taken in pawn, it had to be returned by sundown, as in Exodus 22:25-26 states, 'If you lend money to my people, to the poor among you, you shall not deal with them as a creditor; you shall not exact interest from them. If you take your neighbor's cloak in pawn, you shall restore it before the sun goes down.'
that's what Jesus means. I think it is okay for the victim to expect the offender to pay what is due. So why did Jesus tell us to give up the right? Perhaps it's in the attitude in which the demand of your right happens. We tend to not only demand our right to things, but in the process end up putting ourselves in the center of things and not God. Along with this oftentimes comes the attitude of being the 'judge' over all things, if not being judgmental at the least. When I look back at when I was trying to chase the car that hit me, of course I was thinking that I needed him/her to fix the damage done to my car. But even more than that, I wanted revenge - to catch the offender and 'make him/her pay' for the inconvenience this incident had caused me. This sense of 'making him/her pay', or wanting revenge, easily creeps up in our hearts when we seek to demand our given right. If we can still keep God (and not us) in the center, and not become the ultimate 'judge', I think it is okay to claim your given right. But as anyone knows, this is extremely difficult ' so could it be why Jesus, who is full of grace and mercy, told us to give up the right all together? So, the problem is not the right itself, but our hearts and our attitudes. Which means that Jesus is telling me that I need work on having a better attitude and a heart that is pleasing to God ' rather than trying to play judge, seek revenge or even demand my right. God, please help me to make it so. Amen. Hiroko Suzuki, Commissioned Lay Pastor CLERK'S REPORTEveryone is invited to attend our regular session meetings. If you are interested in how the session, our governing body, discusses ministry at CUPC, please come and join us! You are also welcome to read the minutes, which are public documents. The minutes are available in the church office. DEACONS' REPORTI'm co-moderator this year. Being a Deacon requires a lot of thinking and organizing. There is much to learn from all the rest. The most work is the Thanksgiving dinner and we will need a lot of help (more on this later!). In the meantime I am finding being a Deacon very rewarding, especially in getting to know the members of CUPC. COFFEE FELLOWSHIP:The Deacons would like to thank the individuals who have contributed to the coffee fellowship during the month of February.The Deacons are aware there are others who do not sign up on the list, but contribute. We would like to thank you all! Ed Murray, Co-moderator |
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
March 2012
