Thoughts About "Silence"

I enjoy movies which prompt meaningful thought.  I found "Silence" directed by Marin Scorsese to be such a film, a story of young Jesuit priests seeking their mentor and the persecution of Christians in Japan in the 17th century (spoilers follow).  The slow pace of the film allows time for contemplation as the events of the film unfold.  Although the Jesuit faith has major doctrinal beliefs which differ from my own, I was impressed by the conviction and commitments made by the Portuguese missionaries as they ventured into a land largely hostile to foreign religion.  The Japanese Inquisitor compared Christianity to "the persistent love of an ugly and barren woman."  Christianity could not flourish in the swamp of Japan, it was said.

In the film, a Japanese Inquisitor tortured Jesuit padres and found it only emboldened their followers.  It was discovered the way to influence padres to cease their proselytising was to make them watch the suffering of the people they taught and loved.  Villagers were made to "trample" on an icon or spit on a crucifix, and if they refused they were made a public example of.  People were hung on crosses to be drowned at high tide, arrested, bound and thrown into the sea, decapitated, or even hung to slowly bleed over a pit.  The main character and priest in the film demanded a challenge of his faith of his captors, yet watching others suffer proved the hardest challenge of all.  Many times his tormentors said of trampling an icon, "It's only a formality."  They promised if he trampled it meant nothing except they would allow fellow adherents (albeit tramplers) to go free.

That line stuck with me long after the Blu-ray was replaced in its case:  "It's only a formality."  Much of the Jesuit practices displayed in the film were strictly that:  formality.  The people secreted and venerated objects as well as priests to perform rituals.  The people fed off the priests, gathering for mass, holy communion, baptism, absolution, and confession.  One thing which was noticeably absent in the movie was the Bible.  Not once do I recall any of the priests or people opening the scriptures and reading from them.  The priests were honoured by the people as God, but the priests proved powerless to deliver the people from their pains and were impotent to overcome their captors.  Giving in to the demands of their captors seemed the only way of salvation, but it proved to be bondage.  I wonder if the torment of openly denying the faith was worse than seeing people suffer for their faith.

What the movie asserts is true, that only God knows the heart.  A denial of a "religion" is not a denial of Christ Himself.  To tread on a religious icon to denounce a sect is not blasphemy, but to deny Christ is.  Jesus said those who seek to save their lives will lose them (Luke 17:33), and those who deny Jesus before men He will deny before the Father (Matthew 10:33).  We also remember Peter on one occasion denied Jesus three times, but was later restored by Jesus.  Peter clearly was repentant for his error, and the rest of his life was marked as a faithful witness and disciple of Jesus Christ.  Relics and icons are nothing in themselves, and God is not disgraced if we trample.  At the same time if we deny Christ to save ourselves or others present pain, we do God no service.  Wasn't Jesus permitted to suffer according to the will of the Father?  Because the servant is not above the master, Peter wrote to followers of Jesus in 1 Peter 4:19, "Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator."

I am blessed to say history is not on the side of the cruel Inquisitor who claimed Christianity could not grow in Japan.  I received an email from a young man a couple years ago who was once an exchange student hosted by our family when we lived in the States who told us he had become a Christian - in Japan!  It seems the efforts of those daring Portuguese padres that seemed useless have been fruitful as they spread the seed of the Gospel.  Even in a land opposed to Christ, the Light of the World has continued to shine.  God has spoken and continues to speak in His still, small voice.  Praise the LORD for His faithfulness and love, and He will justly trample down His enemies. 

God's Choice and Ours

I am not a prophet, but I can identify with what Amos the prophet said concerning his call by God to ministry.  It was never in his plans, and being a pastor was not in my plans either.  As an "untrained" man, this was one way Amos knew it was not selfish ambition or reliance upon his education which caused him to answer God's call.  He wasn't just following in his father's footsteps, having inherited the family business.  He was an ordinary guy who was content with a simple life, and God chose to place him in role which never entered into his mind.  I can relate to this in many ways.

God commanded Amos to say many things, and they were not easy on the ears.  He spoke of the punishment God would bring for the sins of the people.  Amaziah the priest didn't like what Amos was saying, and he didn't like where he was saying it.  He sent word to the king, accusing Amos of treason.  Amaziah told Amos to leave, hinting he had no right or authority to say the things he did in Bethel.  Amos 7:14-15 reads, "Then Amos answered, and said to Amaziah: "I was no prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet, but I was a sheepbreeder and a tender of sycamore fruit. ¹⁵ Then the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said to me, 'Go, prophesy to My people Israel.'"  Amos affirmed he had no family background or specialised training in the school of the prophets, but as he went about his business God spoke to him.  It was not his choice, yet he had been ordained by God as a prophet without approval or qualifications from men.  David went from tending his father's sheep to being king over all Israel, and Amos went from breeding sheep and tending sycamore trees to being a messenger of God.  Peter and John were fishermen Jesus called as apostles, and I was a construction worker God called to be a pastor - in Australia!

I'm sure John never thought he would voluntarily leave his father and the family business to follow Jesus and later be a key leader in the church Jesus established.  I believe Amos was content to work and remain as he was.  He had no aspirations of being a prophet.  But as he went about his business and was faithful to God right where he was, God spoke to him, called him out of his trade and into the role of a prophet.  It was nearly an identical situation when God made me aware of His call upon my life as a pastor in His church.  All sorts of thoughts flooded through my head when this was confirmed in His word and by fellow Christians.  What do I do now?  Do I leave my job?  Do I go to seminary?  For me there was the space of about three years between the realisation of the call and an unsolicited door to pastoral ministry clearly opening.  What was impressed upon me then was to keep doing what I was doing, acknowledge and believe God had indeed called me, and in the meantime apply myself to seeking God and learning all I could.  In the end, God did it all.

If you believe God has spoken to you and called you to a particular role in ministry or place in the world, I encourage you to do as Amos did:  he kept on doing what he was doing.  In due time God moved Amos from his flock and groves and moved him to Bethel, placing His words in his mouth.  Amaziah saw Amos as an unqualified, perhaps even a self-absorbed impostor who ought to go away, but Amos had a charge from God he would by His grace fulfil.  You never know what God has called you to or what He will call others to do.  You never know to what end of the earth God will take you as you follow Him.  Today we are called to faithfulness and obedience, and God will take care of us tomorrow.  The God who speaks to us clearly opens doors no one can shut, and shuts doors no one can open (Revelation 3:7).  You never need (nor could you) prove to sceptics you have indeed been called by God, but the important thing to remember He is the One who calls, ordains, and enables us to do anything for Him.  Jesus calls out to everyone, and whilst the nature of our calling may differ, every call of God is equally important to answer in faith and obedience.  We don't have the luxury of deciding God's choices, but our choice is:  will we follow Him?

Implements of Iron

The Bible says God chastens those whom He loves (Hebrews 12:6).  At times in the history of Israel God empowered nations as His implement to move His people to repentance.  The Syrians were a people God utilised for this purpose.  What often happened is those who defeated Israel oppressed them, and were lifted up with pride against the God who had given them victory.  When they saw the Israelites were powerless to defend themselves, they were cruel.  Their brutality was observed by God, and He would later punish them for it.

Amos 1:3 reads, "Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with implements of iron."  Threshing is the act of separating the husk from the kernel, removing the worthless chaff to expose the edible grain.  Depending on the kind of grain to be threshed, different tools and methods were used.  The aim of threshing is to remove the husk and retain the edible grain whole.  For some grain types, the hooves of animals was enough to do the job.  Other times a wooden sledge was pulled by animals over the grain.  Syria was condemned by God for the sin of using "implements of iron" to thresh Gilead.  God's intention was to chasten His people - not crush them to powder.  For the Syrian's overreach they would be punished.  Being trampled underfoot may have been enough to remove the husk of pride which covered the hearts of His people, but using implements of iron to pulverise them was criminal.

When I read this passage last night, I considered how before God parents have the responsibility to chasten their children, to discipline them when necessary according to God's Word.  A parent ought to remain humble before God to properly wield authority, for when we are proud ourselves - not demonstrating God's love, compassion, and mercy - we can be guilty as the Syrians were of overstepping their bounds.  We can be too harsh and severe because our patience is done.  We can become furious and allow our emotions to dictate our speech, decisions, and actions.  James 1:19-20 provides a fitting exhortation:  "So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; ²⁰ for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God."  Instead of being personally wounded by rebellion or disobedience, it is good for us to recognise all sin is primarily against God.  Realising this means we don't need to "get back" at someone because of offence, and with a clear conscience and biblical insight we can choose the right threshing implement and properly wield it for the good of others.  Biblical discipline always works to the end of restoration and the healthy renewal of relationship.

Have you used an implement of iron for "threshing" when a wooden rod would have been more appropriate?  For our overreach in discipline we will answer before God whose discipline is always perfectly weighted in severity to accomplish His purposes, justice and righteousness balanced with love and grace.

A World Under Sway

The Bible says in 1 John 5:19 the whole world is under the sway of the wicked one, the devil who is the "father of lies."  These lies can pass unnoticed, couched in deceptive language.  What used to be properly called "adultery" is now an "affair," a "baby" in utero is called a "fetus," and in short matter of time terms can subtly change from things like "gay marriage" to being dubbed "marriage equality."  To those whose eyes and ears God has opened by His grace, these shifting terms are as subtle as a charging elephant.  Just this morning I heard on ABC radio an interview with a woman representing an agency which supposedly provides government approved "safe abortions" in Australia.  I assume this claim of "safe" abortions concerns only the mother (and this has been highly contested), but what a lie any abortion is safe for the child who is aborted!

Depending in what state or territory a person resides in Australia, different rules apply.  In Queensland, surgical abortion is illegal whilst it is claimed on a Victoria Sate Department website, "Abortion is one of the most common and safest types of surgery in Australia."  This is an interesting claim, as there is no requirement for statistics to be provided on the amount of abortions performed.  There is a distinction made between a medical abortion and a surgical one.  Whilst we might believe abortions do not occur as frequently in our fair state of New South Wales because of limits placed on surgical abortions, in 2013 RU486 or the "abortion pill" was added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, meaning instead of paying about $311 for the medication, it is now available for no more than $38.80 to the consumer.  The murder of the unborn is being heavily subsidised by the government, and I don't hear anyone talking about it.  All I hear about it how "safe" abortions are, and I read that women can end a pregnancy quietly in the comfort of their homes for $38 bucks.  This is heartbreaking news for people who understand abortion sheds the blood of a human life, stopping a heart which beats only 3 to 4 weeks after conception (about the time a woman might start wondering if she is pregnant!).

Many who morally take no issue with abortion have summed up the issue as "a woman's right to choose."  In this case everyone has the right to choose - all except the miraculous little one God knits together in the womb of his or her mother.  God is not anti-choice, for He has sovereignly given everyone the right to choose if we will believe Him, heed His Word, seek and obey Him.  The choices we make can have lifelong, even eternal implications.  God has said every soul that sins shall surely die, and all the little lives destroyed medically or surgically will be remembered and brought to account by God who loves them.  Whilst I am deeply grieved for the loss of these children, I realise many of those who legislate and seek abortions see them very differently than me.  Resorting to violence to stop what I see as a grave crime would be using the same brutal tactics as those who intentionally terminate pregnancies.  I do not hate people who have had an abortion or who have even performed thousands of them, but I do hate abortion.  I love those people and my heart feels for them.  I hate how abortion makes victims of children who cannot plead for themselves.  I hate that it wounds women with soul poisoning guilt.  I hate that women are often pressured to have an abortion by others who have no idea of the personal cost.  I hate that abortions are often secret and hidden, as if no one will ever know.  God knows, and in due time He will demand atonement for the blood spilt.

In a world under Satan's sway, there is no way to stop the overwhelming tide of lies and deceit which covers the world in darkness.  But born again followers of Jesus can take great comfort that He is the Light of the world, in Him is forgiveness of sin, and we can know truth from error through His Word.  I don't believe we as Christians have the responsibility before God to personally put an end to all evil in the world.  I believe we are to be a light in this dark world, showing the love, grace, and mercy of God to others who don't understand it and don't even want it - like Jesus did.  Instead of feeling helpless in the face of injustice, we are called to walk in obedience to God and trust in Him.  Paul wrote in Romans 12:21 after saying it is our reasonable service to be living sacrifices unto God, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."  We do not need to be overcome or overwhelmed by evil, but through God we can do good and keep doing it.  We can keep loving instead of condemning.  We can show compassion to those who have chosen to have an abortion, and we can pray for those who perform them.  Instead of only lamenting the dead, we can love and bless the living.  We can speak the truth when we know we stand to lose the favour of friends or family because of our biblical views.  Praise God we have been set free by God's truth and we are empowered to help others find freedom in Christ too.  We can choose life in Jesus and experience it forever.