In a Peanuts cartoon, Charlie Brown goes into his wind up on the pitcher's mound. In order to fortify his confidence he quotes scripture, "Thou shalt not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the pestilence that walketh in darkness . . ."
In the next frame, WHAM! the ball comes zooming back from the batter, catapulting Charlie head over heels. Then in the last frame we see him lying face down on the ground with stars dancing around his head. He concludes, "But those line drives will kill you!"
This is not an easy world. Sometimes it is a very cruel world. Those line drives will kill you.
Many stories of courage and compassion have come out of the events of Sept. 11, 2001. Harry Ramos and Hong Zhu both worked for May Davis, a financial-services firm whose offices occupied the 87th floor of the first tower in the World Trade Center. They were just two of thousands of panicked people who began evacuating the building after the first plane exploded into the tower.
On their way down the stairs, Hong Zhu and Harry Ramos came across a heavyset man who was having trouble walking. After descending so many stairs, his legs had given out on him. Zhu and Ramos helped the man down to the 36th floor, when the man's energy gave out. His legs wouldn't move at all. He was unable to go any farther. Firemen who had entered the building were screaming at Zhu and Ramos to save themselves. But Harry Ramos said simply, "I'm not going to leave." Hong Zhu escaped the building just before it collapsed. Harry Ramos stayed inside and died trying to help a stranger. (1)
No, this is not an easy world. Sometimes it is a very cruel world. Even for people who are trying to do good. We can understand why scoundrels suffer, but why do good people, compassionate people have tragedies in their lives?
We turn again to that little epistle which we know as I Peter. It was written to Christians who were suffering during a time of intense persecution. It was written to give counsel and to give comfort. Quite remarkably, it is a letter brimming with hope and confidence in God. Peter reminds his readers that they were not redeemed "with perishable things like silver or gold . . . but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ." And then he says something quite interesting: "Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart . . ."
"Love one another from the heart . . ." What has love got to do with suffering and persecution? Why, when people are confronting unspeakable evil, would this disciple counsel them to love one another? There are at least three reasons.
FIRST OF ALL, IT WAS LOVE THAT BROUGHT CHRIST INTO THE WORLD. The early Christian community was being persecuted because of their faith in Jesus Christ. They proclaimed him as the Son of God who left his heavenly throne to give his life as an atonement for all. He was their Lord, their Savior, the Source of their new life. It was not so much that they loved him, as that he loved them.
In James Michener's novel Hawaii, an old man contracts leprosy. The year is 1870, and lepers are outcasts in Hawaiian society, forced to live in leper colonies far from their loved ones. When the old man shares this sad news with his family, his wife kneels before him and offers herself as his kokua. A kokua is a healthy person who willingly commits to staying with and nursing a leprous patient. These kokuas, or "helpers," move to the leper colony and run the risk of catching the disease too. Before they are allowed on the ship that will take them away from their home, an official stands on deck and asks for the final time, "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" One must be committed to be a kokua. (2)
Christ became our kokua. That is the message that permeates Peter's epistle. We were not saved by our own hand, we were saved by the love poured out on Calvary. It was love that brought Christ into the world.
Here is where hope is to be found. At the center of this universe is a heart of love.
In an editorial letter in the Dec. 2001 issue of Rosie magazine, Rosie O'Donnell wrote of her six-year-old son's reaction to the Sept. 11th bombing. For some reason, Rosie's son, Parker, developed a fascination with the firemen he saw on television reports. He repeatedly asked his mother to take him to the local firehouse. Finally, Rosie gave in. Parker ran around the fire house, asking questions and inspecting equipment. And then he did something that confounded his mother. In front of a candle-studded memorial to the dead firemen, six-year-old Parker bowed his head and began to pray. This is a boy who, by his mother's admission, had never stepped foot inside a church in his life. Yet this innocent child's first instincts were to pray.
After he prayed, Parker walked over to a fireman and said, "I am sorry your friends died, trying to save everyone. They were very brave. Remember they are with God now." (3)
Wow! Out of the mouth of a babe. What do you believe about people who suffer and die? Do you believe they are with God now? It was love that brought Christ into the world.
AND IT WAS LOVE THAT SUPPORTED THE SMALL CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY IN THEIR DARKEST HOURS. They prayed together. They ate together. They sang together. They had all things in common. No wonder the power of the whole Roman empire could not break them. The whole was more than the individual parts. When people love and support each other like those early Christians loved and supported one another, nothing can break them.
One foggy morning in March 2000, Dale Buttenhoff decided to end his life.
Years of drug abuse, a failed marriage, and estrangement from his family--it was too much to take. He made plans to throw himself off the Ross Island Bridge into the Willamette River below.
But someone else had plans for the Willamette River that day. The Pink Phoenix, a boating team composed of women who have survived breast cancer, were making a practice run on the Willamette that morning.
When Dale Buttenhoff landed in the water, the Pink Phoenix sprang into action. They pulled Dale from the water and returned him to shore. The members of the Pink Phoenix understood the kind of despair that might make a person want to take his own life. They "adopted" Dale into their support system. They visited him in the hospital and brought him gifts. After recovering from his injuries, Dale Buttenhoff entered drug rehab. He also re-established contact with his estranged daughter. He is currently training to become a drug counselor in a rehabilitation center. He also keeps in touch with the members of the Pink Phoenix. As he says, "I want them to know that what they did for me was not in vain." (4)
I long for our church to be more like those ladies of the Pink Phoenix. That would be Christianity at its finest. Whenever we see someone sinking into despair or addiction or whatever their need might be--we need to reach out with love and concern. This is why our Sunday School classes and other small groups within our church are so important. It is not just for the study involved, though that, of course, is important. But here is where caring takes place in the church. I can tell you that there are many people in church today because, in a time of crisis, a group of persons from the church were there when they were needed. They brought food. They arranged for child care. They manned the phones. They offered encouragement and support. There is no substitute for that.
What has love got to do with persecution and suffering. It was love that brought Christ into the world. It's the love of others in our church family that helps us keep going in our darkest hours.
FINALLY, IT IS LOVE THAT GIVES US HOPE FOR TOMORROW. Ultimately we have one hope in this world, and that is that we are not alone. We like to think we are self-sufficient and maybe we are 99 percent of the time. But there are those times in life when we are helpless. Like Charlie Brown we have experienced one of those hard line drives that have knocked us off the pitcher's mound. And we turn where everyone must turn sooner or later. We throw ourselves on the mercy of God. And if God should not be there, then we are pitiable indeed.
There is a story by an unknown author being circulated on the Internet that reflects the outlook of Peter's letter to the churches in Turkey.
It is about a little boy who is about to have open heart surgery.
"Tomorrow morning," the surgeon began, "I'll open up your heart . . ."
"You'll find Jesus there," the boy interrupted.
The surgeon looked up, annoyed. "I'll cut your heart open," he continued, "to see how much damage has been done . . ."
"But when you open up my heart," said his young patient, "you'll find Jesus in there."
The surgeon looked to the parents, who sat quietly. "When I see how much damage has been done, I'll sew your heart and chest back up and I'll plan what to do next."
"But you'll find Jesus in my heart," the young boy insisted. "The Bible says He lives there. The hymns all say He lives there. You'll find Him in my heart."
The surgeon had had enough. "I'll tell you what I'll find in your heart," he said coldly. "I'll find damaged muscle, low blood supply, and weakened vessels. And I'll find out if I can make you well."
"You'll find Jesus there too," the young fellow continued. "He lives there."
The surgeon left.
The surgeon sat in his office, recording his notes from the surgery, "Damaged aorta, damaged pulmonary vein, widespread muscle degeneration. No hope for transplant, no hope for cure. Therapy: painkillers and bed rest. Prognosis," here he paused, "death within one year."
He stopped the recorder, but there was more to be said.
"Why?" he asked aloud. It was clear he was speaking to God. "Why did you do this? You've put him here; you've put him in this pain; and you've cursed him to an early death. Why?"
The surgeon's tears were hot, but his anger was hotter. "You created that boy, and you created that heart. He'll be dead in months. Why?"
And thus a dialogue began between the surgeon and God. And in that dialogue this frustrated physician discovered a new understanding of God's providence and love.
The surgeon wept.
Now he sat beside the boy's bed; the boy's parents sat across from him. The boy awoke and whispered, "Did you cut open my heart?"
"Yes," said the surgeon.
"What did you find?" asked the boy.
"I found Jesus there," said the surgeon.
In times of persecution and suffering, in times of grief and stress, when it all comes down to it, we have only one place to turn, and that is to the power of the indwelling Christ. If there is not at the heart of the universe a heart of love, then nothing else we believe matters.
So, the epistle of Peter says, "Fervently love one another from the heart . . ." This is the ultimate secret of the Christian: Love.
1. "We've Been Hit!" by Scott Gold in the Los Angeles Times, reprinted in Reader's Digest, Dec. 2001, pp. 64-66.
2. By Steve Stephens. Answers to Life's Most Perplexing Problems, compiled by John Van Diest (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Books, 1998), pp. 63-64.
3. "From Rosie" (editorial letter) by Rosie O'Donnell Rosie Magazine, Dec. 2000, p. 2.
4. "Angels on the River" by William M. Hendryx, Reader's Digest, Nov. 2001.