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Aaron Hernandez makes us feel better about ourselves.
Despite the fact that he has not been tried yet for the gruesome death of Odin Lloyd, the court of public opinion has rendered him a cold blooded killer along the lines of Dirty Harry.
Hernandez was a promising tight end for the New England Patriots who just two years ago was catching passes from Tom Brady in the Super Bowl. Now he is sitting in jail with no bail facing a first degree murder charge.
Society can forgive most things. But murder? Not a chance. Even the sixth commandment leaves no wiggle room or loophole. Murder is wrong.
Forget for a moment that we live in a digital age filled with public relations savvy and fleeting fame where image reins over truth in most circumstances. And that the intent of most is to sell oneself to the media as a likeable commodity. None of us know Aaron Hernandez. But yet, we look at him and his arrest for first degree murder and feel pretty good in comparison. After all, most believe hell is reserved solely for the worst of worst. Adolph Hitler. Charles Manson. Jeffrey Dahmer. Certainly not us.
But Jesus has a different view. In the Gospel of Matthew, He threw his audience a curve ball when He said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.”
Jesus is always looking at the heart for it is here that the issues of life spring forth. Anger is the beginning of murder. Many of us only believe our actions are sinful but Jesus backs up the sin problem to our heart. Proverbs 23:7 tells us that as a man thinks, so is he. In other words, we are a product of our thoughts.
Abortion was passed in this country because we changed our thinking about life in the womb. We have told ourselves for decades now that a fetus is not really a life until the third trimester and that a woman has a right to do what she wants to her body. It is this thinking that now has conservative abortion estimates up to 50 million annually. That number is staggering. And it has its roots in wrong thinking.
It is all too easy to look at Aaron Hernandez and excuse ourselves from self-examination but really his arrest should do just the opposite. We should probe deeper and look at our own hearts to see if we have seeds of anger. And not only anger but lust, greed, gluttony, pride, covetousness and envy – all of which are the root of sinful actions.
Jesus came to save sinners. At the cross we find forgiveness and victory over sin. Jesus bids us to come and then beckons us to extend His forgiveness to others.
There is a sin problem. We all have it. And Jesus is the remedy.
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“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.’” - Gospel of Matthew 7:1-5
Showing posts with label Gospel of Matthew. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gospel of Matthew. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Sunday, May 12, 2013
An Uncommon Act of Kindness
A cup of water given to the thirsty; food offered to the hungry; clothes donated to the naked; a visit made to the sick, imprisoned or lonely. These are the uncommon acts of kindness that Jesus uses as His litmus test for genuine faith as found in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 25.
None of these acts are miraculous in nature and can be done by anyone, anywhere at any time. They are not limited to social or financial status, gender or ethnic background. Quite simply, the acts themselves are cloaked in love.
Such an uncommon act of kindness was performed Monday night at AT&T Park in San Francisco by Matt Kemp, the centerfield for the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers.
Kemp was informed during the game that a fan of his was in attendance. But this was not your typical Dodgers fan. It was a boy named Joshua Jones, who is battling cancer which has left him in a wheelchair and unable to speak.
According to Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports, when the game ended – Kemp had made the last out in a loss, the Dodgers' fourth in a row – he walked over to Joshua in the stands not knowing that he was being videotaped by a spectator ... “Kemp reaches out to shake the Joshua's hand, and instead he gets a baseball, which the boy had in his right hand. Seated below field level, the boy looks with wide eyes as Kemp signs the baseball. The boy beams silently. Kemp returns the ball and then, in a ballpark full only a few minutes before, as onlookers laugh and cheer, Kemp removes his cap and hands it to the boy. He pulls his jersey – No. 27 – over his head and hands that, too, over the rail. And he unties his cleats, pulls off the right and then the left, and gives them to the boy so that his lap is piled with most of Matt Kemp's uniform.”
“It's just something I felt probably would have cheered him up a little bit,” Kemp said. “Help him out a little bit. I just did it. Hopefully that made that kid's day.”
Often, I will hear people say where is God today? Where is our Emmanuel – God is with us?
God was there at AT&T Park after the game ended and the stands emptied. He was there – ministering through Matt Kemp to an ailing boy. And He seeks to minister through us too.
Many Christians feel they cannot be used by God because they are not rich, famous, smart, eloquent, or good-looking. But God tells us in I Corinthians 1:26-29, “that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.”
God is not looking for the wise and noble. He is looking for you and me.
Kemp saw a need that only he could meet and when no one was watching, with his team sitting in last place in the National League West division, he met that need. Joshua Jones may only live a little while longer but he will forever have Kemp’s kindness stamped on his heart. This IS the gospel. God’s hands outstretched on the cross begging us to come and receive His love and then bidding us to extend that love to others.
Often professional athletes are rightfully labeled as selfish and egotistical – not Matt Kemp. I do not know if he is a Christian but on Monday, May 6 at AT&T Park he passed Jesus’ litmus test for genuine faith.
Mother Teresa, who founded the Missionaries of Charity, an organization that is now present in more than 133 countries helping to care for children, the sick and the elderly, described her work with the poor and impoverished this way, “We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.”
I think Matt Kemp’s uncommon act of kindness would have made her smile.
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“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” - Mother Teresa
None of these acts are miraculous in nature and can be done by anyone, anywhere at any time. They are not limited to social or financial status, gender or ethnic background. Quite simply, the acts themselves are cloaked in love.
Such an uncommon act of kindness was performed Monday night at AT&T Park in San Francisco by Matt Kemp, the centerfield for the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers.
Kemp was informed during the game that a fan of his was in attendance. But this was not your typical Dodgers fan. It was a boy named Joshua Jones, who is battling cancer which has left him in a wheelchair and unable to speak.
According to Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports, when the game ended – Kemp had made the last out in a loss, the Dodgers' fourth in a row – he walked over to Joshua in the stands not knowing that he was being videotaped by a spectator ... “Kemp reaches out to shake the Joshua's hand, and instead he gets a baseball, which the boy had in his right hand. Seated below field level, the boy looks with wide eyes as Kemp signs the baseball. The boy beams silently. Kemp returns the ball and then, in a ballpark full only a few minutes before, as onlookers laugh and cheer, Kemp removes his cap and hands it to the boy. He pulls his jersey – No. 27 – over his head and hands that, too, over the rail. And he unties his cleats, pulls off the right and then the left, and gives them to the boy so that his lap is piled with most of Matt Kemp's uniform.”
“It's just something I felt probably would have cheered him up a little bit,” Kemp said. “Help him out a little bit. I just did it. Hopefully that made that kid's day.”
Often, I will hear people say where is God today? Where is our Emmanuel – God is with us?
God was there at AT&T Park after the game ended and the stands emptied. He was there – ministering through Matt Kemp to an ailing boy. And He seeks to minister through us too.
Many Christians feel they cannot be used by God because they are not rich, famous, smart, eloquent, or good-looking. But God tells us in I Corinthians 1:26-29, “that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.”
God is not looking for the wise and noble. He is looking for you and me.
Kemp saw a need that only he could meet and when no one was watching, with his team sitting in last place in the National League West division, he met that need. Joshua Jones may only live a little while longer but he will forever have Kemp’s kindness stamped on his heart. This IS the gospel. God’s hands outstretched on the cross begging us to come and receive His love and then bidding us to extend that love to others.
Often professional athletes are rightfully labeled as selfish and egotistical – not Matt Kemp. I do not know if he is a Christian but on Monday, May 6 at AT&T Park he passed Jesus’ litmus test for genuine faith.
Mother Teresa, who founded the Missionaries of Charity, an organization that is now present in more than 133 countries helping to care for children, the sick and the elderly, described her work with the poor and impoverished this way, “We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.”
I think Matt Kemp’s uncommon act of kindness would have made her smile.
*************************************************************
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” - Mother Teresa
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