“THE ALIENS ARE COMING…THE ALIENS ARE COMING”

MATTHEW 26:36-56

36  Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray."

37  He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated.

38  Then he said to them, "I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me."

39  And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want."

40  Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "So, could you not stay awake with me one hour?

41  Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

42  Again he went away for the second time and prayed, "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done."

43  Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.

44  So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words.

45  Then he came to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

46  Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand."

47  While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; with him was a large crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people.

48  Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him."

49  At once he came up to Jesus and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed him.

50  Jesus said to him, "Friend, do what you are here to do." Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him.

51  Suddenly, one of those with Jesus put his hand on his sword, drew it, and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

52  Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.

53  Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?

54  But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must happen in this way?"

55  At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, "Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me.

56  But all this has taken place, so that the scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled." Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.

Rick:    Those who live by the sword will die by the sword.

That’s what Jesus said that night in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Those are certainly words to live by.

After all, it’s one of the lessons that we teach our children.  You don’t hit people.

The message doesn’t always get through though.  Consider if you will the problem that a mother encountered one day.  While she was in the kitchen she suddenly heard her four year old son let out a shriek..  So, she immediately rushed to the playroom to see what was wrong.  When she got there the little boy pointed to his little sister and announced, “Cindy pulled my hair.”  The mother gave her son a sympathetic hug.  “There, there,” she said. “You’ll be alright.  You have to remember. Cindy’s only 18 months old.  She doesn’t know that it hurts when you pull someone’s hair.”  With that the mother turned around and went back to the kitchen.  She wasn’t there more than a couple of minutes when she heard another shriek from the playroom.  This time when she walked into the room her four year old son stood up and defiantly announced, “She knows now!”

Jesus was right.  If you live by the sword you will die by the sword.  I think that it’s safe to say that as far as Jesus was concerned violence is always sinful.

Debbie:            What a minute.  That’s a strong statement to make there.  Violence is

 always sinful?  What about a situation where someone tries to harm one of

 my children? Does that mean I’m a sinner if I pick up a baseball bat and try to protect them by hitting the person over the head?  That doesn’t seem right to me.  Besides, if Jesus was so opposed to violence why did he allow Peter to have a sword with him that night when they went to the Garden of Gethsemane and don’t tell me that Jesus didn’t know Peter had a sword.  If Jesus could walk on water and feed 5000 people with a couple of loaves of bread and see into people’s hearts then he must have known that his #1 disciple had a sword with him that night.

Rick:                Ah, Debbie, don’t make life difficult for  me here.  I’ve got a month’s worth  of chocolate riding on the decision that everyone’s going to be making in a

 few minutes.

Debbie:            I know that, but what’s more important?  A month’s worth of chocolate or

 making sure we understand what Jesus really said and what he really meant?

(Bicycle bell is rung to announce the 3^rd bulletin.)

Debbie:            There.  That just goes to show you that sometimes violence can’t be

 avoided.  Unfortunately, sometimes you have to use force to protect the

 lives of innocent people.  Besides, Jesus couldn’t have been a pacifist.  Just look what he did that day in the Temple.  Didn’t he turn the tables over that the money changers were using?  Not only that but doesn’t John say in his gospel that Jesus even used a whip to drive them out of the Temple?

Rick:                Oh Hillary, Hillary, I mean Debbie, Debbie.  If you really want to see

 someone who’s a little prone to violent behavior just wait until you see me

 after I go a month without chocolate.  As far as what Jesus did that day in the Temple there’s no evidence that Jesus physically harmed anyone.  I can also tell you that John’s gospel was the last one to be written.  It was probably written about 80 years after Jesus went to the Cross.  So, biblical scholars generally agree that John’s gospel is the least accurate when it comes to showing us the “real” Jesus.  The fact that none of the other gospels mention that whip lead me to believe that that part of the story never happened.  John just added it to emphasize how angry Jesus was that day.  I also want to go back to your point about Peter having a sword that night in the Garden of Gethsemane.  I agree with you.  Jesus probably knew that Peter had that sword with him, but that’s what makes his love so wonderful.  Jesus doesn’t force us to do anything.  He lets us make our own decisions even if those decisions are wrong.  If you look at everything Jesus said and did you can only come to one conclusion.  Jesus believed that violence is always sinful.  That’s why he told us to always turn the other cheek.  That’s why he told us to be peacemakers in the Sermon on the Mount.  You can’t be a peacemaker if you’re always reaching for that sword.

Debbie:            I agree that violence should be avoided whenever possible, but sometimes you have no choice.  Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire.  What about Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  Didn’t you tell me once that he was a German pastor during World War II who was a pacifist?

Rick:                That’s right.

Debbie:            And didn’t you tell me that he also was involved in a plot to assassinated Hitler?

Rick:                That’s right.

Debbie:            He did that because he realized that this man was evil and that ending his

 life was the only way to save the lives of millions of other innocent people.  So, that proves you can’t always be a pacifist.

(Bicycle bell is rung to announce the 4^th bulletin.)

Debbie:            There, I think it’s obvious now that we need to take action.   You can’t always be a pacifist.  It’s just impossible.  So, I have to decide which is

 more important; the lives of all of these people or your need for chocolate.

Rick:                It isn’t just my need for chocolate.  It’s also the lives of whoever may be on

 that alien spaceship.  They haven’t done anything yet that puts anyone’s

life at risk.  Not only that but let’s go back to Dietrich Bonhoeffer for a minute.  You’re right.  He was a pacifist and he did plot to assassinate Hitler, but a lot of people don’t know what happened after that.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer was arrested and sent to a concentration camp.  While he was in that concentration camp he wrote a letter to his sister.  In that letter he said that if he survived he was going to leave the ministry.  Why?  Because he said that while he did what had to be done it was still a sin to kill and there was no way he could continue to be a minister with blood on his hands.

Debbie:            So, what are you saying here?  Are you saying that sometimes violence is

necessary but that it’s still sinful?  How can it be necessary and sinful at the same time?  That doesn’t make any sense.

Rick:                I’m sorry if that’s confusing, but Jesus never said that it would be easy to

 follow him.  Unfortunately, we live in a sinful world.  People don’t always do what they’re supposed to do.  So, yes.  Sometimes you do have to fight fire with fire.  Sometimes you do have to pick up that sword, but it doesn’t make it right or good.  If people understood in their hearts that violence is always sinful, then maybe they would think twice before they picked up that sword.  Maybe they would begin to see that sword not as a first resort but only as a last resort.  Maybe we wouldn’t have so many people walking around with a chip on their shoulder all the time.  Maybe we’d have a lot less hate and violence in the world.

Debbie:            Sometimes violence is necessary but even when it’s necessary it’s still

 sinful.  That’s certainly a different way of looking at things.

Rick:                It is and I also want to make it clear that I’m not suggesting that you let

 someone take advantage of you.  Jesus wasn’t a wimp after all.  If you go

back to what happened that night in the Garden of Gethsemane you’ll see that Jesus really let Peter have it.  After Peter swung his sword Jesus really got angry with him.   Jesus told him to put the sword away and lectured him about the dangers of living by the sword.  So, when you think about it Peter and Jesus were both angry that night in the Garden of Gethsemane.  There was a difference in their anger though.  Peter’s anger led him to be aggressive.  Jesus’s anger led him to be assertive.  There’s a difference between being aggressive and being assertive.  When you’re aggressive you let the person know that you’re angry by saying to him or her, “I don’t like what you did to me.”  Then you punch the person in the mouth.  When you’re assertive you let the person know that you’re angry by saying to him or her, “I don’t like what you did to me and I’m not going to let you do that to me again.”  Then you tell the person that you can’t be friends any longer and you walk away.

(Bicycle bell rings for Bulletin #5)

Debbie:            Well, I guess the moment of truth has arrived.  We have to make a decision.

Do we wait to see what happens even though it potentially risks the lives of

innocent people.  Or do we take action with the understanding that this is one of those moments when you have to take up the sword even though in the eyes of Jesus violence is always sinful?   Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes and Christian Education Director Debbie Putney

August 19, 2007 

Following the sermon the congregation, adults and children, voted to determine whether the alien spaceship should be treated as a potential friend or foe.  The decision was not to attack the alien spaceship.  That led to the following bulletin.