David Holdsworth's Blog: Devotion

 

Isaiah 9:6

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

King James Version (KJV)

 

 

 

 

​Before this reflection, let us remember the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew:

​"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God."

(Matthew 5:9, NIV)

​

​Today, we honour the lives lost in conflict. We wear the poppy, some white, some red, but we all pray for peace. Our faith calls us to seek the Kingdom of God, a place where war cannot exist.

​We must listen to those who saw the horrors. Wilfred Owen spoke against the great lie of war, condemning:

​"The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est / Pro patria mori."

​Harry Patch confirmed the grim truth:

​"War is organized murder, and nothing else."

​Even those who commanded felt despair; General William Tecumseh Sherman said:

​"I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine... War is hell."

​Our Christian faith demands that we stop excusing war. As C.H. Spurgeon taught:

​"I wish that Christian men would insist more and more on the unrighteousness of war, believing that Christianity means no sword, no cannon, no bloodshed..."

​Our hope is found in God’s promise to guide us away from destruction:

​"They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." (Isaiah 2:4)

​Building this peace takes courage—a deeper courage than fighting. Albert Einstein challenged us:

​"We must be prepared to make heroic sacrifices for the cause of peace that we make ungrudgingly for the cause of war."

​We must work for it every day. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. taught us that:

​"It is not enough to say 'We must not wage war.' It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it."

​Let our act of remembrance be a promise: to follow Christ's love, turn away from hatred, and finally learn war no more.

​Amen.

*Image sourced from Gemini*

As some may know, one of my favorite saints is Saint Francis of Assisi. Whilst I don't agree on all his teachings I have always admired this wealthy man turned poor Saint. 
In a time animals were mere food or inconvenience he loved animals. In a time of a huge gap between the rich and poor he loved and identified with the poor.In a time of religious corruption he was a reformer before the Reformation. In a time where love had waxed cold he loved. In a time of war and crusades he stood for peace at great expense to himself.
His time is not unlike today in fact. His example is relevant to us. 
The Canticle of the Sun​(Translation by Matthew Arnold)
​O most high, almighty, good Lord God, to thee belong praise, glory, honor, and all blessing! To thee alone, Most High, do they belong, and no mortal lips are worthy to pronounce thy Name.​Praised be my Lord God with all his creatures, and specially our brother the sun, who brings us the day and who brings us the light; fair is he and shines with a very great splendor: O Lord, he signifies to us thee!  ​Praised be my Lord for our sister the moon, and for the stars, the which he has set clear and lovely in heaven.  ​Praised be my Lord for our brother the wind, and for air and cloud, calms and all weather by the which thou upholdest life in all creatures.  ​Praised be my Lord for our sister water, who is very serviceable unto us and humble and precious and clean.  ​Praised be my Lord for our brother fire, through whom thou givest us light in the darkness; and he is bright and pleasant and very mighty and strong.  ​Praised be my Lord for our mother the earth, the which doth sustain us and keep us, and bringeth forth divers fruits and flowers of many colors, and grass.  ​Praised be my Lord for all those who pardon one another for his love's sake, and who endure weakness and tribulation; blessed are they who peaceably shall endure, for thou, O most Highest, shalt give them a crown.  ​Praised be my Lord for our sister, the death of the body, from which no man escapeth. Woe to him who dieth in mortal sin! Blessed are they who are found walking by thy most holy will, for the second death shall have no power to do them harm.  ​Praise ye and bless the Lord, and give thanks unto him and serve him with great humility. ​Source/Attribution: Written by Saint Francis of Assisi (13th Century). English translation by Matthew Arnold (d. 1888), used in the public domain.  
Il Cantico delle Creature​(Original Text in Umbrian Dialect)
​Altissimu, onnipotente, bon Signore,Tue so’ le laude, la gloria e l’honore et onne benedictione.Ad Te solo, Altissimo, se konfano,et nullu homo ène dignu Te mentovare.​Laudato sie, mi’ Signore, cum tucte le Tue creature,spetialmente messor lo frate Sole,lo qual è iorno, et allumini noi per lui.Et ellu è bellu e radiante cum grande splendore:de Te, Altissimo, porta significatione.​Laudato si’, mi’ Signore, per sora Luna e le stelle:in celu l’ài formate clarite et pretiose et belle.​Laudato si’, mi’ Signore, per frate Uentoet per aere et nubilo et sereno et onne tempo,per lo quale, a le Tue creature dài sustentamento.​Laudato si’, mi’ Signore, per sor’Acqua,la quale è multo utile et humile et pretiosa et casta.​Laudato si’, mi’ Signore, per frate Focu,per lo quale ennallumini la nocte:ed ello è bello et iocundo et robustoso et forte.​Laudato si’, mi’ Signore, per sora nostra matre Terra,la quale ne sustenta et gouerna,et produce diuersi fructi con coloriti fior et herba.​Laudato si’, mi’ Signore, per quelli ke perdonano per lo Tuo amore,et sostengono infirmitate et tribulatione.Beati quelli ke ‘l sosterranno in pace,ka da Te, Altissimo, sirano incoronati.​Laudato si’, mi’ Signore, per sora nostra Morte corporale,da la quale nullu homo uiuente pò skappare:guai a quelli ke morrano ne le peccata mortali;beati quelli ke trouarà ne le Tue sanctissime uoluntati,ka la morte secunda no ‘l farrà male.​Laudate et benedicete mi’ Signore et rengratiate,e seruiteli cum grande humilitate.
Source: The original text of the Canticle of the Sun (Cantico delle Creature) by Saint Francis of Assisi (c. 1224). The text is in the public domain.


Top part of the oldest portrait of St. Francis, a mural painting in the sacred grotto “St. Benedict's Cave” in Subiaco. Sourced from Wikipedia Commons. Public Domain.

Link to sign the declaration: Church at the Crossroads

Describe your take on the Charlie Kirk murder:
I have held off judgement as whatever happens he was human and I refuse to speak ill of any dead. I agreed with him on some things and strongly disagreed on other things. I will let God be his judge, not me. 
None the less I always have questions:Was it weird Netanyahu said it wasn't him? Why this one killing got so much attention when it is daily, even hourly in the USA? What's in the files? Why wasn't the flags even at half mast for the senators murdered only months before for example? 
Thoughts about the service I admittedlly only saw bits of: Horst Wessel effect?Pyrotechnic show?Political rally? Were some people just acting? Mega church concert?Is revival, as some claim it is, not more than some nice songs and words? Isn't revival conviction, repentance and fruits showing, social reformation? Can God not also use it for good even if some of these speakers, as some may claim, were not genuine and accidentally or on purpose preached His word? Was the president joking or in the full realm of heresy preaching against forgiveness? 
All I actually have are questions myself. The only statement I saw that sits right in my frame of reference is from Consistent Life who say: 
"Politically-Motivated Assassinations...The core of our mission is to oppose currently practiced and socially-approved killing. The category of deliberate killing that has a political or activist target, as with the recent murder of Charlie Kirk, has the feature of not being socially approved. It’s already as illegal as possible and couldn’t be made more so. It also already has the vast majority of the population aghast. On the other hand, the political motivation makes it “approved” in some corners of the population. Which corners vary and depend on the leanings of the target. Whether the target is left or right is beside the point, on principle. Additionally, we’ve had plenty of both in recent years. The recent series of lone killers haven’t articulated thoughts coherent enough to accurately categorize them either way. We naturally oppose the murder of Charlie Kirk, as would be expected. We also have a special interest in opposing it because we also are activists who are frequently targets of hostility when we try to engage in dialog. Any language suggesting such killings might be at all acceptable, in addition to being an outrage, makes us nervous for ourselves."
The bottom line: I pray the ugliness, sin and violence will end. If we learn anything may it be a recognition of our depravity as a species and need for the God of love and Prince of Peace. 

It is International Day of Peace today. It is hard to be optimistic or positive given how much is going on in the world. Nonetheless let us dare to dream of a better, more peaceful world, where quiet and peacable peoples may thrive. Many of us are exhausted and overwhelmed, but the struggle and pilgrimage towards peace continues in various pockets of society across the world. May the lights still shine. As a Christian I look to the Prince of Peace as the author and finisher of my faith. There is great darkness in the world, but a much greater light. 

Adin Ballou, an American Christian pacifist and abolitionist wrote a book called Christian Non-Resistance, in all its important bearings, illustrated and defended (1846), which was widely read and admired by Leo Tolstoy. There is a short poetic part in the book that says:

​"The earth, so long a slaughter-field,

Shall yet an eden bloom;

The spear shall be a harvest-tool,

The trumpet's voice be dumb."

Another version is cited as ending:

"The tiger to the lamb shall yield and war descend the tomb," which captures the same powerful anti-war sentiment. It evokes the biblical imagery from Isaiah. 

​"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them." (Isaiah 11:6 KJV) 

The same verse, Isaiah 11:6, in the EasyEnglish Bible is:

​"At that time, wolves and lambs will live together. Leopards will lie down with goats. Calves, lions and fat cows will live together. A small child will be their leader."

The literal fulfillment of Isaiah 11:6 is tied to the establishment of Christ's eternal kingdom, where there will be no more death, sorrow, or pain (Revelation 21:4). The danger will pass as a child can play near wild animals in peace and security under the perfect reign of the Messiah.

I believe His kingdom is both now and not yet. In other words: Christians live in the time between Jesus' first coming and his second coming. The kingdom is already here, but it is not yet fully here. This means we must continue to ​"Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it." (Psalm 34:14) 

Pax et Bonum

Soli Deo Gloria

Today I started an art class. The class has an art therapy style about it. It has been a while since I did something just for me. Not for work, nor for family (although they will likely benefit all being well). It is nice to do something new. I sometimes regret doing Social Sciences and Theology instead of art at university. Nonetheless I suppose those other deep topics are useful in other ways. It is also nice to do art for therapy and pleasure as a pose to academic pursuit. Hopefully I will be able to share some art or at least more about art in a future post. Watch this space... 

Dear fellow Christians,
​This is an open letter about the terrible conflict in Israel and Palestine. 
The killing is so hard to watch, and it just breaks our hearts. As followers of Jesus, we have to ask ourselves, "What would Jesus say about all of this?"
​Jesus Wasn't an Israeli or a Palestinian​Some people involved in this conflict try to claim Jesus for "their side." They might say He was Palestinian because He lived in that area. Or they might say He was Israeli because He was Jewish.​But these modern political groups didn't even exist when Jesus was on Earth. Jesus was a Jewish man who lived 2,000 years ago. According to the Gospels, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, which was in the region of Judea. However, he grew up and spent most of his life in the town of Nazareth, which was in the region of Galilee. Because of this, he is often referred to as "Jesus of Nazareth" or "the Galilean." At that time, the Romans were in charge of the land. The name "Syria Palestina" was a name the Roman Emperor Hadrian came up with in the second century to punish the Jewish people for a revolt. 
This was long after Jesus had gone to heaven. Jesus’s kingdom isn't of this world.
​What Would Jesus Do?
​Jesus's message is simple and clear: He is totally against violence, hate, and killing. He would never support this. He would condemn terrorism, which uses fear and violence to get what it wants. This goes against His command to love your enemies. He would also be so grieved about genocide, which is the planned killing of an entire group of people.
​Jesus would speak out against the actions of the Israeli government, like expanding settlements and using military force that has hurt so many innocent people. This includes attacks on churches and Christian hospitals. (This was officially recognised as war crimes and genocide months back). And He would also condemn the actions of terrorists, who have done terrible things. The actions on both sides have put the lives of innocent hostages, civilians, including children at great risk. 
Jesus is different
Jesus didn't come to win with an army; He came with a cross.
​Christians in the Conflict
​There are Christians in both regions. About 180,000 Christians live in Israel, and 47,000 live in the Palestinian territories.
​Christians in both Israel and Palestine face different problems. Palestinian Christians often share the struggles of their Muslim neighbors, like limited freedom to move around and limited resources. Pastor Munther Isaac of Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church has shared that Christians in Gaza are effectively living "under the rubble".
​In Israel, even though Christians have the freedom to worship, there has been a rise in anti-Christian events, especially in Jerusalem. This includes extreme harasment and the damaging of churches.
​The Bible teaches us that when we follow Jesus, our shared faith is more important than our nationality. As the Apostle Paul wrote, "There is neither Jew nor Gentile… for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
​Above all, I stand with Jesus.​I stand with love.​I stand against terrorism.​I stand against genocide.​I stand with the Red Cross, the Red Crescent, and Magen David Adom.​I stand with the Geneva Convention.​I stand with a free Israel.​I stand with a free Palestine.Where will you stand? 
​In Christ,​A fellow Christian