Reflection from Jon Ellis2 Kings 251 So in the ninth year of Zedekiah s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. He encamped outside the city and built siege works all around it.2 The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.3 By the ninth day of the [fourth] month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat.4 Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled at night through the gate between the two walls near the king s garden, though the Babylonians were surrounding the city. They fled towards the Arabah,5 but the Babylonian army pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered,6 and he was captured. He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where sentence was pronounced on him.7 They killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. Then they put out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon.8 On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard, an official of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.9 He set fire to the temple of the LORD, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down.10 The whole Babylonian army, under the commander of the imperial guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem.11 Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard carried into exile the people who remained in the city, along with the rest of the populace and those who had gone over to the king of Babylon. 12 But the commander left behind some of the poorest people of the land to work the vineyards and fields. (NIV)REFLECTIONWar is nothing new. These accounts show how men can inflict awful cruelty on others and somehow justify it. God definitely wanted his people to be pure and not tainted by other dreadful so-called religious practices. But one wonders how often “God told me to do this” was an excuse for selfish motives.The Crusades in the name of religion in the Middle Ages were called by Pope Urban II firstly with the goal of retaking Jerusalem. But the accounts continue with atrocities committed in the name of Christ. There are still people using Jesus’ name to claim that what they are doing is right, but in no way following Jesus’ commandments.Everything Jesus said was about love, righteousness, holiness, care, humility. Many of his early followers thought he was going to solve all their problems by going to war with the hated Roman occupation. They were greatly disappointed by what he chose to do. Self-sacrifice, not selfishness.Jesus’ love was not soft and woolly. He spoke about justice. He spoke about breaking the cycle of hate. “An eye for and eye” means do not do worse in reply for your hurt. That seems very appropriate in the reaction of those who choose to kill thousands of innocent civilians in response to much smaller attacks. The phrase to “turn the other cheek” was a reference that when holding your sword as normal in your right hand, it could not be wielded if you faced the other way. Let us pray every day for the Blessed Peace-makers.It seems social media has become a weapon to stir up trouble for the sake of it. Big business has become so powerful that it is stronger than governments. The result is that some people use grievances to justify violence instead of dialogue. This is especially when “my truth” does not match with reality. Pilate asked Jesus “What is truth?” Nothing is new.COLLECT – Trinity 3God our saviour, look on this wounded world in pity and in power; hold us fast to your promises of peace won for us by your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen TC~MC News and reflection Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England (2000) (including the Psalter as published with Common Worship), material from which is included here, is copyright ©The Archbishops' Council 2000
