Thought for Today

Leviticus 26:4  I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.  

Ecclesiastes 3:1  For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:  

Matthew 16:2  "When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' 3  And in the morning, 'It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.  

Matthew 24:24  For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

Was Qoheleth, the Prophet of Ecclesiastes correct? Is there a season for everything and a time for every matter under heaven? If he was correct, what season are we in right now? Winter? Spring? Summer or Fall? Maybe we need a season known as Divided. Would that also require a season known as United? Of course, that all might cause confusion for history students studying the American Revolution. “The first attributed use in modern times is to Founding Father John Dickinson in his pre-Revolutionary War song "The Liberty Song", first published on July 7, 1768, in both the Pennsylvania Journal and Pennsylvania Gazette newspapers.[4] In the song Dickinson wrote: ‘Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all! By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall’. Patrick Henry used the phrase in his last public speech, given in March 1799, in which he denounced The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions.” (en.wikipedia.org)

Possibly, the line sourced from Jesus’ words, “Matthew 12:25 Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.” Given the headlines I read in the newspaper and the news stories I hear on television, we are a ‘kingdom divided.’ That has probably been true since before 1776. It is estimated that “Approximately one-third of the American colonists supported the revolution, while one-third opposed it, and one-third remained neutral.” (Bing search) Maybe we have made some minimal progress in the ensuing ~ 250 years, since now we seem to only have 2 factions at loggerheads instead of 3.

Is familial and even national division inevitable? I grew up in a state where many families included members who attended differing state universities. In my youth, University of Texas and Texas A&M University opposed each other in football on Thanksgiving Day. Many of those families considered Thanksgiving dinner a success if no altercations erupted during dinner.

How about us, as Christians? When we look around us we find numerous, different faith traditions. No matter which source you access, the estimated numbers of different denominations is staggering. 500+ years ago, differing faith traditions ‘went to war’ in the Protestant Reformation. Thankfully, we no longer burn each other at the stake!

I thought about all of this yesterday, January 2nd, as I read an article in the newspaper about rising anti-Semitism and the increase of hate crimes. There seems to me to be a special irony in reading about societal retrogression at the beginning of a new year. A special, and especially dark, irony! As I read that article, I could hear The Byrds 1965 recording of Turn! Turn! Turn! playing in my mind. If you are not familiar with their recording,  ‘google’ it. It is Ecclesiastes 3 set to music.

As we begin 2025 (got the year correct on the 1st try!!), how sad it is that we still ignore the words of Qoheleth, we still ignore the wisdom of Jesus! Will our faith be laid waste? Will our religion fail to stand? Thankfully, no. Thankfully, there are Christians around our globe diligently striving to preserve the faith. There are Christians of every imaginable sect or denomination working with those of other sects and denominations to keep alive those other words of Jesus, "John 8:31 If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; 2 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." That which unites Christians everywhere is greater than that which divides us. Christians perpetually live in the season of Hope.

Stay safe, have faith in Jesus as Lord, trust God,

Pastor Ray