First Presbyterian Church

A Magnet for Ministry

Links

Site Information

Rev. Kristin Hutson, J.D., Coe College Chaplain
November 14, 2004

Horror and Hope
Mark 6:12-29

The disciples went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

King Herod heard of this, because Jesus' name had become well known.

Some said, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that's why these powers are working in him."
But others said, "He is Elijah."
Still others said, "He is a prophet—like one of the prophets."

When Herod heard of it, he said, "John, the one I beheaded, has been raised!"

For Herod himself had given orders to arrest John and to chain him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, whom he had married.

John had been telling Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife!" So Herodias held a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she could not, because Herod was in awe of John and was protecting him, knowing he was a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John he would be very disturbed, yet would hear him gladly.

Now, an opportune day came on his birthday, when Herod gave a banquet for his nobles, military commanders, and the leading men of Galilee. When Herodias' own daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask me whatever you want, and I'll give it to you." So he swore oaths to her: "Whatever you ask me I will give you, up to half my kingdom."

Then she went out and said to her mother, "What should I ask for?" "John the Baptist's head!" her mother said. Immediately she hurried to the king and said, "I want you to give me John the Baptist's head on a platter—right now!"

Though the king was deeply distressed, because of his oaths and the guests he did not want to refuse her. The king immediately sent for an executioner and commanded him to bring John's head. So he went and beheaded John in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and removed his corpse and placed it in a tomb.

Ephesians 2:11-22

So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

But now in Christ Jesus you, who once were far off, have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.

He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it.

So Christ Jesus came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.

This is the Word of our Lord.

On September 1st of this year, children in the town of Beslan in Southern Russia were excited about their first day of school. Autumn had arrived and it was time to return to the classroom. In Beslan, the first day of school was very special. This was the day when parents, in fact, whole families, would come to the school with their children to participate in a special ceremony marking the opening of another year of learning. September 1st, 2004 first was to be a day of celebration.

Beslan is a town of about 30,000 people, comparable to the size of Bettendorf. It is an industrial-agricultural town dominated by a large corn processing plant. Most of the people who live in Beslan are practicing Orthodox Christians. And like a typical Iowan community, the people in the town of Beslan value education, work, family, and faith.

As you likely know, that day did not go as planned. As the school bell rang, a group of thirty armed men and women arrived in two military trucks and stormed the doors of the Beslan middle school — a school whose pupils are aged from seven to eighteen years old. The attackers wore black ski masks and a few were seen carrying explosive belts. After a short exchange of gunfire with police, in which five officers were killed, the attackers seized the school building taking more than 1300 people hostage, most under the age of eighteen. This number was confirmed by teachers later. Only about fifty hostages managed to flee to safety in the initial attack. It was the first day of school, the school was under seige, and no one really knew what to do.

On September 2, negotiations between officials and the hostage-takers proved unsuccessful. The attackers refused to allow food, water and medicines to be taken into the school for the hostages, and they refused to allow the bodies of the already dead to be removed from the school. As hours passed, conditions within the school grew steadily worse. The hostage takers would not permit any food or water into the gymnasium where most of the people were being kept.

Many hostages, especially children, took off their shirts and other articles of clothing because of the sweltering heat within the gym. It is reported that some children ate plants that were in the building, because they were so hungry, while some children drank their urine, because of thirst and because they had been told by the hostage takers that the tap water had been poisoned. And, as if this were not brutal enough, it has been reported that terrorists raped some of the older students.

In the afternoon of that second day, 26 women and infants were actually freed by the gunmen following new negotiations, but one newpaper reported that some of those mothers who had two or more children were forced to choose one to take with them, but leave the others behind. On the last day of the siege, the terrorists did not allow anyone to use the bathroom.

It remains disputed as to how this 55 hour crisis actually ended, with conflicting reports of an explosive accidentally detonating inside the gym causing the roof to collapse, to officials storming the building and ending the conflict with an exchange of gunfire and explosives. Whatever the ending, we know that at least 344 people died in that school that day, 172 of them children, with another 700 needing emergency medical care. According to some sources, 100 people still remain unaccounted for. And, of course, we have no way of knowing the gravity of the emotional scars of those who survived and how such pain will impact the rest of their lives.

The horror of those three days is unbelievable, unfathomable, and sickening. As a mother of a 14-year-old eighth grader, my heart breaks for the agony of the losses experienced by these families. I cannot imagine the pain. How could anyone, any human being, treat another human being, particularly an innocent child, with such disregard, such utter disdain? What has happened to humankind? For the life of me, I cannot seem to get my head around this horrific event of violence.

In the aftermath of this occurrence, I found myself struggling to fit this event into my Christian framework, into my worldview as a person of faith. I asked myself, "How can this happen? Where is God in this? How can humans be so evil? How am I supposed to put my head around this kind of vile violence and still profess to believe in a God of love, grace and peace who created all humans in God's image?"

These are some of the hardest questions of our faith, and they are, by no means, new questions — obviously, I am not the first Christian to ask them. Humans have committed incredibly violent acts against one another since the beginning of time and no generation is immune. We shudder to think of human suffering experienced during the Holocaust, during the days of American slavery, and now, in the Sudan where 70,000 people have already been killed in what our government has defined as genocide. We are confounded by the stories of recent beheadings, of prison abuse, and of planes hijacked and flown into buildings. What are we to think? As Christians, how are we to respond?

The story of the beheading of John the Baptist is just one biblical account of cruel violence that shocks our senses. The prophet who prepared the way for Jesus, who spoke the truth, and who courageously confronted King Herod on his incestuous marriage to his niece, falls victim to the vicious whims of Herodias who calls for his head on a platter. To save face, King Herod complies. What a ridiculous and unnecessary murder of a man whose crime was mere righteousness.

Of course, there are many such stories in the bible, endless examples of human to human violence: take Cain's killing of his brother Abel, the rape of Tamar, the killing of the first born sons - to name only a few. All of these stories point to the scary, but very real potential that humans have to kill and inflict pain upon one another. Perhaps the greatest and most obvious example is the torture and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Surely these stories point to our human depravity, our sin, and our brokenness, but perhaps even more importantly, these stories point to our desperate need for grace, for hope, and for life after death.

In the letter to the Ephesians, we learn of God's vision for the world, a new way of life made possible by the blood of Jesus. Writing to a mixed audience of Gentiles and Jews, the letter invites the earliest believers to be reconciled to one another for Jesus "is our peace, in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing walls, that is the hostility between [people]." The early followers are challenged to put aside differences, to no longer consider the other a stranger or alien, and to welcome one another as fellow members of the household of God with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone. In Jesus, a new humanity is possible and peace is available to even those who were once far off.

But is it so? Is there any truth or real possibility to the idea of reconciliation with those with whom we differ? Is there any real chance that we will one day be reconciled with those whom we consider to be our enemy? I suspect that not one Red Coat would have predicted that the new America would one day be its greatest ally after such a bloody and terrible war. And what about life in the United States in the aftermath of the Civil War? I wonder how many WWII veterans ever imagined that our country would be in good relationship with the Germans, the Italians or the Japanese — yet so it is. Consider the fall of communism and the tearing down of the Berlin Wall. This is surely tangible evidence of the possibility of the breaking down of the walls that once divided God's people. In every one of these situations, we can find a grim history of great violence, incredible suffering, and deep brokenness. Yet, in the end, neither hostility nor death, prevail, as people, who were once enemies are eventually reconciled to one another.

As people of faith, we are called to seek reconciliation and to live as people of peace and hope. Accordingly, we are called to pray for not only the children of Beslan, but for their attackers, for the hostage takers — as brutal as they were. We are called to imagine the possibility of incredible transformation and new life for even those who we see only as terrorists who have committed horrific atrocities. For, if we believe in a God of grace, in the truth of new life in Jesus Christ, then we must also believe that not one person is outside of God's reach; that we are all equally in need of God's love and everlasting grace. Even in the midst of his own crucifixion, an incredibly violent and unjust murder, Jesus is said to have said from the cross, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing."

So, as people of faith, as people who proclaim the new life made possible in the Risen Christ, the one who overcame an unjust death at the hands of his own people, we must never give up hope. We must persevere, steadfastly seek to be joined together in unity with God, and pray for peace for all people.

One last thing, I need to draw our attention back to the passage from Mark. If you have your bible out, turn to the story in chapter 6. Notice what comes immediately after the account of the violent beheading of John the Baptist, beginning in verse 30. It is the story of the feeding of the 5000. It is the story where 5 loaves of bread and two fish are miraculously multiplied and able to feed all 5000 men and women who had gathered to hear Jesus. The scripture, reads, "All ate and were filled."

Brothers and Sister in Christ, believe the Good News, in God all things are possible. Miraculous things do happen, people change, transformation is possible, and peace in Christ will ultimately prevail. May we be the people of hope that God calls us to be. Amen.

Return to Sermon List

First Presbyterian Church of Cedar Rapids
310 Fifth Street SE Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
Phone: 319-364-6148
E-mail: church@fpccr.org