By James Wilson
In
the classic Peter Weir film, Witness, Harrison Ford’s John Book, a straight
arrow Philadelphia cop, fights drug dealing officers in his own police
department. The corrupt cops need to
kill a young Amish boy who witnessed their execution of a colleague. Book intervenes, becoming a target forced to
flee with the boy and hide among the Amish.
Book and the Amish are seemingly from different planets. They see him as living by “whacking” bad guys
and he finds their non-violent ways incomprehensible. When the bad cops find him he takes out two
of them by his own skill and violent daring; the third gets the drop on him
with a loaded shotgun before the Amish swing in to their own peculiar style of
action.
The
old patriarch sounds a primitive fire alarm, bringing a hundred farmers running
across their fertile fields. Before the
villain can silence Book forever there are a hundred witnesses confronting him
– silently. Book shouts that there are
too many witnesses; they cannot all be killed and the authority of their
witness is overwhelming. The shotgun
wielding criminal with a badge crumples to the ground, a beaten and exhausted
foe. While I am not an opponent of
violence in all circumstances, I am convicted that this is the way Christians
can re-claim our God-given culture and society in this season of rampant
government lawlessness. This is the way
of assertive and unrelenting witness that is fired by the unlimited love of God
and neighbor. It is the way of a Christ
Who cleared the temple of corruption with a whip but fought His greatest battle
on the Cross.
When
we repent our complicity with the escalating corruption of a government
determined to make itself a god – behaving and choosing what it claims God
would do if He were actually present in human affairs – we bear witness. When we band together and refuse to cooperate
with a government that seeks to re-define and re-organize our families, our
health care, and even our faith – we bear witness. And especially as we decline to play the hate
game and the blame game, but rather seek alternatives both positive and
creative – such as volunteering in the schools to protect our children’s right
to safety in their bathrooms without attacking those children who might
compromise it – we bear witness to a God Who is not just all powerful and just
but all merciful and loving. We
facilitate the overall education of our children by our presence, instead of
merely addressing an issue that energizes us.
And – while this is a long way, and a way that lacks the satisfaction of
“whacking” those we judge evil – it is the way of blessing, forgiveness, and
communion.
This
approach is nonsense to those who do not serve the Christian God, and to many
who do. Our God says our weapons of
spiritual warfare – the most important kind of warfare – are first
blessing. He says – in Romans 12:14 –
that we are to bless and curse not, and what He blesses – Romans 8:28 – He
ultimately transforms. He gives
forgiveness for the second weapon. He
says – in John 20:19-23 – that we are to go as He goes and forgive as He
forgives – not those who deserve forgiveness, but those who do not. Reality is the enemy of all life cannot stand
on forgiven sin, but only on the unforgiven.
And finally He gives His very own sacred supper – offered in whatever
way we might so long as it is in humility and dignity. He says – from Psalms 23 to Luke 24:13-35 –
that in that supper He is recognized by friends and foes alike, the former in
thoroughgoing joy and the latter in panic driven flight. The supper is to be celebrated boldly,
publicly, and faithfully. As we do these
things we bear witness and He bears us.
In
1999 the Williams Brothers were on a NorCal rampage. After shooting a Redding gay couple to death
in their bed they bombed an abortion clinic and torched three regional
synagogues. Police who had yet to
identify the duo warned Jewish leaders
to increase security by building fences and installing alarm systems. Redding area churches offered to come
together – in a very public way – to plant a peace garden at our local
synagogue. We stood with the temple
leaders in prayer and blessing. Neither
threat nor damage was ever done to the synagogue. When leaders invited the pastors who stood
with them to return and celebrate it was my privilege to preach the Gospel in
the synagogue. There really is something
to this Word-of-God stuff. There’s a lot
to it.
James A. Wilson is the author of Living
As Ambassadors of Relationships and The
Holy Spirit and the End Times – available at local bookstores or by
e-mailing him at
praynorthstate@charter.net
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