Highway Robbery
By now, you are probably aware that our church was robbed sometime between 1 p.m. on Wednesday and 9 a.m. on Thursday. My first clue that something was awry when I entered the church was that the main office door was open. It is almost always closed.
Then I could see that the window was open, the screen was on the floor, papers were strewn about, and both computers were missing. Uh oh!
So, I looked around, only to find more evidence of an intrusion, including missing audiovisual equipment in Fellowship Hall, and significant disruption in our sacristy.
A range of emotions gripped me in that moment: fear, sadness, disappointment, even anger. How could anyone do this to the House of the Lord?
Well, it was another stark reminder of the type of world in which we live — one that is becoming increasingly godless: no respect, no honor, no decency.
As I tried to process all that happened, I became more convinced than ever that we must live our faith, share our faith, and demonstrate our faith so that others who live their lives in darkness might see the light and come to the Lord.
I don’t have any animosity toward the perpetrators. It doesn’t mean that I’m not upset, but my prayer is that they might be convicted to confess what they have done and follow the Lord.
Fallibility and the ‘Fonz’
Most of you probably remember the hit television show, “Happy Days.” It was popular in the 1970s when I was in high school, but it depicted life in the 1950s.
One of the more memorable characters from that series was the “Fonz” (a.k.a. Arthur Fonzarelli, played by Henry Winkler). The Fonz was the epitome of what it was to be cool in that decade — leather jacket, t-shirt, slicked-back hair. But the Fonz had a problem. He was so cool, so caught up in his in persona, that he was not able to acknowledge his own shortcomings. As you may remember, whenever he tried to say he was wrong, all he could muster was, “I was wro…” He simply couldn’t not bear to admit any fallibility.
As disciples of Christ, we have come to realize the importance of not only admitting when we are wrong, but also confessing it before the Lord and asking for forgiveness. It is really the only way to maintain an open and honest relationship with him.
On this Good Friday, likely the most extraordinary one we have ever experienced because it accentuates our fallibility, we take time to pause, confess, and give thanks to the Lord our God for his sacrifice on the cross, for without it, we are doomed to a future without hope.
So the next time we reflect on our transgressions, let us freely proclaim that “we were wrong” and that we seek his forgiveness as we forgive others, not only on Good Friday, but every day of the year.