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Sermon Details
- Pastor Name: Jonathan Cornell
- Date & Time: October 4, 2015 | 10:00am
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SERMON SERIES:
Painting God: The Parables of Jesus
O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you “violence!” and you will not save? Why do you make me see wrongdoing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous. (Habakkuk 1:2-4)
These words have been rolling around in my mind for the last few days. This week, I found myself in front of the news once again saying, “Again? How long, O Lord?” These words I just read from the prophet Habakkuk resonate with the groaning of dislocation and isolation. These jarring stories scatter and confuse, dislocating us. In our feeling of isolation, we ask, “What can I do? I’m just one person.”
Right now in Oregon, as well as Charleston, Tuscon, Newtown, Blacksburg, New York City, Columbine, and seemingly countless other cities, people in the aftermath are left with that vacant feeling, with swirling questions: Are we really helpless to change anything? Will this world continue to spiral out of control?
We cannot know what unthinkable malice took possession of this young man. But something stuck out to me as I learned more this week; on his social media pages, he had but two friends. This was a young man who was isolated, and I believe that at the root of anger was dislocation from any meaningful community. Now because of this, once again we are face the prospect of grieving more lost lives (nearly 500 since 1999). How long, O Lord?
The Scriptures speak to us not only words that comfort in times like this, but offer words of wisdom for change.
Download the entire transcript: Luke 14 15-24 Parable of the Great Banquet
