Lenten Reflection 3/7

A lot of aggressive rhetoric is used in international politics.  This rhetoric is kind of like the insults and threats that get thrown around on a playground before the fists start flying. 

For example, the United Nations Security Council is currently considering enforcing further sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear program, and a few hours before the council was scheduled to meet, North Korea proclaimed such sanctions "an act of war," and declared its right to commit preemptive strikes against both South Korea and the U.S.  Apparently North Korea has often said before that it has the right to use preemptive military strikes against the U.S., which it claims is preparing to start a war on the Korean Peninsula.  But today, they increased the hostility of their rhetoric by saying that they have a right to  make preemptive nuclear strikes, and that they would turn Washington and Seoul into "a sea in flames" with "lighter and smaller nukes."  The New York Times quotes a spokesman from the North Korean Foreign Ministry as saying, "Now that the U.S. is set to light a fuse for a nuclear war, the revolutionary armed forces of the DPRK will exercise the right to a preemptive nuclear attack to destroy the strongholds of the aggressors and to defend the supreme interests of the country."

The article goes to say that while few analysts believe that North Korea will launch a nuclear attack on the U.S., believing it would be a suicidal move for the regime, many are concerned that this increase in rhetoric indicates that "North Korea might attempt an armed skirmish to test the military resolve of Park Geun-hye, South Korea's first female president, who took office less than two weeks ago."  The article suggests that Kim Jon-un, North Korea's new leader, is eager to build his reputation as leader of a strong and aggressive 'military first' country.  South Korea, too, has been more blunt in its own rhetoric back to North Korea.  Tensions there are building.  Will the fists start flying soon?

In Paul's letter to the Romans, I was immediately struck today by the sentence that said, "Sin didn't, and doesn't, have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace."  You don't often see the word aggressive used to describe forgiveness.

There seems to be no limit on how aggressive we human beings can be toward one another, so I like the idea of God's grace and forgiveness somehow having even more power than any aggression I can produce or imagine.  I know what an aggressive threat looks like. North Korea made one just today.  What would aggressive forgiveness look like?  

"All sin can do is threaten us with death, and that's the end of it," Paul says.  "When it's sin versus grace, grace wins hands down."  Grace always wins.  So whatever aggressive forgiveness looks like, it must be far more powerful than aggressive political rhetoric or playground bullying or domestic violence or gun violence or war - or even nuclear weapons.  More powerful than any of the most aggressive things I can think of.  Praying the news can be very upsetting.  You take in a lot of the world's aggression.  So it's very good and comforting news to me today that there is a power greater than any earthly power I could fear.  I think I'll find some rest in that power today.


Today's readings:  Jer. 10:11-24; Rom. 5:12-21; John 8:21-32
Elsa is praying the daily readings and praying the news and blogging about it on the weekdays of Lent.
She is reading The Message translation this year.