Wisdom of the Ages
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel, 7 not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.
10 Am I now seeking human approval, or God's approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Galatians 1:6-7, 10
gos·pel
l] –noun
1. the teachings of Jesus and his apostles; the Christian revelation.
2. the story of Christ's life and teachings, esp. as contained in the first four books of the New
Testament, namely Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
3. ( usually initial capital letter 
) any of these four books.
) any of these four books.4. something regarded as true and implicitly believed.
5. the Good News
In the midst of nonstop news reports and blog entries surrounding the recent shooting tragedy in Tucson
Of course, a lot has been alleged these past few days about this very subject. What is the principal source of the facts that best inform us as citizens of this country, and of the world? Major news networks? Newspapers? Radio talk-show hosts? Internet blogs? Or, Twitter and Facebook feeds? All offer us an amazingly vast range of varying viewpoints about the events at hand, and, together can much too often cloud our human judgment about right and wrong.
However, there is one source of Good News that we rarely turn to, or at best, give mild lip-service to; the gospel. Granted, when it comes to current events of our time, like the Tucson shootings, the gospel (good news) we have before us in the great religious texts of all the different faiths, does not give us the detailed up-to-the-minute lucid details of the incidences we are following. These gospels serve instead as rather delicate filters-of-truth through which we should sift all these divergent viewpoints, in order that our developing understanding and reactions are ones which best serves all people in our society. These sacred treasures of knowledge are ones which have withstood the travails of time, and have grown to become the eternal wisdoms and truths through which all our struggles and judgments can be sorted out.
- How should we as a society react to the tragedies of our day?
- How must I respond to those that have been harmed or slighted?
- How must I respond to the one who has brought about that harm?
- What understanding of justice prevails in determining the treatment of an accused?
- Have I in the past, or do I now have, a direct or indirect role in contributing to the chaos those news events too often bring to us?
These are all crucial questions that, I believe, must be examined in the light of the wisdom of the ages, in order to respond justly to the issues which challenge us today. As a Christian pastor, I know that I do try to see the events of the times, and the questions they elicit, through these truth-filters of the Gospel (although I am the first to admit that I certainly fall short in the reflection needed in many cases). But try I must – and try we must – if we are to ever truly realize a society in which we all can live in peace and harmony with ourselves and those we share this life with.
Let us not quickly desert the eternal judiciousness and truth which can see us through the most difficult of situations and times.
All Knowing God, as I wrestle this day with all the media information that floods my mine, may I turn to your truth as the divine scale on which to weigh and measure my responses. May what I think and do reflect your great yearning for my life, and my influence on the lives I encounter around me each day. For this wisdom and guidance, I pray.
Amen. And, Amen!
Rev. Michael Kirchhoff
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