Trinity Lutheran Church

Villa Park, IL

^{“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me." Matthew 25:35-36}

Sorting Out Real Love

It seems as though many Christians today are struggling with how to show love to people who have unmet needs. Are we to allow illegal immigrants to come into our country? Are we to allow homeless people to camp in our city parks? Are we to set prisoners free if their crime was not violent enough? If you are a person who believes that people should be held accountable for their choices and pay the consequences for their actions, then you have probably heard that you are not acting in a Christian manner.

This is called weaponized empathy. It is a method used by some to guilt people into allowing anyone to do anything that they are moved to do. I can camp on your front lawn and use your rose garden as my private bathroom and if you say anything about it, you are an unloving, non-Christian beast. Weaponized Empathy is an ad hominem argument. If I cannot defeat your position, I’ll attack your character. We see this in politics all the time. Rather than argue the issues, some politicians would rather attack the person who is presenting the issue as though his poor character nullifies his position. It does not. A strong position is a strong position and one’s personal character does not diminish the strength of the position. However, because we have become a nation of whiners and victims, rather than argue positions, many would rather attack the people who offer the positions and turn every argument into a popularity contest. If I can get people not to like you as a person, I can get them not to like your argument either. In Communication Theory, it’s called the Balance Theory. If I feel negative about you, I am far more likely to feel negative about any position you hold because human beings naturally seek a balanced equation. To feel negative towards you but positive towards your position would be imbalanced and therefore require far more mental energy.

So, should we allow illegal immigrants into the country because they are poor and downtrodden? Jesus says to have mercy on them, but are you to have mercy on them at the expense of others who are here quite legally? Is that really merciful to anyone? Is it merciful towards a person who has entered the country legally and become a citizen legally to have an illegal immigrant take their job? Get free healthcare? Free housing? That neither seems merciful nor right.

Real love, the kind of love Jesus empowers us to have, is whole love, complete love. We will never do it perfectly, but perfection is that for which we strive. The question for the Christian is never “what will meet this immediate need,” but what is the best thing to do for all concerned. How do we love the homeless person AND the property owner who pays taxes for the park to be available for their family? How do we love the illegal immigrant AND the citizen who immigrated legally? How do we protect the woman who has an unwanted pregnancy AND the baby that is inside her? The answers are not easy and trite slogans are not very helpful.

When the disciples could not cast out a demon and Jesus did it very handily, they asked him why they failed. Jesus said,

“This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” We are facing demons. A demon’s goal is to create strife among the people of God. Demons cannot fight us head on. They know that we have the Holy Spirit and they will lose every time. So, they look for a backdoor. They try to divide us and by dividing us they weaken us. We must cast these demons out and they only come out by prayer.

Call it for what it is. When the demons try to divide, stop, call it out, and pray in Jesus’ name to cast it out. Don’t be fooled into reacting in a like manner and resorting to simple slogans and mindless retorts. Call the demons by name when you see them and cast them out by Jesus’ name. That is the way we restore common sense and promote faithful responses to things that are no doubt very complicated and challenging.

Someone just forwarded me a Facebook post from someone who unfriended me years ago. In the post the person was calling for a “recall” of President Trump because by his federal cutbacks, he caused the helicopter and jet crash in Washington, DC. The post went on for some time using many of the common slogans favored by those who do not favor our President. One might be tempted to argue with this person and explain that a veteran helicopter pilot can explain exactly how this accident could happen in a heavily trafficked area like Washington, and it had nothing whatsoever to do with Federal buyouts or firings. One could resort to name calling and demeaning slogans that call basic intelligence into question. But I know this person. This person is a loving, Christian person who is struggling with demons. Demons are stirring people up and trying to get us to attack each other. STOP! President Trump is not the problem. President Biden was not the problem. No one person is the problem. Satan is the problem. Stop ignoring him and allowing him to hide in the shadows and pull our strings. Call him out in Jesus’ name and cast him out of our lives, our country, our world. Then, with him out of the way, there will be room for love. Real love. God’s love. 

Pastor Rogers

Lent & Easter Worship Schedule

Lent

Ash Wednesday - February 26 - noon and 7 pm

Soup Supper 5:30 p.m.

Remaining Lenten Services:

Wednesdays, March 5, 12, 19, 26, April 2,9

5:30 p.m. - Soup Suppers

7:00 p.m. - Worship Service

Palm Sunday - Sunday, April 13th

Maundy Thursday - Thursday, April 17th, 7 p.m.

Good Friday - Friday April 18th noon and 7 p.m.

Easter

Sunday, April 20th

Worship 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

New Music Rehearsal Room & Signage

LWML SWEET SHOP

Please come and purchase baked goods from the LWML Sweet Shop for missions on Feb 8th and 9th. If you wish to bake for us, please deliver your baked goods and put in the Trinity Center either Fri, Feb 7th or at 9 AM on Sat, February 8th.

Souper Bowl Showdown

Save the Date

April 27 - Dart Tournaments

July 19 - 23 National Youth Gathering in New Orleans

Worship Services

Saturdays 4:30 pm

Sundays 8 am & 10:30 am