Thoughts and Prayers
It’s easier to stay on the sidelines than it is to get engaged and take a step in faith.
Mark 8:31-38 and Revelation 3:14-22
In our never-ending culture wars, we are fueled by outrage. In the aftermath of tragedy, people now flock to social media to express their outrage and show which side they are on. It’s now commonplace that whenever there is a mass shooting, gun rights supporters share their condolences regarding the event, offering “thoughts and prayers” for those who were affected by the tragedy. That then invites a response from gun control supporters to mock these actions as hypocritical.
I tend to get annoyed at the bickering that happens after such horrible events, partially because it feels like yet another argument that makes up our long-running culture war in America.
But the thing is, the “thoughts and prayers” critics have a point. Yes, prayers matter. I believe prayer changes things. Thinking about those who are hurting matters. However, theologian Miroslav Volf is correct that there is something hypocritical about offering “thoughts and prayers” about a problem and then not working to solve the problem. In an interview in the aftermath of the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, Volf had this to say to columnist Kirsten Powers in the Washington Post:
“It’s analogous to what is going on in the book of James 2:16: If a person says to those who are cold and hungry, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? Or if you look at the story of the good Samaritan, we can easily imagine that the priest, who walked by a person robbed and left half-dead by the road, prayed as he was passing by. Still, he was a bad priest. The Samaritan was good because he did something to help the suffering person.”
Thoughts and prayers aren’t limited to just the whole gun control issue. It can relate to anyone who might offer words about something but doesn’t take the next step and take action. It’s easier to stay on the sidelines than it is to get engaged and take a step in faith.
In Mark Jesus talks with his disciples. Peter just revealed that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. The “word” Messiah sometimes referred to kings that would come in and takedown unjust rulers. Calling Jesus the Christ meant that Jesus was going to be the leader anointed by God who was going to free the Israelites from the rule of the Romans. But Jesus put a stop on that kind of thinking. He tells the disciples what they don’t want to hear: he would endure suffering, be put to death, and rise again three days later. Peter won’t have it. He tells Jesus this isn’t going to happen to him. Peter was angry. Jesus is the Messiah! He was the new king that would smash the Romans! This can’t happen! Jesus responds harshly by telling Peter to get behind him. “Get out of the way, Peter. You are in my way. Stop playing it safe.”
Jesus then tells his friends and the crowd, if you live for yourself you will lose your life. If you lose your life for me, you will find it.
In the third chapter of Revelations, the writer criticizes the church in a city called Laodicea which is in modern-day Turkey. Laodicea is a rich town, so rich that when an earthquake struck the city some decades beforehand they were able to rebuild the city themselves without any outside help. A few years after this writing another earthquake struck the town and again it was rebuilt without outside help. Laodicea had one drawback and that was it water. There were healing mineral springs nearby. People came from near and far for these rather hot waters. The water was piped to Laodicea. However, by the time it got to town, it was tepid and nauseating. The foul-tasting water becomes a metaphor for the church in Laodicea. This church sitting in the lap of luxury felt it needed nothing. John likened it to tepid water, neither cold nor hot that had to spit out. They trusted in their resources and in themselves but failed to trust in God.
These two passages tell us that to be a people of hope, we have to also be people of action that rely on God. We can’t simply say we believe in Jesus as important as that is. We must also be willing to get our hands dirty by being active and involved. We have to accept the Savior who was willing to suffer and die for the salvation of all and realize this just might be our fate as well. To be a people of hope we have to be willing to take up our crosses and follow Jesus.
To follow Jesus is moving beyond “Thoughts and Prayers.” It is a willingness to take a risk, to believe in the hope of Jesus Christ and to proclaim Jesus in our words and actions. In doing so, we place our trust in Jesus and move from lukewarm to bringing
John ends the passage in Revelation 3 by saying that Jesus stands at the door knocking. Now, growing up I remember how this passage was immortalized in a painting with Jesus standing at a door knocking. Jesus stands at our doors knocking. More often than not we have left Jesus at the door content to follow our way. But Jesus still knocks. Will we let him in not just as individuals, but as communities of faith willing to follow Jesus even if it costs us something? Are we willing to make thoughts and prayers become words of action?