What An Historic Week!

Tomorrow marks an historic day for our Catholic friends as Pope Benedict XVI steps down and relinquishes his papal authority.  He has served the Church well since stepping into the footsteps of John Paul II after his death in 2005.  Perhaps not as popular a Pope as was John Paul II, Benedict XVI has struggled to lead the Roman Catholic Church through some of its darkest days since the Middle Ages.  Of primary concern has been the exposure of repeated immoral acts on the part of the priesthood over the years, acts often just shoved under the proverbial rug by higher authorities within the Church.  A second concern has been the tremendous increase in Roman Catholic membership within the third world in these past few decades; membership that surpasses that of both Europe and the United States. 

The papal enclave that will convene within days of Benedict's stepping down will wrestle with both those issues.  Will the next Pope be another European? To my knowledge, I do not believe there has ever been a non-European Pope ever in the history of the Church.  Can they find a papal candidate that has not been tainted with the sexual abuse scandal?  Will they look, once again, toward a younger candidate, remembering that Benedict was 77 when he was chosen back in 2005?  Rightfully, the attention of both Catholics and Protestants will be focused upon the Vatican these next few weeks, awaiting that puff of white smoke that will indicate that another papal successor has been chosen. 

Friday marks a turning point in our nation's history.  We are seeing evidence of a government so badly broken that those who have been elected to govern truly seem incapable of doing so.  We have witnessed a Congress that cannot even communicate with one another.  We have one chamber of government that has refused for four years to submit any budget plans for the other chamber to consider.  We have a White House that is more focused upon golf and the Oscars than upon the impending financial disaster that is only hours away.  All Washington talks but no one wants to step forward and lead.  And, as a consequence, the American people will pay for the inability of a broken government to act.  2014 might be another of those critical years for us - but not sure we can wait that long for leadership in Washington.

Someone asked me about how things were going in Israel.  I received an e-mail from my dear friend who lives in Israel after I had asked him the same question.  Things are not going very well for our friend Prime Minister Netanyahu.  He only has a couple of weeks left to form a coalition government.  By that I mean he needs to get the support of 61 members of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament.  (There are 120 seats in the Knesset, so a majority of 61 seats is necessary in order to govern).  As of today, the Prime Minister has 37 seats safely in his pocket.  He needs at least 24 additional seats, but 30 would give him a more comfortable margin.  Will he succeed?  Many Israeli editorialists believe that he will, but wonder how long such a coalition can strongly remain in place.  To further compound the Prime Minister's difficulty is the fact that President Obama will be making his first State visit to Israel on March 20.  That is only days after the coalition government must be in place.  And we know, from past experience, that the relationship between the Prime Minister and our President has been cool at its best.  Stay tuned, as this is going to get very interesting.

And, here in the great State of Minnesota, amid all the clamor for some type of taxation and fiscal reform, the center stage is being taken to make Minnesota a place that will recognize and grant homosexual marriages.  You might remember that last fall, during the intense debate over the Marriage Amendment here in Minnesota, that I said that should the Amendment fail, that would open the door for legalizing homosexual marriage.  Well, the Amendment was defeated and now the doors seem to be wide open that legalization will pass.  Just another continuation of the slide down the slippery slope we are descending. 

The other evening, while teaching a Class on the Psalms at a church within the Twin Cities area, I shared from Psalm 2.  There David writes, "The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the LORD scoffs at them.  Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, 'I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.'" (Psalm 2:4-6).  That passage has been deeply impressed upon my heart and mind since that evening.  God first laughs at the foolishness of men's actions.  Then He scoffs at them.  Then He rebukes them as He attempts to correct their behavior.  Finally, God terrifies them in His wrath because of their continued disobedience to His commands.  I remember sharing with my class that evening that I am fearful that we are long since passed the laughter stage and scoffing stage.  I wonder if we have even passed God's rebuking stage and have entered into His terrifying stage.  As with Israel of old, I believe the day is soon coming when God will say, "Enough is enough; I give you over to the depravity of your minds and actions."  Friends, such a day will not be a pretty one.  As those committed to the commandments of Jesus Christ, we will face challenges that will ask for incredible sacrifices from us, perhaps even our own lives.  Are we ready?  That is the sobering thought God has seared into my heart for 2013.  Are you ready?