“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’” (Matthew 2:1-2)
One thing leapt off the page today. “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?” I have two thoughts related to this sentence.
First, the growing disdain for Israel among American Christians of all stripes (Evangelical, Reformed, Catholic, and Orthodox) comes to mind. Interestingly, “Christ is King!” is being proclaimed from each quarter. On its face, “Christ is King” is a wonderful and accurate recognition of who Jesus is. After all, Revelation 19:16 says, “On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.” However, I’m not hearing this declaration of Christ’s kingship in “normal” conversations; I am hearing it in the political sphere, used as a weapon against support for Israel. So, I find some irony in reading the wisemen’s inquiry: “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?”
Second, on this Saturday before Resurrection Sunday, my mind shifted from King of the Jews to Savior of the world! The Apostle John records these words: “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.” (1 John 4:14) John also reports on the Samaritans’ recognition of Jesus as the Savior of the world: “They said to the woman, ‘It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.’” (John 4:42)
So, on this Saturday, I worship and proclaim Jesus, the King of the Jews and Savior of the world.
Father, help me recognize Jesus for who he is, and not misuse his identity as an insult toward others. Amen.
Tragic and Ironic: Israel Expands Abortion in 2014
This article from Israel’s Ha’aretz newspaper ends the year on a downer for me.
Beginning in 2014, Israel will fund all abortions for women 20-33. While such news isn’t surprising for me, it is certainly heartbreaking and tragic. The “progressive” attitude of Israelis toward abortion is ironic in at least four ways:
1. The expansion of abortion in Israel contradicts a very famous Jewish dictum sourced from the Talmud:
Adam was created alone, some suggest, to demonstrate the value and potential of a single human life.
According to the article, because of the new rule “another 6,300 additional women are expected to have state-funded abortions next year.” Therefore, in Talmudic terms, the expansion of abortion in Israel will destroy the whole world an estimated 6,300 additional times in 2014.
2. The expansion of abortion in Israel contradicts the Israeli mantra “never again.” One outcome of the holocaust in which some 6,000,000 Jews were murdered is a social/national/military commitment “never again” to allow others to come close to destroying the Jewish people. Yet, Israeli Jews are doing it to themselves.
If this number of additional abortions weren’t bad enough, state health officials say “they hope to make eligibility for state funding universal in the future.”
3. The expansion of abortion in Israel contradicts the demographic concerns of Israeli Jews. It is common knowledge that many Israeli Jews are concerned about the low Jewish birth rate as it compares to a relatively higher Arab birth rate in Israel because of the democratic nature of the government of Israel. In other words, if Jews continue to kill their children in increasing numbers before they are born, the Arab population will continue to inch forward as a result of a higher birth rate, and theoretically could surpass the number of Israeli Jews. And thus, endanger the existence of the only Jewish state in the world.
4. The expansion of abortion in Israel contradicts the Jewish principle of Tikun Olam (“repairing the world”), which is appropriately credited as a motivating factor for the many positive contributions of Jews to the betterment of the world (see Michael Ordman’s Good News From Israel for examples).
Of these additional 6,300 children who are expected to be killed through abortion in 2014, how many would have become educators? Scientists? Doctors? Good neighbors? I wonder how many children those 6,300 children would have had, and among that generation, how many would have been educators, scientists, doctors, and good neighbors? Of course that 2nd unborn generation would also have had children. How many is impossible to know, but I wonder how many of them would have contributed to Tikun Olam. That question can be extrapolated out endlessly as is explained in point 1 above . . . saving a life equals saving the world.
To this point, I have only considered those babies that are expected to be killed in 2014. What about those killed through abortion in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, . . . and their generations of descendents?
This decision may appear to some to be both generous and an expansion of women’s rights and protections. However, a quick scratch of the surface reveals that it is only fool’s gold.
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