Galax Presbyterian Church

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION - REVELATION 6:1-8

The four horsemen of the Apocalypse, they came to be called: Conquest, War, Famine, Pestilence/ Death. They plague us still. They have been joined in our time and place by another four: Greed, Ignorance, Prejudice, and Arrogance.

They ride forth in our nation today, and ours is not the only nation under attack. Greed is attacking the health and welfare of our entire society; we all suffer from its effects: it drives up the price of much that we buy; it increases the cost of our healthcare and excludes millions from the care they should have. It puts higher education out of the reach of many.

Ignorance also threatens our health, with cries to eliminate vaccines which have saved millions of lives. It threatens democracy in America and in Europe. Democracy depends on a well-informed electorate able to vote for candidates who work for the welfare of the entire nation. This is why our First Amendment guarantees freedom of the press.

Prejudice dehumanizes millions of our citizens and severely limits the quality of their lives. It distorts our vision and corrupts our will, tempting us to make right wrong and wrong right.

Arrogance uses power with no regard for those whom it injures and devastates. Its lust for power threatens the very fabric of our society and the health of many of our citizens. It shoves the powerless aside as not worthy of consideration.

Against all of these stands the one whose birth we are about to celebrate. The gospels tell his story. He warned about the dangers of greed, how it consumes a person, and how it causes strife between us, even threatening to keep us out of the Kingdom of Heaven. He called the poor blessed, cherished by God.

He came as a teacher to diminish ignorance about God, human beings, and what God wants us to live as His children. He commanded us to worship God with our minds, as well as our hearts. He urged us to read the Scriptures, lest we too be wrong as were the Sadducees about the afterlife. To think is a critical part of being human.

We have to treasure what God treasures, value what God values, love what God loves. Jesus told us that our heart was where our treasure was, what we loved most. With most of us our heart is with ourselves, our own welfare and our own happiness. Repentance means to love God with all our heart and others as ourselves.

Jesus attacked prejudice: “He welcomes sinners and eats with them,” his enemies cried---rightly. He told parables making heroes of tax collectors and Samaritans. He spoke with women in public, and deemed them worthy to be disciples. He healed the servant of a Roman Soldier who occupied his country, and praised his faith above that of his own people. He asserted that "many will come from the East and West and join the Chosen People at the eternal banquet. He told us that God rejoices and welcomes sinners when they come home. God takes no delight in punishing the sinner; God wants repentance and offers forgiveness, even to profligates and violent rebels.

He rebuked arrogance, the lust for power and its abuse, and proclaimed that God blesses the meek and the peacemakers.

Jesus calls us to combat these four horsemen with love, God’s love. We do so by reflecting God’s love in all we say and do, using Jesus as our guide to what love is.As Christmas draws near, may we hear his call and join the ranks of his disciples, sharing God's love with those whose lives we touch. The Gospel is that God will be victorious through His Son and that love will triumph over hatred and hatred's minions. Let us be about our Father’s business as Jesus was, living in the light that he shines into our current darkness and shining that light on others.

QUOTATION OF THE WEEK

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men"

Luke 2:14

BIRTHDAYS