A Story Of Self-Sacrifice

Courier-Times Christian Perspectives Article for April 11, 2009

As I write this, the story gripping the headlines is the Maersk Alabama hijacking saga; the first pirate capture of a United States boat in about 200 years. Details about the hijacking are fluid, but it appears that the storyline unfolding off the coast of Somalia mirrors a storyline almost 2000 years old.

The Maersk Alabama is a cargo ship laden with food supplies to relieve some of the suffering and starvation in several African nations. A few days ago it was hijacked by Somalian pirates wanting to trade it for ransom money. The economy in Somalia is very depressed and the most efficient way to earn money there is to hijack cargo ships; 66 have been taken since the first of January.

Like I said, the details are still sketchy but the crew members were able to regain control of the ship. Apparently the ship’s captain, Capt. Richard Phillips, has traded himself for the lives of his crew. The outcome of the story is still being determined by the actions of the pirates, the crew, the captain and the U.S. Navy, which is now on the scene. The story of self sacrifice has been played out before in many ways but most notably in the Easter story.

But to fully understand the Easter story, we really need to go back several hundred years earlier to the story of the Exodus. You remember, the story where Charlton Heston raised his staff in the movie, “The Ten Commandments”, and parted the waters for the Israelites to escape the oncoming armies of Egypt. Whether it happened the way Cecil B. DeMille scripted it in the movie we’ll never know, but the bible tells us that what happened before the sea parting was the key to the Israelites release from captivity.

There were several plagues that came upon Egypt in an effort to prompt the Pharaoh to free the Israelites. Each succeeding plague increased in intensity until the final plague, the death of the first born. The plagues affected Egyptians and Israelites alike but, when the death angel was sent to take the life of every first born, God provided a way of protection – the Passover lamb. The night of the final plague, the Israelites were instructed by God to kill a spotless lamb, consume all of it by morning, and to place some of its blood on the doorframe of their houses. The death angel would see the blood on the doorframe of the house and “pass over” the house, and all those inside, protected by the blood of the lamb. One life exchanged for many.

For generations the Israelites have celebrated the Passover as the way God chose to deliver his people. It was during the Passover meal that Jesus revealed to His disciples that He would be sacrificed, like the Passover lamb, and that His blood would deliver His followers from spiritual death. One life exchanged for many.

On that dark day that we call Good Friday, just as the lamb was being sacrificed for the Passover celebration, Jesus was crucified and became the true Passover Lamb for all people. The sinless Christ traded his life for the lives of His disciples. And the headlines on that following morning read that Jesus Christ was dead.

But, like many stories in this modern, 24-hour news cycle world, the story was still being written. On the first day of the week, Sunday morning, Jesus Christ was resurrected from the grave! Death had been conquered; Christ was alive! And the story continues . . .

Who did He save? Who were His “crew members”; His disciples? That part of the story is still being written. You and I have an opportunity to write ourselves into the story, the greatest story ever told.

The self sacrifice of Capt. Richard Phillips may save the lives of as many as 20 crew members. The self sacrifice of Christ is still delivering people from captivity. The bible says all we need to do to be part of this great story line is to become a “Christ follower”; a disciple of Christ. All we need to do is to claim the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb for ourselves.

The final chapter of the Maersk Alabama piracy case will soon be written. Hopefully it will end with no loss of life, but that part of the story is still being written by the pirates, the crew, the captain and the U.S. Navy.

The final chapter of the Passover Lamb saga may soon be written, only God knows. The question today is, have you written yourself into the story line? Will you be one of His disciples who are saved by the self sacrifice of Christ? Or will you be a tragic reminder of what could have been? On this day before Easter, you have a choice. Choose well.

Any questions or comments? Write Curt Ferrell at curt@smdcog.org

You can find info at my Facebook Page (http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=504321719).

Also at my Flickr.com Page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtisferrell/)

Thanks for reading!

Do I Really Love My Neighbor?

Christian Perspectives Article – Saturday, March 17th, 2007

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

One month ago the body of four-year-old Ariana Payne was discovered in a storage locker in Arizona. She had been dead for at least six months and no one knew. Her five-year-old brother, Tyler, has been missing at least that long and is feared dead, but no one has missed him either. It is possible that these kids have been missing for almost a year but it didn’t bother anyone until they found little Ariana.

On the same day Ariana was found, police entered a Long Island apartment and found the body of 70-year-old blind, diabetic Vincenzo Riccardi, sitting in front of a TV that was still on. No one had seen Vincenzo for more than a year. No one had missed him. His neighbors thought he had been hospitalized or moved to a nursing home so they didn’t check on him.

Two cases, a country apart. Two souls, a generation apart.

What breaks down in a society, or in a nation, that allows the most vulnerable to disappear without notice? Why is that two individuals, who should be receiving the most watch-care, can be missing for a year and no one knows? No one cares.

It is the second great commandment that is broken; Love your neighbor as yourself. It is community that has disintegrated. How can we love our neighbors when we don’t even recognize that they are missing?

I am convinced that most Americans are so busy with the busy-ness of life, so focused on our own needs, so consumed with consumer-ism, that we have left the “community” and not even recognized it. Do you know your neighbors? Could your neighbor be missing for more than a year and you not know about it, or care about it?

There are neighbors within one-hundred-yards of my house that I am ashamed to say could have been missing for a year and I wouldn’t know.

Sometimes we get tied up in do’s and don’ts, trying to live up to the standard we think God has set for our lives. Or we reach for the “brass ring” of success by climbing the next rung on the corporate ladder. We strive for athletic, academic, or artistic success and sacrifice time and relationships to attain it. Even in the church sometimes there is more busy-ness than effectiveness.

But Jesus said only two things are required; Love God and love your neighbor. If you do these things, the rest of the law of God will take care of itself. But how can you love God if you don’t invest any energy in getting to know Him? And how can you love your neighbor, if you don’t even know that they are missing?

John, Jesus’ closest friend during His earthly ministry, goes even farther. “Anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” John ties the two together. If we don’t love our neighbor, how can we claim to love God? If we truly love God, we must also love our neighbor.

Who do you know that needs extra watch-care? Who are the ones in your neighborhood that need “checking in on?” Who’s watching out for you? Who should have been watching our for Ariana and Vincenzo?

I was stunned by the recent re-publication of pictures of the destruction in the wake of the 1917 New Castle Tornado. Whole neighborhoods were destroyed. 22 people lost their lives, and hundreds were injured. If we were hit by another tornado in 2007, would you know who to look for in the piles of rubble? Would you know if your neighbor was missing? Would you care?

During this season as we prepare for an Easter celebration, let’s build community on all levels. Get to know your neighbors and what their needs are. Only then will you be able to love them. And get to know God and what He desires. Only then will you be able to love Him.