Political Chaos is nothing new.

The peaceful transfer of power - a hallmark of a democratic republic - is something enjoyed by a minority of nations around the world, it's rare enough to be a true blessing.

But we may be in a moment of chaos right now. 

Assassination attempts on our nation’s most influential voices… that’s chaos. And we’ve seen it before.

President James A. Garfield was assassinated by someone who was upset over being rejected for a political appointment. Chaos.

Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by a known racist. Chaos.

The assassination of President John F. Kennedy resulted in such chaos that the majority of Americans don’t think our justice system even prosecuted all of the perpetrators.

And an assassination attempt is no less chaotic than one that is a “success”.

We’re probably in another moment of chaos right now.

And I’m not the least bit concerned about our future.

Point of Clarification

Let me be clear about a few things up front.

There is an important list of things everyone should be concerned about.

I am concerned for victims. I’m concerned for families.

I’m concerned for every individual who feels even slightly less safe because of chaos.

I’m concerned about the chaos.

People get hurt, people get killed, people suffer irredeemable loss, and some people lose sleep in fear.

That stuff has no place in this world. It’s the reason Jesus came to suffer and die.

I am always concerned about sin and its effects.

What I’m not concerned about, though, is our future. Not one. little. bit.

Conflict is Good

While nobody wants political chaos, political conflict is extremely healthy.

The freedom of speech - the free and open exchange of ideas - creates a solid guarantee that we will have conflict.

Ideas, by their very nature, are conflictual. They push against other ideas in order to increase their own definition.

Truly great ideas are often the most controversial. “Love your enemy” is extremely controversial in most contexts, for instance.

“Love your enemy” immediately pushes against the universal human emotions leading to vengeance. It even presses up against certain kinds of cries for justice.

Loving an enemy is not easy. But it’s one of the greatest ideas ever spoken.

As long as a culture defends the freedom of speech, it will continue to be forged in conflict. 

That kind of conflict is a good thing.

Outright Bedlam

The first century Sanhedrin found itself on the verge of chaos.

Conflict was raging over the ideas expressed by Jews who claimed to have witnessed the resurrection of the Messiah, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

All efforts to “cancel” these Christian Jews were failing. In Acts 5, they were ready to plot a 1st Century hit job on Peter, at least.

Meanwhile the Sanhedrin was in an increasingly pressurized environment under Roman rule - a government who hated them but arrogantly believed they would eventually just become Romanized.

It was classic chaos.

Temples would burn, masses would be murdered, insurrections would succeed…

…and they would eventually get Peter.

They eventually got just about all of the Disciples, actually, and a whole lot more Christians than that.

The earthly chaos that grew, at least in part, out of the resurrection of Jesus Christ resulted in the systematic persecution of Christians for nearly 270 years.

Do you need to reread that? Christians began being publicly persecuted in 64 AD. The “movement” had barely gotten started.

The chaos continued until the Edict of Milan, issued by Constantine in 313 AD, made Christianity “tolerable” and “recognized” by the Roman government.

That’s a period of persecution longer than the United States have been united.

Perhaps you can understand why I am not concerned about the future.

Chaos is nothing new, God’s been dealing with our chaos since the Garden of Eden.

He knows what He’s doing. I know that. I’m not worried about the future.

Take Care…

I have one more addition, however, to the above list of things that concern me.

I noted that what actually concerns me has everything to do with people.

I don’t want to see a politician get shot, I don’t want to see a stray bullet take out someone’s father, and I don’t want to see a 20 year old kid get erased by the secret service because he had gone way, waaaay off the deep end. Please make it all stop!

In addition to that, I am concerned like Gamaliel.

I am worried about how we will treat our ideological enemies.

Gamaliel was obviously the wisest man in the room when the Sanhedrin was at the threshold of disorder.

Jewish leadership, which hadn’t learned its lesson from the whole Jesus crucifixion debacle, were ready to murder again.

Cries for blood were met with Gamaliel’s cool headed and wise interdiction.

“Take care what you are about to do with these men.”

This is what concerns me.

We must all “take care” what we say and do when we find ourselves on the cusp of chaos.

As Christians, we know even better than Gamaliel that we must maintain a righteous approach, even in response to people who would rather see us dead.

We know this because we know what Peter knew. 

Gamaliel was right: Peter was right! 

Peter had, in fact, witnessed the death and resurrection of the Messiah.

The Apostles, rather than whip the nascent Christian Church into an “Anti-Jew” or “Anti-Rome” movement because, “look, these people want to kill us! Let’s fight fire with fire!”...

Instead of that Peter and the Apostles taught the church what Jesus had taught them.

First, don’t worry about the future because the future is completely in God’s hands.

Second, forgive those who persecute you, because the Gospel is the most important idea in the world.

Third, take care how you treat one another, because by your love your Christian faith will become known.

No government can give these things. Neither can any oppressor take them away.

Closing Prayer

Oh dearest Jesus make us humble like you are humble. Make us trust like you were trusting. You faced chaos, and so do we. Help us take the advice of Gamaliel and “take care” of our thoughts, words, and deeds; and help us follow the example of Peter to be your witnesses in our communities. And please, Lord, end the chaos. Come quickly! Amen.