Doing good, no matter what

Just yesterday, volunteers who were at the Redford Pregnancy Care Center (RPCC) showed up to find the Care Center vandalized.  Windows were smashed and graffiti was spray painted on a newly painted exterior wall.   Based on the graffiti, which branded the RPCC as a "Fake Clinic," it seems that this vandalism was inspired by someone who wants abortion on demand to be maintained and is fearful of Roe v. Wade being overturned.  A similar act of vandalism also occurred at a pregnancy care center in Dearborn Heights.

Thankfully, no one was harmed and no one gained entry into the RPCC to cause further damage.

The likelihood of the culprit seeing this blog post is almost 0%, but a few thoughts deserve to be stated.

The RPCC is not a clinic.  It never has been, and it has never pretended to be.  In the past, it was a place where women could go to get a pregnancy test.  If these women discovered they were pregnant (and it was often traumatic news because of various circumstances), they were encouraged to do the right thing--even if were the hard thing--and to carry the baby to term, give birth, and either raise the child or give it up for adoption.  This advice was given because we believe that lives are precious gifts of God and that unborn children are not to be regarded as wicked or disposable.

The mission of the RPCC has changed over the years.  Now pregnancy tests are easy to get, so rarely does anyone come in for them anymore.  The RPCC has morphed into a alms-giving ministry.  We commend the women who have chosen to do the right thing in giving birth to the children they conceived.  We recognize that raising these children comes with challenges and expenses.  We aim to relieve some of that burden with gifts of diapers, formula, clothing, and other materials that can help young mothers.

The attack on the RPCC this past weekend was no doubt done in ignorance.  By disrupting our services, the benefits to young mothers have also been disrupted.  I doubt the vandal(s) recognize this.  Nevertheless, the motive of the vandal(s) was wicked.  Destruction of someone else's property is always sinful.  And yes, that includes people who have bombed abortion clinics.  The wickedness of abortion is not overcome by violence.  (I have not heard of such an attack for quite some time, although it is still cited as if it happens often.  A quick internet search for "abortion clinic firebombed" yielded one result from 2012.  All other results were for pregnancy care centers being attacked.)

Defending abortion by violence is doubly wicked.  I pray that those who embrace either would repent.  The RPCC will fix the broken glass, increase security, and continue in its mission.  We will continue to do good even if we would be attacked for it.  

Our ultimate goal is to be faithful to our Lord and to his word.  So, we will take to heart the words of St. Peter and strive to act accordingly: "Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?  But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed.  Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.  For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil" (1 Peter 3:13-17).

Some photos from the Redford Pregnancy Care Center.

Piercing Questions from Hebrews

I was reading through the letter to the Hebrews this week for my personal devotions.  The letter was written to a group of Christians who were suffering for their faith.  They were weary of the persecution, and they were being tempted to withdraw from Jesus and return to their synagogues.  That would have been familiar, easy, and safe.  They would have been spared from further persecution.  Some had already turned back, so that trail had been blazed for anyone else who wanted to follow people out of the Christian faith.

The writer to the Hebrews, therefore, pours out an impassioned plea that the faithful remain faithful.  He details how Jesus Christ is superior to Old Testament worship and ways.  He is the fulfillment of all prophecy.  He is the guarantor of all the promises.  He was faithful to the saints of the past who had trusted in the promises of a Savior to some, and some of those saints also suffered persecution for the faith.  The Hebrews who were being written to were not alone.

To abandon the faith, a person needs only to do one thing--forsake the Church.  God's people gather together to hear the word and to receive the sacraments.  They offer each other mutual encouragement, consolation, admonition, and prayers.  To intentionally remain away from this gathering almost guarantees the loss of faith.  (Those who are sick, deployed, or homebound do not stay away intentionally.  They have no choice.)  With this in mind, the writer to the Hebrews asks these piercing questions which we all do well to ponder so that we do not become weary, lazy, or negligent.

Therefore, we need to pay even more attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.  For if the message that was spoken through angels was valid, and every transgression and disobedient act received a just punishment, how will we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? (Hebrews 2:1-3)

How much greater punishment do you think will be deserved by the person who trampled the Son of God underfoot, who considered insignificant the blood of the covenant, by which he was sanctified, and who insulted the Spirit of grace? (Hebrews 10:29)

See to it that you do not refuse to listen to the one who is speaking.  For if those people did not escape when they refused to listen to the one who spoke God’s message on earth, how much less likely is it that we will escape, if we turn away from the one who spoke God’s message to us from heaven? (Hebrews 12:25)

Something from the Apocrypha

The Christian Church has always seen its share of persecution.  In America, it is pretty mild, though it appears to be on the verge of changing.  Time will tell how quickly and how intently that will change.  May God preserve us and make us stand firm in the faith!

But in other parts of the world, the persecution is much more intense.  China, North Korea, northern Africa (e.g, Nigeria, Sudan), Syria, and Iraq have seen particularly intense persecution in recent years--exponentially worse than the subpoenaed pastors in Houston.  They are worthy of our prayers.

But we need not think that God has forgotten them.  God still knows and loves his people.  And even the persecution which Christians face comes because God loves his people.

The following words are from the Apocrypha.  They are a sort of interlude in between sections speaking of the persecution and butchery that God's faithful people were subject to in Jerusalem and Judea.  This was occurring sometime around 180 BC, give or take.  The Greek forces--the Ptolemy's in Egypt and the Seleucid's in Syria--were taking turns trying to control the land of Palestine.  So the faithful Jews were getting attacked and slaughtered by both forces.  Many were killed.  Others were forced into hiding.  While God's love appeared to be hidden, it was not withdrawn.  The following words from the Apocrypha help us understand what God does through persecution and that he still loves his Church regardless of what it looks and feels like.  We do well to take these words to heart--as God is still God and we are still his Church.

Now I urge those who read this book not to be depressed by such calamities, but to recognize that these punishments were designed not to destroy but to discipline our people.  In fact, to punish the ungodly quickly rather than leave them alone for very long is a sign of great kindness.  For in the case of the other nations the Lord waits patiently to punish them until they have reached the full measure of their sins; but he does not deal in this way with us, in order that he may not take vengeance on us afterward when our sins have reached their height.  Therefore he never withdraws his mercy from us.  Though he disciplines us with calamities, he does not forsake his own people.  Let what we have said serve as a reminder; we must go on briefly with the story. (2 Maccabees 6:12-17)