On Wednesday…

in the non-Muslim cemetery in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah…

a bomb was detonated.

The attack happened as several diplomats from European countries gathered for a Remembrance Day ceremony…

which was organised by the French embassy.

Fortunately, no one was killed…

and only four people were wounded.

Some of the remnants of Islamic State have claimed responsibility.

They claim that they were targeting the French consul…

in response to the recent re-publication in France of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammed…

which many Muslims deem offensive.

This was the latest in a series of retaliations:

less than a fortnight earlier… 

a security guard at the French Consulate in Jeddah was attacked;

and earlier last month…

a history teacher at a school near Paris was beheaded…

after he reportedly showed the caricatures in class;

and three people were stabbed to death at a church in Nice.

 

Needless to say…

I find all of that very disturbing.

Sure, I find the intensity of the hatred and the violence…

and the intolerance and bigotry disturbing.

But I find it particularly disturbing that there are people who believe that God…

somehow… 

desires to see other people harmed…

or even slaughtered.

I find it disturbing that they are so convinced that they are right…

and that what they are doing is right.

I find it disturbing that they are so convinced that God is on their side…

and that God will reward them––

that God will send them to heaven or to paradise––

for butchering men, women, and children who don’t share their beliefs…

or who don’t worship God in the same way that they do.

 

Such beliefs, however, don’t represent mainstream Islamic thought.

Countless Muslim clerics continually condemn such views and practices…

and repeatedly remind us that Islam teaches peace.

Sadly, we don’t hear their voices in the media enough.

But this sort of radical, militant fundamentalism seems to be on the rise.

And it’s not just confined to Islam.

We find radical fundamentalists in all the major religions—

including Christianity…

perhaps especially Christianity.

And I don’t just mean those wacky cults in the United States that stockpile automatic weapons…

and believe that they shouldn’t pay taxes.

I think we see it, even, when President Bush claimed that God was on his side when he invaded Iraq.

And, in more subtle ways than that…

at the heart of our tradition, there seems to be this inherent belief that we––

and we alone–– 

are right;

that we––

and we alone––

are saved;

that we––

and we alone––

have God on our side.

We see it reflected in the hymns that most of us grew up singing…

“Soldiers of Christ, arise, and put your armour on,

strong in the strength which God supplies

through his eternal Son;

strong in the Lord of Hosts,

and in his mighty power,

who in the strength of Jesus trusts

is more than conqueror”. 

 

“Stand up, stand up for Jesus,

as soldiers of the cross;

lift high his royal banner,

it must not suffer loss;

from victory on to victory

his army he shall lead

till every foe is vanquished

and Christ is Lord indeed”.

How many wars have been fought in the name of religion?

How many of our forebears went off to war in the name of “God and King”?

Lurking at the heart of our religion––

and that of all major religions it seems––

is the idea that God is on our side;

that God accepts us;

that we are destined for eternal salvation or paradise;

that we are “in”;

and everyone else––

everyone who doesn’t share our beliefs…

everyone who doesn’t belong to our group…

everyone who doesn’t worship God in the way that we do––

is destined for hell and eternal damnation…

unless they repent or convert.

We may not subscribe to Islamic State’s brutality…

but, at the heart of our tradition, it seems, there’s a similar sort of “us” and “them” mentality.

 

And our reading this morning––

from Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians–– 

seems to feed those sort of sentiments.

It seems to justify that sort of “othering”.

Yes… 

Paul was writing to a group of people who were being persecuted for their faith.

And he was trying to offer them support and encouragement.

And, yes, he was trying to urge them to live responsibly…

not to lose heart, and not to give up.

But, in so doing, his words are dangerous.

He seems to say, “we are the children of light”…

“We are destined for salvation”…

and implies that everyone else are “children of darkness…

destined for God’s wrath”.

And, while Paul probably wasn’t intending to stir up resentment…

and he probably wasn’t overtly trying to demonise their persecutors…

under the circumstances… 

it would have been easy for the Thessalonians to hear just that.

And, let’s be honest…

there’s no doubt that radical, militant fundamentalism is often a response to experiences of persecution––

whether actual or perceived.

So, Paul was playing with fire here––

especially when he combined that sort of language with overtly militaristic imagery.

Subtly, perhaps, he was sowing the seeds of religious intolerance that we continue to harvest today.

 

And yet…

at the same time–– 

and perhaps somewhat unwittingly––

something that Paul says here actually begins to deconstruct this whole way of thinking.

Perhaps unwittingly… 

Paul says something that undermines this whole “us” and “them” ideology.

In alluding to those outside the church––

those who don’t share the Thessalonian Christians’ faith…

those who are responsible for persecuting them…

and who are, themselves, certain that they are right…

that the gods were on their side––

Paul claims…

“When they say, ‘There is peace and security’, then sudden destruction will come upon them”.

In other words, if you think that you’re right…

if you think that you’re safe…

if you think that you have nothing to fear…

if you think that God is on your side…

then watch out!

God has other plans.

 

After all…

the God who came among us in a tiny, vulnerable baby;

the God who consistently challenged and undermined all of the seemingly God-given traditions;

the God who allowed God’s Self to be put to death, rather than retaliate;

the God of the resurrection––

is a God who does the unexpected…

a God who doesn’t abide by our sensibilities…

a God who doesn’t respect our certainties…

a God who delights in overturning our assumptions…

and our beliefs…

and our prejudices.

So…

if we ever think that we have a monopoly on the truth…

that we know what God thinks or wants…

that we’re right and someone else is wrong…

then think again!

If we’re ever tempted to think that we are God’s chosen people…

or that God is on our side…

then think again!

If we’re ever tempted to think, “I’m okay…

I’m saved…

I have given my life to Jesus…

I’m going to heaven”…

and other people who haven’t, won’t…

then think again!

 

Otherwise… 

whenever it is that God does complete the work of Christ…

in transforming and renewing the whole creation;

or, at the very least…

when we shuffle off this mortal coil…

and, in some way or other…

we metaphorically meet God face-to-face…

we’re going to be in for a bit of a rude shock!