The Kisses You Do Not Want
Good Morning Friends,
Earlier this week Pope Francis held a mass for six victims of sexual abuse and asked their forgiveness while praising their courage for coming forward to address the wrong. He described his deep pain and suffering over the Catholic religious who betrayed their mission and abused innocent persons, in a way attempting to sacrifice them to a cult of an idol of personal desires gone wrong. His homily was about Peter betraying Jesus, the church betraying its purpose, but it also brought to mind for me a possible use for a millstone for those forcing, The Kisses You Do Not Want.
Scripture:6 ‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea.
Matthew 18:6 (NRSV)
18When Delilah realized that he had told her his whole secret, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, ‘This time come up, for he has told his whole secret to me.’ Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the money in their hands. 19She let him fall asleep on her lap; and she called a man, and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. He began to weaken,* and his strength left him. 20Then she said, ‘The Philistines are upon you, Samson!’ When he awoke from his sleep, he thought, ‘I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free.’ But he did not know that the Lord had left him.
Judges 16:18-20 (NRSV)
13She seizes him and kisses him, and with impudent face she says to him:14 ‘I had to offer sacrifices, and today I have paid my vows; 15so now I have come out to meet you, to seek you eagerly, and I have found you! 16 I have decked my couch with coverings, coloured spreads of Egyptian linen;17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.18 Come, let us take our fill of love until morning; let us delight ourselves with love.19 For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey.
Proverbs 7:13-19 (NRSV)
While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
Luke 22: 47-48 (NIV)
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who
have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28 (NIV)
You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.”
Genesis 50:20 (NKJV)
Message: The sins of clerical sexual abuse against minors have a toxic effect on our faith no matter what denomination we profess. We all lose. But turning these events of betrayal into something without hope perpetuates the crime and places the millstone around the neck of the victim. It would be better to throw the millstone into the sea, ok with the perpetrator. But separating them is not so easy. Perhaps there is something to be learned from history’s most dishonorable betrayers. There is Judas Iscariot, Marcus Brutus, Doña Marina, Benedict Arnold and Tokyo Rose. They are all well known for their betrayals. Their names become synonymous with the crime. Look them up. The kiss of Judas is perhaps the most infamous. But the reality is that the kiss was never delivered, only the betrayal. And without that where would we be? In some ways those that allow the wolf into the sheepfold endangering minors and committing the grave crimes of clerical sexual abuse are perhaps viler. Still the harsh truth is that Judas was not the only one to betray Jesus and the amazing thing is that Jesus never stopped loving Judas. Judas stopped loving Jesus. Oh, if only we could identify those who stop loving Jesus. Friends, it is said that it is bad to be kissed by a fool but worse to be fooled by a kiss. Some kisses you just do not want. Jesus rejected Judas’ kiss. There are more kisses in the Bible. Back in the book of Genesis we read about the time when Jacob ran away from home. He’d lied to his brother and his life was in danger. So he traveled to his uncle’s house to find shelter there. His uncle Laban greeted him with a kiss. It was the kiss of a man who knew he’d found a patsy. Laban saw in Jacob someone he could take advantage of… so he did. Ultimately Jacob returned the disservice. Friends, there are the kisses of people who would like to take advantage of you. They heap on praise for their own desires. And then, in Proverbs, we’re told of the kisses of the adulteress. She’s not a very nice person… but she knows how to kiss. So the young man goes with her. A flatterer gets you to trust them… and then they betray you. Now the story of a young man named Joseph in the book of Genesis comes to mind. All sorts of bad stuff happened to him. And yet God lifted him up out from behind his bars and lifted him up to become the second most important man of the world of that day. In other words: all things worked together for good for Joseph, because he loved God and was called according to His purpose… even the actions of those who were his enemies. Perhaps there is hope.
Pray we remember it is both mercy and justice. Pray we serve one another in love. Pray we do not use our freedom to indulge our sinful nature. Pray we realize that egocentric spiritual leadership betrays Jesus. Pray we learn a better processes for protecting the children. Pray we not deceive people with smooth talk and flattery. Pray we have hope.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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