when ideals become more important than people

Wednesday August 3rd, Matthew 14: 13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. What had happened was Herod’s banquet, where many were fed, all were entertained with dancing, and the dessert was John’s head served up on a platter. Power politics at its finest, all the insiders fed and entertained and all the outsiders and dissidents silenced. It was a feast fit for a king. In a takeoff on Buechners definition of anger from his book “wishful thinking” however, what Herod was wolfing down was himself, the skeleton at the feast was him. Sometimes the ways of the world, the ways of power and politics and might and money get to be too much, even for Jesus. Sometimes we all need to take time to withdraw to a solitary place before we can once again tackle the hate and victim filled drive toward power in this world. As in Norway last weekend, when ideals become more important than people, those pushing the ideals become nothing more than damned terrorists. How many victims of terrorists, and victims of ill conceived responses to terrorism will it take before the people cry with Christ, enough? And then act with Christ and do something about it!!