Living in Central PA now, there is one story that everyone is talking about the Penn State scandal. In preaching the book of Lamentations, I am seeing this whole scandal in a new light. Lamentations details the destruction of the city Jerusalem and the punishment that was brought on by their injustice and sin. While the destruction is terrible, the reason that is has happened is detailed in Lam 3:
34 To crush underfoot
all prisoners in the land,
35 to deny a man his rights
before the Most High,
36 to deprive a man of justice—
would not the Lord see such things?
The answer of course, is "Yes He will see and He will act." Therefore, when justice happens God has seen and acted.
My sermon last week was on praying prayer of vengence, known as the imprectory psalms. Praying that God would bring justice is so vital to those who do not have a leading voice. God hears those prayers and brings justice. I used the example for someone who has been abused. Tolerence or sentimental notions of God being only a tolerate God will not give hope. God will bring judgment to those who oppress and victimize. He will make things right again. Only God who loves deeply and passionately will see and act in response to the prayers of the victimized and abused.
The Penn State story broke Saturday up here but no one knew the details until Monday or late Sunday. I have seen friends go through the whole process of greif. They see JoePa fired and the end of everything for the program that dominated sports life here. They see the program they love turn to something diabolical. Those abused children have cried out and God has heard their prayer. Finally the abuser will be brought to justice and the whole system needs to be disrupted.
Below is a video of Matt Millen, a former Penn State football player reacting to the scandal. As he processes what has happened he breaks down around minute 4:00 of the clip. He says, "When we can no longer protect our children, then we as a society are pathetic". This scandal is not just about one man's violent abuse or one university's inaction. This has far reaching implications in our whole society, from our obessions with sports to our families breaking down allowing for children to be preyed upon. We are sick, and we are pathetic as a society. This is an opportunity for us to repent to examine our lives and call out that God would change our hearts and the hearts of others. We should also pray that God would end such victimization of our children and bring justice to those who have no justice. Only before the throne of God can we begin to let this change us. We also give honor to the victims by allowing it to change us. Let justice come as Jesus makes all the wrongs right.
O God, would you fogive us as a people and individually in ways that we have contriubuted to this culture where the most vulnerable are the most violated. Have mercy, Lord, and may Jesus' victory triumph in this whole event and in our world's history.
