On principle, I decided not to sit here.
While my son attended a younger friend’s play, I went to the river to read, hoping for bit of a soul-treat. From 100 yards away, the first place I saw to sit was the bench shown above. Few people were around, and it looked like an out-of-the-way place to sit and watch the river, enjoy a beverage, and be by myself for an hour. As I drew nearer, I realized it was a military memorial and began to question my choice of spots.
And then I saw the biblical text engraved on the bench. And I have two issues with that:
- To yank a biblical text from its context and re-appropriate it is careless and disrespectful, even in a secular place.
- To compare deaths in a military event to Jesus’ laying down His life in crucifixion offends my soul.
I thought for a few moments about the sitting, and I didn’t think anyone would notice me, but on principle, I would not allow myself to sit there. And so I made my way to another bench, trying not to think about the people who unwittingly relate the two events. The most egregious error was in the making of the bench and the engraving of the words. Even passersby must not be led somehow to think somehow that the military men who were struck down by an act of military violence were somehow in the same league as Jesus, who allowed Himself to be put to death for all sinners. He is the one who “laid down His life for His friends.” When Jesus was conversing with the disciples just before His death, the words were about the relationship of disciples to Jesus, to each other, and to the hurting, needful world. While the words were about times to come, from that moment through the coming crucifixion and beyond, they have no direct relationship to 20th-century military theaters.
As an antidote for the toxin of a gospel passage misused on a park bench, I’ll soon offer a more contextual treatment of a section of the John-gospel, on my other blog.
Dr. Brian Casey 