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Lutheran Central |
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Congregation President Writes Response |
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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, A teacher of the Law came up and tried to trap Jesus, “Teacher,” He asked, “what must I do to receive eternal life?” Jesus answered him, “What do the Scriptures say? How do you interpret them?” The man answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind’; and ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ “ “You are right,” Jesus replied; “do this and you will live.” But the teacher of the Law wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus answered, “There was once a man who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when robbers attacked him, stripped him, and beat him up, leaving him half dead. It so happened that a priest was going down that road; but when he saw the man, he walked on by on the other side. In the same way a Levite also came there, went over and looked at the man, and then walked by on by on the other side. But a Samaritan who was traveling that way came upon the man, and when he saw him, his heart was filled with pity. He went over to him, poured oil and wine on his wounds, and bandaged them….” And Jesus concluded, “In your opinion, which one of these three acted like a neighbor towards the man attacked by the robbers?” The teacher of the Law answered, “The one who was kind to him” Jesus replied, “You go, then, and do the same.” (Luke 10:25-38). There are several ways to look at this well known teaching of our Savior when considering the actions last September of our District President, Dr. Benke, the subsequent charges leveled against him, and the decision to suspend him. On September 11th, those of us in the Atlantic District were the man beaten and left half dead, not just figuratively, but literally. Our friends, our loved ones and our congregants were hurt or died at the World Trade Center. Part of each of us were hurt and died with them. Fortunately, Dr. Benke was NOT like the priest and Levite who walked on the other side leaving us to be ministered to by the “Samaritans” in a time of major crisis. Instead, he was the only Christian clergyman at Yankee Stadium whose prayer ministered to us boldly in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. There are those lofty individuals with the luxury of time and not being here in our time of crisis, who obviously view Dr. Benke’s actions as impure, deviant and tainting the Church. In short, he is viewed by them as the Samaritans were viewed by the priests and Levites of Jesus’ day. Then, in this case, Dr. Benke is the Samaritan who correctly ministered to us in a time of great need. However, those who accuse him are clearly the teacher of the Law, the priest and the Levite who are so caught up in the technicalities of being spiritually correct (“justifying themselves”), that they can’t comprehend the magnitude of the horror that took place in our District, and the urgent need for compassion that existed. But lastly, we should not forget that back in September, Dr. Benke was also one of us, that was beaten and left half dead. His church is across the Brooklyn Bridge from the World Trade Center. While tending to the collective grief of our District, he was burying his friends and congregants throughout the New York area. And now he is being beaten again for having acted on our behalf. In considering the actions of Dr. Benke and the subsequent accusations and suspension, I can only repeat our Savior’s question, “In your opinion, which one of these acted like a neighbor?” Where is the compassion? Although Dr. Benke is the one being scrutinized and accused by those in our Synod who consider themselves the guardians of our spiritual purity, these individuals have clearly lost the very spirit that they are trying to protect. Yours in Christ, Frank L. Rice President |
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