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Alan Buterworth Family Update
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Newsletters - click "Get Resource" to see complete PDF version with photos and more
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Entries from
February 2004
February 2004 Newsletter
Sunday, February 01, 2004 :: 359 Views :: Newsletter
Breaking The Sounds of Silence
By Steve Cohen
If you were to visit our St. Louis home during the holidays, you would surely think that this is one of the most chaotic places on earth. Children are busily coming and going at all hours of the day and night, the computer is in non-stop usage, games being played till the wee hours of the morning, and the phone constantly ringing (mostly for Lizzy these days). Foodstuffs rarely linger and the dogs don’t mind an extra opportunity to snag some snacks when plates are briefly set aside. Sometimes, around five in the morning, one could hear the gentle breaths of sleepers with visions of pastrami on rye dancing in the heads. Ah, at last, the sounds of silence. Those are the ones we enjoy.
However, there is another voice to the sounds of silence which is not so harmonious and very disquieting. It is the sounds of Christians remaining silent with the Gospel when it comes to reaching their Jewish friends and acquaintances. Over and over again as I speak in congregations around the country, I take the pulse by asking two questions: How many here know someone Jewish? In the past year, how many have taken the initiative to bring the Gospel to your Jewish friends?
The answer to the first question is not surprising, most Christians have Jewish friends. These friendships come through work, school, social activities, even intermarriage. Yet when asked how many have been proactive in bringing the message of Messiah, the average per service is four. Most Christians are surrounding themselves in the sounds of silence. Why?
People have told me everything from tradition – “We don’t do that sort of thing”; fear – “I worry about the response”; lack of confidence – “I could never be successful at this”; indifference – “They will be OK in the end, after all, all religions lead to God”; and anti-Semitism – “The Jewish people had their chance, they blew it and lost it a long time ago, now they are cursed”.
It is way past time for us to break the sounds of silence. But how do we do this?
“The Sound of Silence” and the Feast of Purim
By Alan Butterworth
Have you ever been talking with a friend, a family member, a neighbor or a co-worker and suddenly realize your friend is not a believer? This can be a frightening experience. You care for this person, and you want nothing more than for them to receive the gift of salvation. Then you think: “What do I say?” “What if I offend them and our relationship ends?” So you say nothing. Like the old Simon and Garfunkel song, you stay in your comfort zone in the “Sound of Silence”.
Saturday evening March 6 your Jewish friends will celebrate the feast of Purim. It is based on the story of Haman, an evil man who wanted to destroy all Jewish people from India to Egypt. As the Book of Esther explains, Haman faced an unlikely foe. The Queen, Esther, was Jewish! Haman didn’t know. The only one who knew was her uncle Mordecai.
Sadly, there have been, and still are, many Haman’s; enemies of the Jewish people. But God made a covenant with the descendants of Abraham. God said: “I will bless you...I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Gen 12:2-3.
Haman got the King to issue an order that all Jews should be killed. When Mordecai found out, he urged Esther to get the King to change his mind. Esther was afraid. You see, if anyone approached the King without being summoned, they would be put to death unless the King decided to spare their life. Mordecai told her, “if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14. Esther did not remain silent. She asked the Jews of Susa to pray for three days. Then she risked it all and went in to see the King. He willingly granted her petition to save the Jewish people and Haman was hung instead!. Purim celebrates this victory. The Book of Esther is acted out, and people twist gragers, or noise makers. When Haman enters, everyone says, “Boo, hiss.”
I have a good friend, a Jewish believer, who is a pastor. Before he came to faith, his wife shared the Gospel with his father, who is Jewish. He heard his father react with rage. My friend admitted that because he feared this would happen again, he has never shared his faith with his parents!
Like Esther, and my friend, you and I have many reasons for remaining silent about our faith around those we know who are lost. Our unbelieving Jewish friends tell us that keeping our faith to ourselves is the best way to show we care.
Do you really believe that your unbelieving friends, neighbors, family members or coworkers are facing an eternity in Hell? Are you really being kind when you withhold the truth about what Jesus has done for us? I believe God has put you in this relationship for such a time as this. Like Esther, if you share, there will be risks. But like Esther, if you don’t share, the risks are greater. “How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?” Romans 10:14. Maybe there will be another chance before it is too late. But what if there isn’t? Where does our hesitation coming from? “God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord.” 2 Tim. 1:7-8.
What can you do? Start, like Esther, by asking others to pray with you for the salvation of your friend. Get a Purim card on the Internet or in a local card store and send it to your friend. Ask if there is something you can pray for them about. Study anti-Semitism. Go to a Holocaust Museum. Pray about your conversation. And say to your Jewish friend, “knowing you strengthens my faith in God.”
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