Faith...

Luke 14: One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was watched carefully. Placed in front of him was an ill man. Jesus asked "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?" But they remained silent. Jesus healed the man, then asked "If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath, will you not immediately pull him out?" And they had nothing to say. To paraphrase Jesus' message of Luke 14, He again caught the Pharisees in a paradox.....and blasted and exposed how their strict interpretation of Sabbath and rules couldn't possibly be adhered to.....by anyone.
I heard a sermon once on Luke 14, and I quote the pastor saying "religion is one of the most dangerous things in this entire world." He started with this, and immediately had my full attention. I ask you to think about that statement....does it give you the same pause it gave me? His message: religion can be consumed with (and hindered by) sacrament, ritual, traditions, and rules. Now I ask you to think about how religion can be the most dangerous aspect of all mankind. This is when I came to the realization that religion is different than faith. Simultaneously intertwined....yet in a way also exclusive of each other.
I thought about this sermon and Luke 14 yesterday in the middle of trying to save a young school boy's life. The boys took a shortcut home from school, and it just so happened to be a common convoy route......they weren't so lucky. Four died instantly before we could get to them. Two made it to shock/trauma alive. Despite cracking open his chest, we lost another precious child in our arms. And it all makes me wonder why? In what name do the insurgents operate by? And I just keep thinking of Luke 14.....and how religion is playing a role in tearing this Country apart..........because it sure isn't the shared faith that we believe in the same loving God.