Vancouver Stanley Cup riots

We've all seen the pictures. I don't have to go into detail about what happened that night, Many people are still disgusted of what happened...How was this possible? Really? In my humble opinion there is nothing new under the sun. The world has seen many riots no matter what the circumstances were. In this blog I want to show, from scripture, how quickly crowds can change from cheering to rioting. I will mention a few instances but I want to encourage you to read for yourself the context. It really is worthwhile reading!

Let me begin with Jesus being rejected in his home town at Nazareth. ( Luke 4 : 14 : 30 ) First. " All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. " But when Jesus says to them, " No prophet is accepted in his home town " and you can read the rest for your self the result is, " All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this " - they were going to throw him down the cliff. I.e.; They wanted to kill him!

The triumphal entry in Luke 19. " The whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices " - " Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord " In Chapter 23 we read that Jesus stands on trial before Pilate and Herod and  we read that with one voice they ( the crowd ) cried out, " Crucify him! Crucify him! How quickly a crowd can change in such a short time!

As a church we  celebrated  a few weeks ago Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The Good News of Jesus Christ now spreading from Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria to the ends of the earth. What can we expect when the Gospel is preached.....................riots!

Acts 16 : 16 - 40.  "  Paul and Silas in Prison were dragged into the market place to face the authorities. "
" The crowed joined in the attack against Paul and Silas."
Acts 17 : 5. In Thessalonica we read that the Jews were jealeous, so they rounded up some bad characters from the market place, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. In Berea ( vs 13 ) " they went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up."
Acts 19. The riot in Ephesus which totally gets out of control. " About that time there arose a great disturbance about The Way! "........" Soon the whole city was in an uproar."
Acts 21 : 27 - 36. Paul is back in Jerusalem and people saw Paul at the temple. " They stirred up the whole crowd  and seized him." ( vs ) 30 - 33 ) " The whole city was aroused, they dragged him from the temple. While they were trying to kill him.........."
Acts 22 : 22. Paul the roman citizen. " The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, " Rid the earth of him! He's not fit to live! "

When I read all these verses about crowds and riots I am reminded again of Paul's conversion on the road to
 Damascus when the Lord speaks to Ananius and says; " Go!. This man ( Paul ) is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." Later Paul speaks to the church in Corinth and he talks about his hardships; " As servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots!

Friday Night at the Mission

You never know what to expect when you open the door and spend an evening at the Mission! Will it be busy? What nationalities will come? Will the computer system crash when 10 - 20 computers are on - line. Are the seafarers going to buy a lot in the store etc., etc.
This Friday something happened I've never seen in the almost eight years working in the Port..........The telephone system crashed, that is to say, one phone inside the building and one outside the building worked. Four telephones did not work any more! We called a technician who told me that the problem was ' outside ' the building! ( A cable was damaged due to construction work )  What do I tell 43 seafarers who came that evening, many of them desperately wanting to phone their families? There was nothing I could do! I must say the seafarers that evening were very gracious and understanding. The computers didn't crash and the shop sales were very good. It turned out to be a very good evening!  ( The system was repaired Tuesday afternoon!........Three days later! )

Also, the seafarer you see on the picture is wearing new shoes plus he is carrying a bag with another pair of new shoes. He is from Mayan Mar and is a steward on one of the container ships that visit Delta Port. I noticed that he was wearing totally worn out slippers. This was Friday when he was serving  lunch. I told him to come in the evening to the Mission building. I promised him that I would bring him new shoes. And yes there he was....... he wanted shoes! I had brought two pair of  my own shoes......brand new ( Rockport and Nike )  but which were just too small for me. He tried them on, they were a bit too large but he accepted them gladly. I saw him walking to the ship. a very proud man with new shoes.
Today I met him again! He walked on  the Nike shoes and he was wearing a big smile on his face. He is going home two weeks from now after a 10 month contract. I am reminded of Jesus' words, " So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. " ( Matthew 7 : 12 )