[1755] TALE OF 2 CITIES [and 2 trees]

This week I read 2 stories in the paper about the aftermath of our action in Libya.

One article was about the city of Sirte- Gadhaffi’s hometown. This was the town where he made his last stand- it was his hometown.

Of course- many of the people did support Gadhaffi from here- you know- like rooting for the local hero.

And you have the same type of thing going on with the new leaders- the Rebels from the east.

Anyway- because this was his last stand- for about 2 months we [NATO and the U.S.] absolutely destroyed the entire city. I mean you’re talking Lebanon after years of bombing- it looks that bad.

I read an interview from a local professional- he was a university teacher- had a nice home- wife and kids- just like you would see in any city here in the U.S.

Shopped at the market- took the wife and kids out to eat- yes- this city was not some desert looking tribal outback- it was a nice place.

The professor was digging thru the rubble as he spoke to the reporter. He basically said his life was over- I mean the entire town is gone- it is no more!

He said he can’t go to another city [Tripoli] because everyone from his town- where Gadhaffi came from- is a target for torture and death.

As he dug thru the rubble- he found what he was looking for. Yes- the corpse of his son ‘found it’ maybe he can give what’s left of it a descent burial.

Tawergha.

This city too was a nice place to live- a small town- population 25,ooo. About 250 miles south east of Tripoli. They too bare the stigma of being a ‘pro Gadhaffi’ town. The entire town- to the last man, woman and child- have fled. The new rulers- they have painted over all the signs going to the town- they have destroyed the homes and tore down the infrastructure- yes- the city is now a Ghost Town.

One witness said- when the rebels came in [the guys we support] if even 1 bullet was shot from a house- they would bomb the whole house to the ground. Men- Women- children- killed them all. We made this happen- under a ‘mandate’ to create a NO FLY ZONE in order to protect civilians.

The lives of these people are over. No more home town- no more university [the actual building is gone!] no more going out for a night on the town [the town is gone!] and we in the west- we report on our news- how wonderful it was that we liberated these people- yeah- tell that to the man who had to dig his son out from the rubble.

I had a drive planned for a few weeks. I had a note written on my calendar- had to go to a downtown appointment [at the Federal Courthouse] and figured I would make a sort of prayer drive right after the app.

Downtown Corpus is beautiful- if you have never seen a picture of it- just Google ‘pictures of Corpus Christi’ and you’ll see the huge harbor bridge from downtown- the courthouse is right there.

So after the meeting- I headed over the bridge and started the prayer drive.

At the top of the bridge there were a few cop cars- they had a lane on each side blocked [?]. I figured they were doing some type of work on it.

Then headed towards Portland- and drove thru a few South Texas cities.

I actually had one specific spot I wanted to drive past- that was the city of Rockport. I actually got off on the wrong back road- and drove about 30 miles out of the way. But I wanted to drive past the courthouse and police station in Rockport- that was the only spot I determined to pass.

Sure enough- I found the spot. Got out- walked to the store- filled up with gas- got some coffee- and off I went.

On the way back home- I noticed a street name- called ‘Corpus Christi St’. - I thought it was strange to see this big sign- right off the highway- showing this street.

I thought ‘for sure- people must mistake the sign- and think that’s the turn off for the city of C.C.’.

Anyway- I made a mental note of it- and headed back.

Over the Harbor bridge one more time- and back to the house.

As I watched the local news- they had 2 top stories. The night before- a man parked his car on the bridge and jumped- that’s why they blocked the lane.

And earlier in the day- a motorcyclist was killed- right at the corner of Corpus Christi Street and highway 35- the spot I had just passed.

Now- you might be thinking ‘hey John- do me a favor- don’t pray for me!’ Actually- I think I was praying for the areas where violence occurred- because there is always an aftermath- a sort of ‘bad taste’ in your mouth when deaths happen like that.

Okay- the next day [yesterday] we had a local story go viral- the national news all had it on- today it’s a big story.

It’s the case of the Texas judge who was taped beating the hell out of his daughter- she posted it to U-Tube.

The case looks bad- real bad. The girl will be on the news shows today- telling her story.

Yes- the police station- the courthouse- the area I ‘marked’ during the drive- that was the actual municipal area where this guy holds court- it was the Aransas county court district- in Rockport.

Sometimes God will show us what/who we should pray for- sometimes it’s the aftermath of bad things- a Mediterranean city in Libya- or a coastal city in Texas.

We need to be attentive- and aware- when these things ‘pop’ into our minds.

We need to be accountable in a way- when a country in the bible allowed itself to do bad things- to overlook justice- or to oppress people [even if they meant well- ‘we are here to protect you’ as you destroy the man’s life] then we as believers have a responsibility to do what we can- to at least be aware of what we are doing- and if you can- pray for these situations.

In the bible- during the trial of Jesus- there were many injustices that took place- power players making decisions- executing people- yes- innocent people- simply because of the prejudice that existed in the system.

Jesus made a strange statement about this- he said ‘if this can happen in a Green tree- what do you think will happen in a Dry one?’

This statement meant- if people in authority- judges and leaders- if during a time of some stable government- if they can still play the system where they might wind up killing innocent people- bombing entire towns- doing bad stuff- and yet the average citizen- he even thinks this is good- if the system can be played to that degree during a time of peace and some form of human govt. at work- then what do you think will happen when there is anarchy?

Last night- the Occupy protestors shut down a shipping port in Oakland- I’m not sure what overall effect it will have- but yes- it will disrupt lives to a degree.

Many of the business people- who have shops right around the protests- well many of them are suffering- because of the disruption.

I’m not sure how ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ they are- there are legitimate arguments to be made on both sides.

But I know in the mind of that university professor- who lost his entire life- and his son- I know in his mind what we did to his country is unjust- ‘if these things can happen in a Green tree- Then just wait till the Dry tree gets here’.

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