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Sr. Pastor Robert Kennedy and
his wife Mrs. Kennedy.
Pastor Kennedy's Biography
862-224-1097
drobertken@yahoo.com
Assistant Pastor Joseph Thelusca
Pastor Thelusca's Biography
973-493-5526
Thelus98@aol.com
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From the Pastor's Heart
WHY? WHY? WHY?
We need to learn to ask questions. “Why?” I was listening to Brian Lehrer in an NPR interview with former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright as she discussed the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia—the country where she was born—and the events of World War II that shook her life before she turned twelve. The interview was motivated by the release of her memoir Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War: 1937–1948 which draws on the memories of her and her family; her parents' written reflections, interviews, and newly available documents to give an account of the most tumultuous 12 years in modern history. What struck me most in the interview was when she talked of the fact that she did not know that she was a Jew until when she was nominated Secretary of State at age 59. It was at that time that a reporter asked her certain questions and later produced certain documents that brought the reality that something was hidden from her all these years. Her parents never talked of their heritage and she never thought to ask. She trusted her parents and never asked.
I have a lot of respect for Secretary Madeleine Albright as a bright, dignified woman. I respect her for being the first female Secretary of State. I am aware that the aspect of her story that had remained hidden is similar to the story of many a persons who have passed through the parallel history. But the fact of not asking is still of interest to me, not as an indictment on Secretary Madeleine Albright, but as an issue for many of us who have our freedoms. We live our lives and never ask, not because we trust our parents but because we do not care to know. Some of us have lost our childhood curiosities and never ask.
I am not inviting us to be skeptics, for skepticism about life can make us total cynics and unbelievers. It makes me sad when I hear people making assertions about things they have not asked. In light of Madeleine Albright’s heritage I ask why the majority of the world today keeps Sunday instead of the Sabbath. Why are there so many religions in the world? When so many Christian denominations? A few other pertinent questions might be why is there so much violence in the world? Why war? Why is there so much suffering in the world? Why? Why?
We take so much for granted. We accept things as they are. We follow traditions. We ask very few questions, and those we ask are to answer what is obvious, we do not ask the questions that will bring us deeper knowledge and challenge our faith. Or maybe some of us only ask questions like the Scribes and Pharisees who sought to trap Jesus. The Scribes and Pharisees were not interested in accepting Jesus as their Savoir and sought to put him to death. So they sent some Pharisees and Herodians to him, “They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?” (Mark 12:13-15 NIV). Jesus perceived what they were doing and asked, “Why are you trying to trap me? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at him. (Mark 12:13-15 NIV).
My point is that we need to ask questions, not just questions to satisfy our curiosities or to show how intellectual we are, but need to investigate truth, we need to establish firm convictions on what is right. To very often we live in the world in ignorance, doing things according to tradition without knowing why we do what we do.
If you wish to contact me for more on this topic call 973-678-1951 and ask for Dr. Robert Kennedy
Last Modified: Friday May 18, 2012
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