Let Justice Roll Down Like A River

Seventy years ago, almost to the day, my maternal grandmother Suzanna Regier (nee: Mueller) died an untimely death. While still a young woman, the hardship of the Canadian west took its toll. Subsequent to her death my grandfather (Peter Abraham Regier-an Old Colony Mennonite) was for some unknown reason banned by the Old Colony Church (perhaps he was somehow blamed for her death), and he took it out on everyone around him. The Shunning which followed was so severe that when I spoke to the son of his brother Isaac, he had these words to say, "Of this Abram, Isaac, and Gerhart Regier (my grandfather's older brothers), I have some knowledge, but of the Peter Abraham Regier I have no memory." My grandfather, purged from the memories of the next generation.

At about the time that I began to Blog, several things happened simultaniously: I returned to full time work, I made contact with a cousin with whom I had not spoken in forty-five years; and we began to speak of a Regier-Mueller family reunion, I began to think on the possiblilities and potentials of restoration. My grandfather made his peace with God, on October 31, 1962, as in the presence of my mother and her youngest sister, he lay dieing. Grandfather died that day, at peace with God, and as Martin Luther once wrote: "Death puts an end to all the claims of the Church; even the dying are already dead to the canon laws, and are no longer bound by them." I began to think of the possibilities.

While speaking with a pastor in La Crete, AB, where the Old Colony finally rested, about the possibility of "lifting the ban," he quoted this significant passage: This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:10-13 (NIV)

Seventy years. It can't be a coincedence. Now, I hope to have the church once again extend the right hand of fellowship, as I stand proxy for Peter Abraham Regier. While death has put an end to the claims of the church, we the church are bound by the generational curse caused by choices that grandfather made after the death of his dear wife and the ban which followed. Peter Abraham Regier rests in the arms of Abraham. "Christ took away the curse the law put on us. He changed places with us and put himself under that curse...Christ did this so that God's blessing promised to Abraham might come through Jesus Christ to those who are not Jews. Jesus died so that by our believing we could receive the Spirit that God promised...You were all baptized into Christ, so that you are all clothed with Christ. This means that you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus...You belong to Christ, so you are Abraham's descendants. You will inherit all of God's blessings because of the promise God made to Abraham" (Gal. 2:13-14, 26-29-NCV). If it is true for you and I, it is true for Peter Abraham Regier. The curse is broken, the strong man has been bound. He is free, and whoever the Son makes free is free indeed! All that remains is for the church to bind that which is already bound in heaven, and to loose that which is already loosed (Matt. 18:18).

It may be a technicality, but Jesus goes on to say, "I tell you, you must forgive him more than seven times. You must forgive him even if he wrongs you seventy times seven" (Matt: 18:22). The sevens are remarkable: 70 years since Suzanna's death, 70 years in Babylon, Forgiveness 70 times 7. True, there are consequences to our actions, and Peter Abraham Regier lead a life marked with guilt, shame, and bitterness. But, God has forgiven us that we might be enabled to forgive him. Isn't that what Jesus taught us, "Forgive us as we are forgiven?" It may be a technicality, but it is a technicality with power, to bind and to loose in the world of our experience, that which is bound and loosed in the courtroom of heaven. "Let justice roll down like a river, and goodness and goodness like a never-ending stream"(Amos 6:24). Join me as I pray for the restoration and reinstatement of Peter Abraham Regier. Who knows where it might lead, and what glories are in store for the three and four generations that have followed him. Who knows what the river might bring. "This water will flow to the eastern areas, and will go down into the Jordan Valley. When it enters the dead sea, it will become fresh. Everywhere the river goes, there will be many fish. Wherever this water goes the Dead Sea will become fresh, and so, where the river goes there will be many living things" (Eze. 47:8-9-NCV).

Grace and Peace from Arnet, proud seed of Abraham and grandson of Peter Abraham Regier and Suzanna Mueller, hoping and praying for restoration, grateful for my own.