I started the morning with my cup of coffee and checked on the news of the day, I was reminded of the evil that surrounds us. No, this is not a political statement. I’ve been struck by the words of Rev. Lenny Duncan in his book “Dear Church” where he talks about the Christian church. I offer this snippet for you to ponder.
“We stand at the edge of a theological civil war. I don’t say that lightly. The Christian church in America, in its slow and often lurching way, is taking its cues from its members. Right now, its members are at their most divided in modern political history. Right now, the gospel of Jesus Christ is being called “fake news” by one person, while another calls that same person a Nazi. No one is calling each other sibling.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want a church of false unity. And some fundamental truths are worth fighting over. I don’t think we need to apologize for formally widening the tent for our LGBTQIA siblings in Christ. Nor do we have to justify welcoming sojourners from distant lands. I will never apologize for feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, or calling for the abolition of prisons. I’d rather stand with the prisoner outside, thank you.
I shouldn’t have to apologize for or tone down the fierce declaration you made to me when I fell in love with you, ELCA: “Jesus made no restrictions on this table[…]”
…“The truth is that evil still stalks the world and our call together as church. And this evil is much vaster than we could have ever imagined. We have lost the ability to name evil for what it is. We don’t believe demons are real. Ask any person of color or LGBTQIA person in this church, and they will tell you that evil is real and stalks their neighborhood or their call committee. That it has followed them around a store while they were shopping. It shamed them in high school for being who they were, their authentic selves. It posts on blogs claiming to expose them. Evil is a system that infects us even at our holiest moments.”
Be well, be safe and be good.
Bob
4 replies on “January 14, 2021”
Thanks for sharing. Here’s to you communicating the messages and images you feel are important.
Thanks for your comment George.
Thank you to you and Becky for sharing this site. I will look forward to checking this out from time to time. Great Poem to go with the picture.
Thanks Nancy, Good to hear from you. Be well.