03-17-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
​March 17, 2023
In a funeral I officiated yesterday, I shared a quote from Maya Angelou. She wrote:

"While I know myself as a creation of God, I am also obligated to realize and remember that everyone else and everything else are also God’s creation."

It is not an either-or situation, though many have suggested it is and/or acted as if it were so. Too many people have celebrated their special place as one of God’s created while giving the impression that others are not. It takes a special kind of arrogance, theological hubris, or basic narcissism to look at the diverse and awe-inspiring creation and suggest some of it ain’t all that important. When we put aside all the social constructs that have been utilized to place some over others, a new world begins to emerge. There were those in the days of Jesus who heard the word "Samaritan" and instantly felt a shudder of disdain. It was rooted in historic distrust, scapegoating, and the exploitation of people’s fears, yet Jesus, on a couple of occasions, obliterated the false idea woven into the fabric of the culture. It left some people confused and others feeling threatened. Yet there were others who glimpsed a new world more in line with God’s dream for creation. What false idea is deeply woven into the fabric of our culture and needs Jesus to tell a story that obliterates what was so as to reveal what is possible?

Thank you, Jesus! Thank you for continuing to undermine the cultural narratives that seek to give special status to some at the expense of others. Bring down the old so as to reveal the new. I think we are ready. Amen.