06-16-21

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
June 16, 2021
Scripture: Ephesians 4:25
So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another.

Thought for the Day: What does it mean when any group of people denies an important part of history? I was rereading a little history on the Armenian Genocide, at least what historians call the Armenian Genocide. For decades, much of the world has played a funny game in an attempt to not anger Turkey, a good ally. Many nations would not use the word: Genocide. Within Turkey, the textbooks refused to acknowledge the more than one million Armenians who were killed over a two year period. And only in recent years, the official statement has changed to describe how many Armenians experienced deportation. Denial, no matter how many years in the past, still impacts the present. I think about a number of people I have worked with over the years who grew-up in an abusive home, but now they say they’ve put it all behind them. Yet as we discuss their lives, the past continues to haunt them no matter how much they pretend it doesn’t. This is true generationally as well. The impact of suffering doesn’t just disappear with time. In fact, unnamed suffering and evil can intensify with time. The Bible takes both sin and evil seriously, and never tells people, “Get over it.” Paul recognizes our deep connection to one another, and when my neighbor is carrying an emotional or spiritual injury, this pain isn’t something one can bury. It festers like an untreated infection. And since I love my neighbor, my neighbor’s wound impacts me as well. We need to help one another speak the truth, and whether we are confessing a sin or acknowledging some injury in the past, God is always trying to lead us to greater health. This path is paved with truth.

Prayer: Whether I’m acknowledging the pain in my own past or speaking the truth for others, I pray for peace and healing, Lord God, where there has been an unspoken injury. Amen.

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