06-18-24

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
June 18, 2024
I am guessing that some people walked away from Sunday’s sermon scratching their heads and trying to figure out what I was trying to accomplish. It was a different style of sermon, trying to have history ask some of the questions for me. And I hope you heard how the faithful throughout the generations have been deeply troubled by the idea of the Bible suggesting we should stone to death rebellious and stubborn children (Deuteronomy 21). As I mentioned in an earlier Etching, we can’t simply say, "Well, that’s the Old Testament God,” as that would suggest that we have multiple Gods. Some have tried to suggest that the stoning of rebellious children or those who commit adultery is God the Father, but Jesus is much more merciful and kind. Yet to say that rips apart the whole concept of Trinity. Ultimately, that kind of thinking leaves us with a Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde, and Holy Spirit sort of Trinity, which I find absolutely terrifying. My hope with the sermon was to acknowledge that our questions and concerns about the Deuteronomy passage are not new, as the faithful throughout the centuries have tried to determine why the passage was there in the first place. Those questions have brought forth a multitude of interesting explanations. But isn’t that what we do throughout life? Something is handed to us as if it is to be accepted without question, but over time, there is a growing discomfort as it no longer aligns with our beliefs or values. Do we simply ignore or jettison what was handed to us? Do we explore why it was accepted in the first place? Maybe it answered questions from a previous period of time that are no longer being asked. It might be a silly illustration, but if Donna and I were to buy a different house (we’ve been pondering it), the questions I would bring to a search today are so different from the questions I brought to our first search more than 25 years ago. My experiences (some of them not so good) have taught me a lot, and I would enter a potential new house with a very different set of lenses. What other things in life did we accept without question at one point, but now life experiences, new learning, and our growing understanding of God’s love have raised serious questions? I’m sure you have your list.

I do not believe the life of faith is fixed, and for that reason, I pray for you to continue to nudge me, O Eternal God. You meet us in one moment of time, but you do not seem content with having us stop all forward movement from that moment of encounter. Your Spirit is always inviting us forward and into the new thing you are doing. Amen.