10-18-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 18, 2023
Donna and I started watching a new series on AppleTV entitled Lessons in Chemistry. It is set in the early 1950s, and a chemist by the name of Elizabeth Zott finds that her gender seems to disqualify her from being taken seriously among other chemists. In fact, she is a lap tech whose only jobs are to get coffee and clean up the lab. When a somewhat aloof chemist recognizes her skills, he is stunned by the fact that she won’t be considered an equal. It is a fun moment in the episode as this brilliant chemist has an awakening to something so common in the 1950's, something called sexism.  It got me thinking about what areas of my life do I find myself sort of oblivious to reality, yet I’ve been able to enjoy my ignorance because it does not appear to impact me. There are moments when a realization can be uncomfortable or slightly embarrassing, leaving people to make silly excuses that might keep them from ever really embracing the realization. I think about all the different reactions Jesus received from his teaching and healing, much of it being ignored or discredited because the incorrect assumptions made by others were the way things had always been. It sometimes appears as if the very religion that was birthed from a certain wandering preacher who invited people to step across uncharted thresholds and grasp new ideas and insights is the religion that has become the guardian of that threshold. In the end, many people have incorrect and even damaging assumptions maintained by the religion that carries the name of the risk-taking, threshold-breaking teacher, Jesus.

By your grace and wisdom, O God of the Universe, continue to open the eyes and minds of people through new experiences, even in those moments when one’s initial reaction is discomfort. Let us release any grip we might have on unhealthy and backward assumptions. This will forever be difficult, but we trust you to guide us. Amen.