Today’s Lectionary Readings: Psalm 97; Zechariah 14:1-11; Matthew 20:1-16; Philippians 2:1-11; Psalm 92
Once of the things that most intrigued me growing up in the small town (population less than 1,500 when I was a kid) was the stories my mother told of how life use to be when she was a girl. She used to tell me that when she was little, there were only a few churches in town: a Catholic parish, Congregationalist church, a Lutheran church, and a Methodist church. The result of this was that when folks moved to town from other denominations (i.e. Presbyterians or Baptists), they would have to find a church that was outside their tradition in order to worship. The amazing thing was that in the 1940’s and 1950’s, people from other backgrounds in these churches didn’t fight for supremacy or control; they actually got along. Not only that, they saw their differences from each other not as things that must be stamped out or eliminated; they actually saw their differences as opportunities to learn! Unfortunately, something happened to the soul of the church in the 1980’s and beyond. People from certain traditions stopped talking and learning from others, and started battling those who differed from them for control or supremacy of the faith. If you saw the Bible differently than I did – if you had a different understanding of Jesus – if you belonged to a different political party – if you had a different position on abortion or homosexuality – then it was war. As a result of this split, our faith became seen by many in our society as the thing that caused the troubles in our world; not the thing that healed them. On this eve of Reign of Christ Sunday, today’s passage from Philippians reminds us what the original vision and purpose of Christ was. Listen to these amazing words from Philippians 2:1-4: “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ… then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” As we prepare for the start of Advent next week, let us keep this vision in mind. My prayer is that we may hold to that vision so strongly that the world may see the coming of the Christ child for what it is: good news. Til next time…
Once of the things that most intrigued me growing up in the small town (population less than 1,500 when I was a kid) was the stories my mother told of how life use to be when she was a girl. She used to tell me that when she was little, there were only a few churches in town: a Catholic parish, Congregationalist church, a Lutheran church, and a Methodist church. The result of this was that when folks moved to town from other denominations (i.e. Presbyterians or Baptists), they would have to find a church that was outside their tradition in order to worship. The amazing thing was that in the 1940’s and 1950’s, people from other backgrounds in these churches didn’t fight for supremacy or control; they actually got along. Not only that, they saw their differences from each other not as things that must be stamped out or eliminated; they actually saw their differences as opportunities to learn! Unfortunately, something happened to the soul of the church in the 1980’s and beyond. People from certain traditions stopped talking and learning from others, and started battling those who differed from them for control or supremacy of the faith. If you saw the Bible differently than I did – if you had a different understanding of Jesus – if you belonged to a different political party – if you had a different position on abortion or homosexuality – then it was war. As a result of this split, our faith became seen by many in our society as the thing that caused the troubles in our world; not the thing that healed them. On this eve of Reign of Christ Sunday, today’s passage from Philippians reminds us what the original vision and purpose of Christ was. Listen to these amazing words from Philippians 2:1-4: “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ… then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” As we prepare for the start of Advent next week, let us keep this vision in mind. My prayer is that we may hold to that vision so strongly that the world may see the coming of the Christ child for what it is: good news. Til next time…
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