Help support the vision of Woodland Hills Community Church!

Help support the vision of Woodland Hills Community Church!
For those of you who would like to support the vision & ministry of Woodland Hills Community Church (the faith community I serve that continues to encourage me to minister outside the box), please click on the link just above.

Monday, December 31

Today’s Lectionary Texts: Psalm 46; Isaiah 26:1-6; John 8:12-19; 2 Corinthians 5:16-6:2; Psalm 139:1-18

The words from 2 Corinthians 5:18 hit me like a ton of bricks today. The verse in the NIV reads: “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” That gift of reconciliation is a tricky thing. You see lots of us hear those words and think about them first at the global level. We think, for instance, what it would be like to reach out and bring Democrats and Republicans together – bring rich and poor together – bring supporters of the war in Iraq together with opponents of the war – things like that. While embracing a ministry of reconciliation on such abstract levels might sound overwhelming at first, it is often easier than you think since in many of these instances you are engaging concepts and – more often than not –strangers in these efforts. What I’ve found more challenging is embracing a ministry of reconciliation within the personal relationships of my life. For on this level, the differences are anything but abstract. They are concrete and real in ways that oftn challenge you to the core. I’m currently struggling to find a way to relate to a family member of mine who has come to very different conclusions than I regarding issues of sexuality. This family member is aligned with a group that would vocally oppose both my ordination as a gay person and the legal standing of my long-term committed relationship. As a result of these differences, for the past four months I have not been in relationship with this family member. I feel the Spirit, however, calling me back into relationship… back into a ministry of reconciliation in the most difficult place of all: my own life. We shall see if I make any strides in this area during my upcoming week off. Having explored the dimensions of reconciliation with you in very personal terms, I’m left to wonder if there might be an area of your life in which God is calling you to seek reconciliation as well. It might not be easy (the personal, concrete situations are never easy), but it might just be the most rewarding thing you can do to start the new year off on the right foot. Til next time…

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