Today’s Lectionary Readings: Psalm 38; Ezekiel 39:1-10; John 8:33-47; 2 Corinthians 10:7-18; Psalm 36
As someone who has spent a good portion of his adult life working with marginalized populations, I could certainly relate to the sentiments expressed in today’s second letter to the Corinthians. For in the letter the author is clearly communicating to those elements within his community who have clearly written him off. It would be nice if the church had stopped doing that – stopped writing people off – in the latter part of the first century. Unfortunately, it has not. Daily I encounter folks who have been written off for a variety of reasons (i.e. they are divorced and their faith tradition doesn’t acknowledge divorced people; they have a criminal background and their church would shun them if they found out their background; they are in the process of coming to terms with their sexuality/gender identity and have been forsaken by their loved ones because of it; they were abused by a loved one and are grappling to rebuild a sense of trust). I could go on and on with the list of folks who have been written off by the institutional church and those who blindly defend it. Thankfully in today’s opening verses from the tenth chapter of 2 Corinthians, the author gives us a powerful example of how one can still live one’s faith in the face of such pain and attempts to exclude. The author writes: “If you’re looking for a clear example of someone on Christ’s side, why do you so quickly cut me out? Believe me, I am quite sure of my standing with Christ. You may think I overstate the authority he gave me, but I’m not backing off” (The Message). If you have ever battled the pain of exclusion, I invite you to read and reclaim the essence of these words for yourself. And in this Lenten season - when we are once again reminded of the depths of God’s love for ALL of us - may we never find ourselves backing off our faith (and our ability to stand up for ourselves) as well. Til next time…
As someone who has spent a good portion of his adult life working with marginalized populations, I could certainly relate to the sentiments expressed in today’s second letter to the Corinthians. For in the letter the author is clearly communicating to those elements within his community who have clearly written him off. It would be nice if the church had stopped doing that – stopped writing people off – in the latter part of the first century. Unfortunately, it has not. Daily I encounter folks who have been written off for a variety of reasons (i.e. they are divorced and their faith tradition doesn’t acknowledge divorced people; they have a criminal background and their church would shun them if they found out their background; they are in the process of coming to terms with their sexuality/gender identity and have been forsaken by their loved ones because of it; they were abused by a loved one and are grappling to rebuild a sense of trust). I could go on and on with the list of folks who have been written off by the institutional church and those who blindly defend it. Thankfully in today’s opening verses from the tenth chapter of 2 Corinthians, the author gives us a powerful example of how one can still live one’s faith in the face of such pain and attempts to exclude. The author writes: “If you’re looking for a clear example of someone on Christ’s side, why do you so quickly cut me out? Believe me, I am quite sure of my standing with Christ. You may think I overstate the authority he gave me, but I’m not backing off” (The Message). If you have ever battled the pain of exclusion, I invite you to read and reclaim the essence of these words for yourself. And in this Lenten season - when we are once again reminded of the depths of God’s love for ALL of us - may we never find ourselves backing off our faith (and our ability to stand up for ourselves) as well. Til next time…
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