Quibbling and Quoting
Mark 1:21-22
"When the Sabbath arrived, Jesus lost no time in getting to the meeting place. He spent the day there teaching. They were surprised at his teaching—so forthright, so confident—not quibbling and quoting like the religion scholars." (The Message)
Reflection by Lillian Daniel
"So what does your church believe?" If someone asked you that question, what would you say?
In the spirit of confession, let's acknowledge that many of us might respond by telling the person what our church does not believe. We might say, "We're not closed-minded, but open to all ideas. We welcome everybody, unlike some other churches. We're not like the fundamentalists who take scripture literally. And we're not like the churches who won't ordain women."
"OK," says the patient inquirer. "So what do you believe?"
We might continue, "Well, we believe that people can be free to believe many different things, so that's a tricky question to answer."
"OK, then," says the inquirer, now less patient. "Then what do you believe?"
"Well, I'm on a journey. It's a private matter. Here are the authors who have meant something to me and can say it so much better than I could. . . Blah, blah, blah."
Oh, just stop it.
We are told that one of the things that impressed Jesus' listeners was that he spoke plainly, "not quibbling and quoting like the religious scholars." He just put his beliefs and teachings out there and was ready to withstand some debate.
You can be open-minded and still know what you think. You can be accepting of other people's ideas but still willing to articulate your own. You can rejoice in the many diverse paths to God and still invite your neighbor to church.
Just say it.
Prayer
God, you have already given me the words to express how I know and love you. Help me get over the quibbling and quoting, and just say it. Otherwise, how will they know? Amen.
Mark 1:21-22
"When the Sabbath arrived, Jesus lost no time in getting to the meeting place. He spent the day there teaching. They were surprised at his teaching—so forthright, so confident—not quibbling and quoting like the religion scholars." (The Message)
Reflection by Lillian Daniel
"So what does your church believe?" If someone asked you that question, what would you say?
In the spirit of confession, let's acknowledge that many of us might respond by telling the person what our church does not believe. We might say, "We're not closed-minded, but open to all ideas. We welcome everybody, unlike some other churches. We're not like the fundamentalists who take scripture literally. And we're not like the churches who won't ordain women."
"OK," says the patient inquirer. "So what do you believe?"
We might continue, "Well, we believe that people can be free to believe many different things, so that's a tricky question to answer."
"OK, then," says the inquirer, now less patient. "Then what do you believe?"
"Well, I'm on a journey. It's a private matter. Here are the authors who have meant something to me and can say it so much better than I could. . . Blah, blah, blah."
Oh, just stop it.
We are told that one of the things that impressed Jesus' listeners was that he spoke plainly, "not quibbling and quoting like the religious scholars." He just put his beliefs and teachings out there and was ready to withstand some debate.
You can be open-minded and still know what you think. You can be accepting of other people's ideas but still willing to articulate your own. You can rejoice in the many diverse paths to God and still invite your neighbor to church.
Just say it.
Prayer
God, you have already given me the words to express how I know and love you. Help me get over the quibbling and quoting, and just say it. Otherwise, how will they know? Amen.
|
![[object Object]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_st3_zQOe3BOfSKmzFG9RSs2_XikBX61Mfutg2WNjWjEettVSYTzYzA7EqSDGTQABSmRyQq6TtOiDV73HxhLpm-z3LdsaE7RJGlsJ0P_6AIaOdGPM4ZtqsdRsI=s0-d)
No comments:
Post a Comment