Written at 6am when I couldn't return to sleep...
This morning I awoke from a dream where I was in church and a preacher was (once again) declaring homosexuality as a sin. The unique part was that he opened up the space for a time of questions/comments after the sermon. (I have often wondered what would happen if preachers did this after any sermon.)
The air was very thick. I could feel the blood pumping through my veins, my muscles straining yet frozen where I was. A few people were crying. A thousand and one reasons came to my mind why I disagreed with him, but my final answer did not arrive until I awoke.
You see, I believe that 3,300 some years ago, a group of people cried out to their god and were delivered. They had seen a great light, and they had believed.
Later, when their ancestors were straining under the oppression of the Romans, they cried out once more, except this time the light shed to the whole world. Yet over time, humans tried to put this light out, and its message grew dimmer and dimmer.
Until once again, this very light led the African slaves out of slavery, gave the women freedom to vote, through off the yoke of colonialism in India, and continues to reveal itself in miraculous ways. Today, that same light still shines, and will lead us beyond ourselves and our debate about homosexuality.
So getting back to my answer... we are to embrace one another, to gently and firmly seize hold of the other, to physically bridge the divide as our emotions and thoughts catch up. As our chapel preacher and Marin Interfaith Director invoked Friday, we need to have more face-to-face encounters with 'the other'.
My answer is a hug. And not just one, but many, many hugs... symbolizing the gracious nature of our Loving God, shining through in the person(a) of Jesus Christ.
2 comments:
It's interesting that you dreams are church services. That's a new one for me. But anyways.
Conversational sermons are a staple at MBCC. This is to the degree that a couple of weeks ago I preached on the fullness of the humanity and divinity of Jesus and I didn't include this time in my sermon that week. I got comments about how some people felt it lacked the usual openness that my sermons at MBCC had had in the past.
So I think your gut instinct on this one is right on. Find a way to open up that time to let people respond to the preacher's theology.
(anyways just thought you might be interested)
thanks for your comment, Nick. I hope to visit Mission Bay at some point, and look forward to hearing Bruce preach next Monday. It would be interesting to see how immediate feedback works in a covenental, caring way.
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