FAITHFUL ACCOUNTABILITY (40 OF 52)
Scripture: Romans 14:1-12
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Faithful Accountability (40 of 52)
Series: Lectionary, Year A
Christopher B. Harbin
Romans 14:1-12
There are lots of things on which we can disagree. Some prefer yellow to green. Some don't like volleyball. Some don't like politics. Others can't get enough of it. Some believe that hymns are the only sacred music. Others can't abide hymns. Some hang onto traditions as strongly as the creeds of the church. Some have never met a tradition they liked. Some just like to disagree. Some can't abide any sort of disagreement. Some live for the latest technological innovations. Some don't want to see any of them in a worship setting. Some take all disagreements personally. Some never see the distress of others. And somewhere in the midst of all this, the gospel calls us to unity around the person of Christ Jesus. How can we ever hope to get there?
Today's passage presents a couple of issues that seem strange to our ears. They are non-issues from our perspective, simply because they are concerns of an age gone by. In Paul's day, they were both big deals. In the Middle Ages, the height of religious debate centered on how many angels could dance on the head of a pin. In other eras, it was about styles of music that could be called sacred. At another moment it was whether Scripture should only be read in Latin. Then we have seen conflict over the proper translation of Scripture. It may all seem as spurious to us today as Paul's issues of meat sacrificed to idols and respecting a particular day of the week as sacred.
In the context of a pandemic, where so many of the structures of routine have been upended, many go through their days uncertain in regard to what day of the week it is. Some of us have taken to worshiping whenever a new video is posted on the church's YouTube channel. Some stick to the known routines of our pandemic patterns. Paul's take is that none of this is wrong. There is freedom in the gospel that allows us to change routines, to find different e ...
Series: Lectionary, Year A
Christopher B. Harbin
Romans 14:1-12
There are lots of things on which we can disagree. Some prefer yellow to green. Some don't like volleyball. Some don't like politics. Others can't get enough of it. Some believe that hymns are the only sacred music. Others can't abide hymns. Some hang onto traditions as strongly as the creeds of the church. Some have never met a tradition they liked. Some just like to disagree. Some can't abide any sort of disagreement. Some live for the latest technological innovations. Some don't want to see any of them in a worship setting. Some take all disagreements personally. Some never see the distress of others. And somewhere in the midst of all this, the gospel calls us to unity around the person of Christ Jesus. How can we ever hope to get there?
Today's passage presents a couple of issues that seem strange to our ears. They are non-issues from our perspective, simply because they are concerns of an age gone by. In Paul's day, they were both big deals. In the Middle Ages, the height of religious debate centered on how many angels could dance on the head of a pin. In other eras, it was about styles of music that could be called sacred. At another moment it was whether Scripture should only be read in Latin. Then we have seen conflict over the proper translation of Scripture. It may all seem as spurious to us today as Paul's issues of meat sacrificed to idols and respecting a particular day of the week as sacred.
In the context of a pandemic, where so many of the structures of routine have been upended, many go through their days uncertain in regard to what day of the week it is. Some of us have taken to worshiping whenever a new video is posted on the church's YouTube channel. Some stick to the known routines of our pandemic patterns. Paul's take is that none of this is wrong. There is freedom in the gospel that allows us to change routines, to find different e ...
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