Proper 23 / Pentecost 21 / Ordinary Time 28
Devotional
Water From the Rock
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle C
Object:
Remind them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening.
-- 2 Timothy 2:14
Imagine how many church fights and denominational splits could be avoided if such a warning were heeded. There is little that damages a church more than the bickering and arguing that arises among the faithful. For Paul, there were some rock bottom truths that were essential. "Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David -- that is my gospel...." It was those key issues of resurrection and continuity with the promises of God to Israel that Paul saw as critical to the faith. He warned that we could ruin our witness by becoming too focused on debates about various ideas of the faith.
Doctrine can be important in clarifying what we believe, but all the beliefs in the world will mean little if they do not result in effective fruits of the faith. While there can be some growth in our faith through the debating of various issues within the faith, we are foolish to let the lesser issues divide us. Today it is Bible inerrancy, and yesterday it was the virgin birth. Today it is moving the piano, and yesterday it was the color of the carpet. Our witness, in such instances, is that we allow little things to separate us while we remain unconcerned about critical issues of the world.
Sometimes people leave churches because something that is happening there makes them uncomfortable. It is for the core gospel that we should be willing to go to jail and suffer hardships. Paul did not have some masochistic desire to be "chained like a criminal," but he recognized that the "word of God is not chained" and that any circumstance can be a setting for the proclamation of the gospel. If we are committed to that gospel, then regardless of the circumstances, there will be an opportunity to produce effective fruits.
-- 2 Timothy 2:14
Imagine how many church fights and denominational splits could be avoided if such a warning were heeded. There is little that damages a church more than the bickering and arguing that arises among the faithful. For Paul, there were some rock bottom truths that were essential. "Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David -- that is my gospel...." It was those key issues of resurrection and continuity with the promises of God to Israel that Paul saw as critical to the faith. He warned that we could ruin our witness by becoming too focused on debates about various ideas of the faith.
Doctrine can be important in clarifying what we believe, but all the beliefs in the world will mean little if they do not result in effective fruits of the faith. While there can be some growth in our faith through the debating of various issues within the faith, we are foolish to let the lesser issues divide us. Today it is Bible inerrancy, and yesterday it was the virgin birth. Today it is moving the piano, and yesterday it was the color of the carpet. Our witness, in such instances, is that we allow little things to separate us while we remain unconcerned about critical issues of the world.
Sometimes people leave churches because something that is happening there makes them uncomfortable. It is for the core gospel that we should be willing to go to jail and suffer hardships. Paul did not have some masochistic desire to be "chained like a criminal," but he recognized that the "word of God is not chained" and that any circumstance can be a setting for the proclamation of the gospel. If we are committed to that gospel, then regardless of the circumstances, there will be an opportunity to produce effective fruits.
