ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
May 8, 2022
I was reading an article about a glacier in Antarctica that is the size of Florida, and how this glacier is melting at an alarming rate. This is not new information, but one of the ongoing concerns is how the melting of glaciers (mostly fresh water) dilutes the ocean’s salt water, changing the density of the water. This change in salinity (saltiness and density) impacts the currents throughout the ocean. The currents regulate temperature globally, and there is a tipping point at which a big enough change in salinity could shift the ocean currents. I share this, not just because I’m nerdy and deeply concerned about climate change, but I see it as a teaching tool for other areas of life. In many circles of the Christian faith, we are seeing the diluting of its central tenet. In the opinion of far too many people, love has become something that is shaped by what one likes; formed by what one fears; sculpted in the likeness of a figure other than Jesus. Not only has love been diluted, but in losing its density and impactful nature, the current of God’s kin(g)dom work is shifting. And the warmth this love once brought is no longer life-giving. Eventually, the current will turn so dramatically that what we call “love” will look nothing like the love of God revealed in Jesus.
Holy One of Creation, help me to keep focused on the life of Jesus – his acts of compassion, his parables of grace, his expansion of mercy and his concern for the vulnerable. It is within those stories where we find your Spirit at work, and it is there where we can find ourselves being caught in the Kin(g)dom flow. Amen.
