ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
November 17, 2022
Today is the annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service, and Cypress Creek Christian Church will be hosting. It will be held in the Centrum at 7:00pm. This is a wonderful tradition within our community, though this will be the first time we’ll be back in person since the pandemic. And one of the really exciting aspects of this service is the broad participation. Some Christians find it challenging to participate in an interfaith experience. After September 11, 2001, there was an Interfaith Service in New York City, and some Christian leaders were reprimanded by their denominations for participating. A lot of Christian traditions offer all kinds of odd explanations for why they are not able to participate in such an event, but at the end of the day, it sure looks a lot like insecurity and fragility. If a faith is so vulnerable that it cannot interact with those who might hold different beliefs, then I would suggest it is time to re-examine one’s faith. Quite often, I have found my own faith enriched and strengthened because of these encounters. In Isaiah 32, we read.
“The fruit of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness will be calm and confidence forever.”
Righteousness is knowing we have a right relationship with God, and the story of Jesus is (at least as I read it) a narrative of God’s grace proclaiming that we have a right relationship with God, not because we have the correct incantation or the right worship service or the best-looking shoes, but simply because God’s love is far-reaching enough to already include all of us. Faith is then figuring out how best to live in response to such an amazing gift
I hope to see you at the Interfaith Service tonight!
May any skepticism or insecurity give way to your grace, O God of the Universe, and the many ways it finds expression. Your love works through us while also finding ways to work around our apprehension and doubt. Amen.
