ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
February 13, 2022
What does it mean for someone to respond to an experience of the Good News? Throughout the centuries, the church has known fabulous moments when it has taken the message of God’s limitless love to the world. At the same time, we must acknowledge those moments in the church’s history when it forgot its purpose. It demanded adherence to specific doctrines or lists of rules that had very little to do with Jesus. It forced certain understandings of behavior upon the cultures not needing behavior modification. It has used fear as a manipulative tactic in keeping people ‘on the straight and narrow.’ In the passage I’m preaching on this morning, Jesus encounters a Samaritan woman so taken by her encounter with Jesus that she goes and tells others. She says to her community, “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” The people heard her words, but even more so, I imagine they saw something different within her. In today’s society, when people hunger for a meaningful and experiential encounter with the divine, the church needs to draw from this story. Love-filled conversations have a great capacity to engage, inspire and invite.
As my heart has been warmed by your grace, O Heavenly Creator, may I be confident in sharing this experience with others. Amen.
