Polite inhibitions when hard words need to be spoken can be toxic to a community. Scriptures to be heard on the upcoming weekend remind us that love can be best realized by speaking the Truth, as we see it, no matter how much risk that involves.
The prophet EZEKIEL spoke most of his oracles from Babylon’s captivity (589 BC?). Here (33:7-11) he recounts his obligation to speak the word of God with no guarantees of his hearers’ repentance (they didn’t). The “hard words” included led Charles Wesley to write in 1742 an archaic hymn, “Sinners Turn: Why Will You Die?” Please note that if you’re using this as a main text for worship, there needs to be room left for Grace; a post-script, if you please. If you’re really into the Charles Wesley mode, consider singing at the end, “See How Great a Flame Aspires”. What does it involve to be a “sentinel” today, even in the glitz of Babylon?
St. Paul gives us much to think about in ROMANS 13:8-14: “Owe no one anything, except to love one another”. He goes on to exhort us to avoid wronging each other, living “honorably” with each other. Well, yeah; but it’s the old question, Who is my neighbor?? Usually this proactive loving involves naming the enemy, the hard truths that go against our perceived ethic. Read on for how this may play out…
It’s to be remembered that MATTHEW is writing to the Jewish community, hoping against hope for their transformation into the wider Christian lifestyle. In 18:15-20, Jesus appears as the monitor of the Church, giving an orderly process for addressing brokenness: talk about it! The preacher may well mention those times of semi-forgiveness (“Ah, that’s all right”) which can fester for years beneath the surface, only to rear their ugly heads at an opportune moment in the future, thus destroying the communal joy so greatly longed for. A meeting of friends may clear the air; and if the entire group is called to intervene, the process may well be completed in loving respect. Matthew cites Jesus’ hopes for reconciliation, and sees this reconciliation as the true mark of the Christian fellowship.
It’s hard for me to be a “sentinel”, especially when I know the offending ones. I’m reluctant to call out the worldly influences except from the safety of my study. I suspect that your parents and grandparents trained you, also, to be polite and impersonal. So all of us, pulpit and pew alike, can be reminded that God’s community, the Church, needs to be woke and not settle for friction and sniping at each other.
In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King
Please join us every Tuesday as we are examined by lessons to be heard on the upcoming weekend: at horacebrownking.com
My Blog 
Leave a comment